Carlos Sainz to replace Alonso at McLaren as per reports in ESPN.
Fernando Alonso’s retirement from F1 has left a vacant seat at McLaren, one that they’ll have to fill pretty quickly, as the driver market is really volatile this year.
Dear F1 ….. pic.twitter.com/G9ZzdMwgMn
— Fernando Alonso (@alo_oficial) August 14, 2018
It all started after Ricciardo’s announcement about moving to Renault next year. Renault made the announcement that the Australian would be partnering Hulkenberg next year.
That leaves Sainz without a seat for next season, but it seems like McLaren have already come to his rescue and are set to announce him as Alonso’s replacement from next season on, as reported by ESPN.
Sainz is still under contract from Red Bull, one that runs out this September, but ESPN have reported that McLaren are set to announce Sainz on a two year deal on Thursday.
BREAKING: Carlos Sainz is set to be announced as Fernando Alonso’s replacement at McLaren.https://t.co/o2TbQcKEzR
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) August 15, 2018
Thus, Red Bull realistically have just one option for 2019 and that is Pierre Gasly. Verstappen and Gasly would form a strong enough team for Red Bull, one where Verstappen would be the designated no.1 driver.
As far as McLaren are concerned, they’ll need to come up with a quick fix for Vandoorne as well, as the Belgian’s future hangs in the balance, now that Alonso has retired as well.
Lando Norris is one driver who is slated to replace Vandoorne and he did release a rather questionable tweet right after Alonso announced his retirement.
McLaren would like to sit on the second driver decision as of now, wait till the end of the season, assess Vandoorne’s performance and then take a decision.
