Alonso appears content at McLaren

Fernando Alonso could well be looked upon as one of the most underachieving Formula One greats of the sport.

The Spaniard is, according to many, the best driver of his generation.

But at 34-years-old he is now coming towards the end of his career and has claimed just two Formula One titles.

Since he won back-to-back championships in 2005 and 2006, Alonso has had few genuine title opportunities since.

In 2007 the feud between himself and then rookie team-mate Lewis Hamilton firstly allowed Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen to take the title and would eventually cost him his seat (for whatever reason) at McLaren, a team that he would have taken titles with.

Since that time eight full years have passed, with Alonso winning just 13 times in 149 starts.

He finished runner-up in the championship in 2010, 2012 and 2013, but with the exception of perhaps 2010, it was his talent that got himself into that position and not the car.

His decisions to move to Renault, Ferrari and McLaren Honda have all proved, with hindsight the wrong decisions.

Instead Alonso has watched on as Lewis Hamilton has taken three titles with McLaren and Mercedes, whilst Sebastian Vettel has taken four titles with Red Bull and Jenson Button also proving you need to be at the right place at the right time with his title at Brawn.

The irony of this move in particular appears to be just how poor McLaren Honda are at the same time that Ferrari are finally coming good.

A bitter pill to swallow and one that many thought would see Alonso walk away from the sport and take a sabbatical.

But Alonso denies this.

‘All week there have been some rumours, When there are too many months with no action on the track there is a dangerous tendency of being creative in the news. It is good we are on track and there are no more rumours.’ he told Sky Sports.

‘I have a contract for three years. I’m not thinking about anything else. This is a very important year for us.’ he told the BBC.

‘The ambition is very high, I am not here just to travel around the world and to jump in the car and have some fun on Sunday. I am here to win.’

Unfortunately for Alonso his record when he comes to retire will not back this up.

He instead will be the biggest ‘what if’ driver for many years.

What if Alonso had remained at McLaren in 2008?

What if Alonso had managed to make a move to Red Bull or Mercedes?

How many titles should he have won?