Alonso will 'talk to anyone' about 2018 drive if McLaren can't win
Fernando Alonso says he’s open to anything for 2018 after his current McLaren contract expires.
The Spaniard made it clear that his current team would have to be in a position to win races next year to make it worth him staying on.
“As I said at the beginning of the year, this is my last year with the contract I have now with McLaren,” said Alonso on Thursday. “I will have to think a little bit after the summer, because now it is quite a busy period and now plus the Indy 500 thing, it will not be the time to think any further than this summer.
“But around September or October I will need to consider what I will do next year. If it’s time to find other challenges outside Formula One, or if Formula One will be an opportunity to win the championship, which is my main goal. I’m very open to anything. I think with this year’s cars and the 2017 regulations, the cars are good to drive.
“I think Formula One is back in a way. We see this real power of efficiency, corner speed, things we were missing in the last couple of years. The cars look nice from the outside, with the big tires, everything, so I like this Formula One. So my intention or my first priority is to race next year here and not only to race, I want to win.
“Now that I have not any more obligations with McLaren… I’m happy with the team, but we are not winning, so if from here to September or October we are in a position where I see clearly a possibility to win in 2018, I will be more than happy to stay with the team. If it’s not the case, I will be more than happy to talk to anyone.”
He also revealed that his Indy 500 chassis is destined for his museum in Spain, where he has all the key cars from his career.
“Yeah, it’s coming. After the race the car will be in the museum as well. Every car I jumped in from 2004 or something like that, it’s always in my contract that it will be in my museum afterward. This one is no different.”
