F1 Testing | Is Alonso's presence hinting at bigger things to come?
Fernando Alonso was spotted earlier today in the F1 paddock, after he bid farewell to the sport to commit to other racing series.
( palabras)
As the second session of Barcelona winter testing commenced today, a very striking presence graced the paddock today. It is Fernando Alonso, who flew all the way from Milan to Spain to be trackside with McLaren. But what is he going to do there?
After he bid farewell to F1 last year at Yas Marina, the Spaniard appeared fully centered and invested in his WEC and Indy500 campaigns, aiming to reach the Triple Crown before a hypothetical return to the Pinnacle of Motorsports. However, he openly declared that he was going to remain somewhat involved in McLaren Racing's F1 team, most likely through an advisory role.
In fact, he never hid that he was interested in having his say on the car development, despite his absence from the competition. And apparently his contribution starts here, where numerous media outlets had rumoured about him driving the MCL34 since he left.
Zak Brown did not deny that he could eventually hand Fernando with a driving opportunity if wanted, but later the American had to water down his claims. Alonso himself reiterated that his sole focus at the moment is to succeed at his second Indy500 assault, although a potential F1 return might be in his sights for the future.
However, it looks like Alonso is at Circuit de Catalunya for pure leisure, which does not necessarily mean no business meetings at all, but overall a more relaxed approach to the environment.
It is clear that the 37-year-old would need a competitive team to rebuild his path in F1, which clouds his comeback chances in uncertainty. Nevertheless, being present in the paddock certainly keeps him within the flow, other than providing McLaren with an extremely valid resource for its development and progress.
The Woking-based team topped today's session and, even though these laptimes might not be telling much about the real pecking order, the feeling amongst the people working at McLaren is positive. In fact, the project does not appear to be flawed or doomed to be a failure. Read more here:
Norris: "We've improved the car since last week"
After he bid farewell to F1 last year at Yas Marina, the Spaniard appeared fully centered and invested in his WEC and Indy500 campaigns, aiming to reach the Triple Crown before a hypothetical return to the Pinnacle of Motorsports. However, he openly declared that he was going to remain somewhat involved in McLaren Racing's F1 team, most likely through an advisory role.
In fact, he never hid that he was interested in having his say on the car development, despite his absence from the competition. And apparently his contribution starts here, where numerous media outlets had rumoured about him driving the MCL34 since he left.
Zak Brown did not deny that he could eventually hand Fernando with a driving opportunity if wanted, but later the American had to water down his claims. Alonso himself reiterated that his sole focus at the moment is to succeed at his second Indy500 assault, although a potential F1 return might be in his sights for the future.
However, it looks like Alonso is at Circuit de Catalunya for pure leisure, which does not necessarily mean no business meetings at all, but overall a more relaxed approach to the environment.
It is clear that the 37-year-old would need a competitive team to rebuild his path in F1, which clouds his comeback chances in uncertainty. Nevertheless, being present in the paddock certainly keeps him within the flow, other than providing McLaren with an extremely valid resource for its development and progress.
The Woking-based team topped today's session and, even though these laptimes might not be telling much about the real pecking order, the feeling amongst the people working at McLaren is positive. In fact, the project does not appear to be flawed or doomed to be a failure. Read more here:
Norris: "We've improved the car since last week"
