According to BBC Sport, Mclaren are now targeting Fernando Alonso to beef up their driver line up for next season.
Yes, you guessed it, the Silly Season rumour mill is back in full swing.
BBC Sport‘s chief F1 Writer, Andrew Benson, Alonso is unsettled at Ferrari, and McLaren are hoping to use this to persuade the Spaniard to return to the team – who he drove for in 2007.
When asked whether he wanted Alonso, McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said, “Yes – any team would. He’s the best driver. “I don’t know his contractual situation. I assume he’s under contract”.
This news comes just after Jenson Button confirmed to SkySportsF1 yesterday that his contract with McLaren is sorted saying, “It’s done, I’ll be here next year.”
Sergio Perez also seemed pretty confident that his McLaren seat is secure for next year, but this news is bound to be a bit of a cat amongst the pigeons. It would seem that if Alonso did join McLaren next season, it is the Mexican who will be replaced.
Alonso is contractually bound to Ferrari until the end of the 2016 season but there has been plenty of friction between himself and the team in recent weeks.
Di Montezemelo was exceptionally unhappy about Alonso’s critical remarks about his car. Then there’s the signing of Kimi Raikkonen as his team mate for next season. Alonso has said he is “happy” about the team choosing Raikkonen as his team mate but this move puts his number 1 spot at the team in great jeopardy.
We’re not too sure that Alonso would be keen on a move back to McLaren though. The massive fallout with Ron Dennis and then team mate Lewis Hamilton – over Hamilton getting priority status over him.
Then there’s his contract of course. If Alonso wanted to terminate his contract with Ferrari, there would need to be talks around this and it’s not likely that Ferrari – who now have the strongest driver pairing for the 2014 grid, would be keen on doing this.
Whitmarsh has however confirmed to SkySportsF1 that he most certainly is interested in signing Alonso, “I would if I could,” he told them. He also refused to confirm that either Jenson Button or Sergio Perez will continue driving for McLaren next season.
Only time will tell really. We will of course, keep you posted!
