Fernando Alonso firmly believes that the McLaren Honda project is what offers him the best chance to challenge Mercedes and compete for a third Formula One World Championship.
For all the talk that Alonso was trying to engineer a move to Mercedes, either if Lewis Hamilton cancelled his contract early if things had ended differently in 2014, or the talk of three-car teams in F1, Alonso appears pretty committed to his return to McLaren.
Talks had been ongoing for around a year-and-a-half regarding this move and whilst there are still suggestions in the media that Alonso has various get out clauses if McLaren Honda doesn’t perform. From what he said on Thursday he’s confident he has made the right decision.
‘I’m happy now that this is finally official, we have been waiting now for a few weeks with [announcing] a team-mate [Jenson Button] but now it is time to work together and put everything in place for a fantastic journey that we start today.’
‘I had some interesting offers this year with some people who are winning now, but definitely for the future McLaren Honda gave me some good feelings. Alonso told the BBC.
With both 2014 Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg on contracts for 2015 at Mercedes, those talks would suggest that Red Bull Racing had spoken to Alonso seeing as they are the only other team that won in 2014.
But with the announcement that Daniil Kvyat will partner Daniel Ricciardo following Sebastian Vettel’s switch to Ferrari to replace Alonso, the Spaniard clearly thought that McLaren held the best potential over the coming years rather than Red Bull.
Alonso told Sky Sports: ‘There are two main reasons for the decision [to move to McLaren], one is that I visited the factory of Honda in Japan and then I saw the commitment that McLaren has as well with some important people joining the team like Peter Prodromou ? it is not one name that can make your decision, but it is a clear sign of what McLaren wants and that is the comeback of the winning days.
?The second was 2007 ? all those years in Formula 1 I have good achievements, things happened to me that I would never believe like winning grands prix, podiums, winning championships so I have had a fantastic career. But I have 2007 not a completely bright point and I think this comeback will put things in place and I feel the unfinished business we left in 2007 we will finish now.?
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