McLaren, Fernando Alonso part ways following failed Indianapolis 500 attempt

After five seasons in Formula 1 and two Indianapolis 500 attempts, McLaren and two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso have parted ways.

This story has been updated here.

McLaren and two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso have parted ways following a disastrous month of May during which they failed to qualify for the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

After driving for McLaren in the 2007 Formula 1 season, Alonso returned to the team ahead of the 2015 Formula 1 season, and he drove for the team in Formula 1 from the 2015 season until his retirement at the end of the 2018 season.

In 2017, due to his growing frustration with McLaren and their lack of performance with their Honda engines, he withdrew his name from the Monaco Grand Prix and opted to make his IndyCar debut in the Indy 500.

More from Formula One

McLaren ended a 38-year hiatus from the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” by forming a partnership with Andretti Autosport to field an entry for Alonso in the 101st running of this 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in Speedway, Indiana.

Alonso qualified for this race in fifth place in his #29 Honda and led 27 of its first 179 laps before an engine failure took him out of the race with 21 laps remaining. He was officially scored in 24th. He did not return to the Indy 500 in 2018, but after retiring from Formula 1 after the 2018 season, he returned to the race in 2019, once again driving for McLaren.

But instead of forming a partnership with Andretti Autosport, the sport’s top Honda team, McLaren formed a technical alliance with Carlin, arguably the sport’s least competitive Chevrolet team.

With 36 drivers on the entry list for the race, 33 would ultimately qualify. Alonso ended up in 34th place in qualifying in his #66 Chevrolet and was bumped from the field, a major embarrassment for McLaren especially.

Now the two sides have officially cut ties, although they reportedly parted ways on good terms.

Here is what a McLaren statement had to say about the mater, according to Motor Sport Magazine.

"“Fernando, like all McLaren drivers past and present, will always be part of the McLaren family and we have a strong relationship with him. We have no plans to run him in any further F1 test sessions this year as our focus remains on both Carlos (Sainz) and Lando (Norris). He is free to pursue other opportunities in motorsport and we would support him in doing so.”"

The 2007 season was by far Alonso’s best season driving for McLaren, as he earned four victories and recorded 12 podium finishes, 14 top five finishes and 16 top 10 finishes in the season’s 17 races en route to a third place finish in the driver standings.

Next. Top 10 Formula 1 drivers of all-time. dark

In 77 races driving for McLaren from the 2015 Formula 1 season through the 2018 season, Fernando Alonso recorded just 25 top 10 finishes, including only four top five finishes, of which all were fifth place finishes. His best finish in the driver standings during these four seasons was 10th, which he recorded in the 2016 season.

Home/Formula One