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Mika Hakkinen hopes Fernando Alonso has the "patience" to wait for McLaren-Honda to succeed in formula one. Reigning back-to-back world champion Lewis Hamilton, Alonso's 2007 teammate, grinned a clear "No!" on Monday when asked if he would feel good to be in the Spaniard's current shoes.
"It reminds me of the decision I made," the Briton, referring to his decision to leave McLaren for Mercedes in late 2012, told the Spanish news agency EFE in Berlin. "I could have stayed too but it turns out I made the right decision," Hamilton added. "Fernando took a similar decision to leave Ferrari, but McLaren are having a lot of problems now," Hamilton added. "It's a test for him," he said. "Now he has to try to keep his morale high, which is definitely hard to do."
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Another highly successful former McLaren driver is Mika Hakkinen, who tipped the now Honda-powered outfit to eventually return to the top of the order. "All they can do and must do is keep working hard," said the Finn. "There are no miracles, no short cuts. Only development and finding solutions. And some day, things will start to go the right way. The big question is 'How long will it take?'"
"For me, it took many, many years until I won my first race in formula one. So now it could take a few years for Fernando to win again. He has been in formula one for many years, he has been world champion twice. Will he have enough patience? That is the question. But I hope so. Fernando is a great guy and a great driver," Hakkinen added. (GMM)
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Replies (2)
Login to replymclarenfan1968
Posts: 1,027
He doesn't have a few years. He isn't going to stick around with Mclaren for a few years, if he is still passionate he will jump ship to whatever next best option he has to aim for the title, if not he will retire. His character is very well known by now to everyone in F1 world. His eyes are clearly on what is going on with the 2 seats at Mercedes.
I am going to put a random claim here. If Nico and Lewis are tied down to contracts through to 2019 and Mclaren doesn't improve next year? Alonso will retire from F1 in 2018. Story ends.
Vet5
Posts: 225
Agree'd! Though Nico hasn't agree'd to anything yet about his contract, I actually think he might jump ship because of the other manufacturers catching up. Though I must admit it does look like he will stay