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Villeneuve sceptical about Alonso's return to McLaren

  • Published on 15 Dec 2014 16:08
  • comments 1
  • By: Rob Veenstra
Ron Dennis has dismissed reports Fernando Alonso has built 'exit clauses' into his new McLaren-Honda contract. It is claimed the Spaniard might want to leave Woking at the end of next year, should the 2015 car not be up to scratch, or if a seat at dominant Mercedes becomes available.

But McLaren supremo Dennis was quoted by Spain's El Mundo Deportivo as saying Alonso has a clear "three-year contract". "There is no exit clause, or any other inventions of the media that were published in the past days," he said.

McLaren and Alonso have, however, worked together before, when their marriage famously broke down amid the Lewis Hamilton pairing and the 'spygate' scandal of 2007. Jacques Villeneuve, a former world champion, predicts that more trouble could be on the horizon. "If things go well, it will be fantastic," the 1997 title winner is quoted by La Gazzetta dello Sport. "But if things go wrong, the mess will begin after six months."

Villeneuve claims it is due simply to the nature of Alonso's personality, but a friend of the Spaniard's, former F1 driver Robert Kubica, does not agree. "I am a friend of Alonso," the Pole confirmed to F1 insider Leo Turrini's Quotidiano blog, "and I do not think he has a bad temper."

"I am sure that in the years he spent at Ferrari he gave the best of himself to hit the targets he set. Now a new great challenge begins for him. If he can bring McLaren back to the top, I think it would be the most beautiful achievement of his career," Kubica added.

Even Alonso insisted he is not regarding McLaren as a one-year project, admitting it may take longer for McLaren-Honda to reach its goals. "This first season will be learning," he is quoted by EFE news agency, "as we have not seen a super-competitive McLaren in the last two or three years. We hope to have a good winter and then I will be happy if we can start to be competitive, we learn things, we go on the podium and win some races." (GMM)
F1 News Fernando Alonso Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Mercedes McLaren Honda

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  • BtwnDitches

    Posts: 204

    I also agree that Alonso has a "longer fuse" than 6 months at McLaren. So long as there is steady improvement in his new Honda PU race cars (versus steady drop-back in Ferrari in 2014) and recurring chances for Alonso to place in the top 5 by mid-season, I think he'll keep smiliing and plugging at McLaren. I feel sure that "patience" is factored into his new, record £25m annual salary.

    • + 0
    • Dec 16 2014 - 07:52

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623
2
Mercedes
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Ferrari
285
4
Aston Martin
221
5
McLaren
172
6
Alpine F1
84
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Williams
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Date
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Bahrain
3 - Mar 5
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Bahrain International Circuit
17 - Mar 19
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Jeddah Street Circuit
31 - Apr 2
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Albert Park
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Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
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Interlagos
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Yas Marina Circuit
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Formula 1 Calendar - 2023

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
-
Bahrain Bahrain International Circuit
3 - Mar 5
Bahrain Bahrain International Circuit
17 - Mar 19
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
31 - Apr 2
Australia Albert Park
28 - Apr 30
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
5 - May 7
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
19 - May 21
Italy Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari
26 - May 28
Monaco Monte Carlo
2 - Jun 4
Spain Circuit de Catalunya
16 - Jun 18
Canada Gilles Villeneuve
30 - Jul 2
Austria Red Bull Ring
7 - Jul 9
United Kingdom Silverstone
21 - Jul 23
Hungary Hungaroring
28 - Jul 30
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25 - Aug 27
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1 - Sep 3
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15 - Sep 17
Singapore Marina Bay Street Circuit
22 - Sep 24
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6 - Oct 8
Qatar Losail International Circuit
20 - Oct 22
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
27 - Oct 29
Mexico Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
3 - Nov 5
Brazil Interlagos
17 - Nov 19
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24 - Nov 26
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
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Driver profile

ES Fernando Alonso 14
  • Team Aston Martin
  • Points 470
  • Podiums 8
  • Grand Prix 138
  • Country ES
  • Date of b. Jul 29 1981 (42)
  • Place of b. Oviedo, ES
  • Weight 68 kg
  • Length 1.71 m
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