Formula 1: Top 5 replacement candidates for Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull Racing
By Asher Fair
Fernando Alonso
Two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso, 37, will likely not return to McLaren in the 2018 Formula 1 season, as he has grown increasingly frustrated with the team’s lack of performance over the last few years both during their time using Honda engines and their first season using Renault engines. In fact, since returning to the team in the 2015 season, he has not finished a race in higher than fifth place.
Many rumors suggest that Alonso will attempt the Indianapolis 500 again next year, especially since he has now two of the three races that make up the Triple Crown of Motorsport. He won the Monaco Grand Prix in the 2006 and 2007 season, and he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year for the first time in his career, so a win in the Indy 500 would make him just the second driver to win all three races of the Triple Crown of Motorsport.
Many rumors also suggest that Alonso will drive full-time in IndyCar next year and that he may do so with McLaren if they are able to partner with one of the sport’s Honda teams.
While it is expected that Alonso will leave McLaren and likely Formula 1 altogether after the 2018 season comes to a close, this would likely only be the case if he would have to drive for McLaren if he returned to Formula 1 next year, as he certainly would not turn down an offer to drive for one of the sport’s top teams. There is a rumor going around that he could return to Scuderia Ferrari, but the odds of this happening are very small, and a more realistic option may have just opened up.
With a seat at Red Bull Racing now open thanks to Daniel Ricciardo’s departure, this may be Alonso’s most realistic chance yet, albeit still a small one, to land a ride with a team that will give him a chance to add to his career Formula 1 victory total of 32.
If Red Bull decide to hire a veteran driver as opposed to a young driver, Alonso may be their best option since he certainly still has what it takes to driver at the front of the field in a competitive race car.
But Alonso isn’t the only veteran driver with an outside chance to replace Ricciardo next year.