Fernando Alonso rules out quitting F1 and McLaren-Honda mid-2017
Fernando Alonso has refuted suggestions he could walk away from McLaren and Formula 1 mid-season, if Honda's struggles continue to weigh the team down
Honda expected to make another step towards the front of F1 with its 2017 power unit, but has fallen further behind with the revamped package it has developed for the third season of its current programme.
Alonso is out of contract at the end of 2017, and former Red Bull driver and close friend Mark Webber suggested McLaren-Honda's current form could mean the three-time champion does not even get that far.
Asked about Webber's comments on potentially not seeing out the season, Alonso replied: "No, it's definitely not true.
"I heard [the comments]. It's normal for the outside, and other drivers to speak and I also read comments from many people in Spain... if one ex-driver or motorbike rider has an interview, there will always be a question about Alonso and how difficult the situation is.
"Everyone is [presented as] quite close to me and it's like I have depression! It's not like that.
"In Formula 1 I am delivering my best and I'm more prepared than ever. The team is not very competitive now - and OK, that's true.
"There's nothing we can do from one day to another so it's just hard-working, but at the same time the team is expecting an extra job from me now, an extra result from me.
"It's like when we were in Australia and all the predictions, the simulations said that we would be last and we were 10th [until late in the race].
"And in China if the predictions say that we are last, then hopefully Alonso will be in the points."
Alonso made it to the second phase of qualifying in the season opener last month, and started 12th.
He spent the bulk of the what he considered "probably best race of my life" in 10th place, but was forced to retire late due to the aerodynamic damage that was now believed to have been caused by a brake component.
"I think in the end it was the front brake that came off the car and it broke some parts of the sidepod and parts of the floor, but only on one side so the car was pulling to that side massively," he said.
"It felt like a suspension problem but it lost all aerodynamic behaviour only on one side so it was a retirement anyway.
"It happened between Turn 10 and 11."
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Top Comments
The supercharged Revolution that has piqued an Olympic legend's motorsport taste
How Radical revamped its record-breaking flagship model
Inside the lightweight Czech sportscar making its mark on the UK
Alonso: Aston Martin struggling to beat Williams and Haas is not acceptable
Alonso would rather have upgrades than strategy “brain” at Monza
Can Aston Martin vanquish its current form to fight at the front?
How Honda F1 missed a two-week window to sign Vettel
Honda explains key changes to Formula 1 engines for 2021
Why Red Bull's Honda takeover is a gamechanger for its F1 mindset
Ogier explains Power Stage roll, given €30k suspended fine for opening stage comments
Bagnaia slashes Martin deficit of Aragon crash with Misano runner-up finish
Acropolis WRC victory a “big release of pressure” for Neuville
Martin takes blame for costly Misano bike swap call
Why the turbine Lotus experiment failed to realise its potential in F1
How the chief architect of McLaren's improvement plans to continue its rise
Jon Noble: Why Ferrari could be a dark horse for the title – but we can't be sure until October
The Albon-matching elements of Colapinto's maiden F1 grand prix
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
