F1 News: Fernando Alonso Rejected Renault Offer To Chase 'Triple Crown' Dream

Fernando Alonso continues to reveal the interest other Formula 1 teams had in recruiting him before he announced he is leaving the sport at the end of the 2018 season to pursue other challenges.

The Spaniard, who currently drives for McLaren, confirmed on Aug. 14 that he will leave F1, but has since revealed that he had offers from more than one team to continue in 2019.

Alonso revealed that Red Bull Racing had made two offers to him in 2018 to replace Daniel Ricciardo, but the Austrian team insist that there were no offers on the table for the veteran Spaniard.

The 37-year-old has now revealed that he also had offers from his former team Renault for the 2019 season, and despite being tempted to return to the team that gave him his two F1 Drivers’ world championship titles, he chose to quit the sport.

Alonso accepted it was tempting to return to his former team for whom he has driven on two separate occasions during his 17-year career. But he admitted that his desire to win motorsport’s fabled "Triple Crown" and challenge himself in another form of motor racing proved more attractive.

"I had the possibility of joining Renault and going back to my two championship team having my last years with my second family there," Alonso told Sky Sports F1. "But it was difficult to get the challenge there, fighting for the top six or top ten, compared to the challenges l can get outside of F1. It's no secret that the Triple Crown is attractive to me. Those are a little bit more attractive at the moment."

The Spanish racer is desperate to win the Triple Crown, which entails winning the Monaco Grand Prix, the LeMans 24-hour race and the Indy500. Alonso is more than halfway there having won the first two events and it is likely that his future lies in IndyCar as he chases his dream of becoming only the second person to win all three events — the first being Nigel Mansell.

Alonso’s future beyond F1 remains unclear, but he has got numerous options with IndyCar being one of them. He is also contracted to drive in the World Endurance Championships (WEC) for at least one more season.

Meanwhile, the F1 drivers’ market continues to be a merry-go-round with many personnel set move from one team to another in the coming weeks. Most teams have at least one driver confirmed for next season with Mercedes, Red Bull and Renault the only teams to confirm both the seats.

Kimi Raikkonen is expected to stay at Ferrari for at least one more season with partner Sebastian Vettel, but in the midfield teams, there are multiple drivers in contention for a single seat.

McLaren have confirmed Carlos Sainz as Alonso’s replacement for 2019, but his teammate’s identity is still a mystery. Stoffel Vandoorne is unsure if he will be with McLaren next season with the team supposedly in talks with Sergio Perez, Esteban Ocon and Lando Norris as potential replacements.

Force India’s takeover by Lawrence Stroll could see his son Lance Stroll move from Williams even before the current season comes to an end, which is likely to leave Ocon without a driver. Everything is expected to become clear in the weeks after the Italian Grand Prix this weekend.