Fernando Alonso has announced that he won’t be racing in Formula in 2019 in what is certainly the biggest Formula 1 story of this season.
“Fernando is not only an outstanding ambassador for McLaren but also for Formula 1. His 17 years in the sport, as arguably the pre-eminent driver of his generation and undoubtedly an F1 great, have added another layer to Formula 1’s rich history.
“There is a time for everyone to make a change and Fernando has decided the end of this season to be his. We respect his decision, even if we believe he is in the finest form of his career. Our open dialogue with Fernando has meant we could plan for this eventuality.
“While evaluating his future during the past months, Fernando’s competitiveness has been undimmed. He has continued to perform at the highest level throughout, as we know he will do in the remaining nine races of this year’s championship.
“I know that the entire team joins me in paying tribute to Fernando’s enormous contribution to McLaren; he is a legend both for the championship and for the team. Fernando is an important part of our story and will join an illustrious line of McLaren drivers. On behalf of Shaikh Mohammed, Mansour and our entire board, we wish Fernando every success in the future.” Zak Brown said.
Alonso is currently in his 17th F1 season and 5th with McLaren having had 97 podium finishes till date.
Alonso has won two world titles in his illustrious F1 career. He, however, had a few troubled years in F1 as McLaren couldn’t support him with good enough cars.
