Fernando Alonso May Drive For Ferrari In 2019, Talks Likely, Brundle Says

Former Formula 1 driver Martin Brundle believes Fernando Alonso could make one final play at returning to Ferrari in 2019 in a bid to drive a race-winning car before he calls time on his career.

The Spaniard won back-to-back F1 Drivers’ titles in 2005 and 2006, but is still regarded as one of the best drivers on the grid at the moment. Alonso has since failed to sit in a title-winning car – while his timing for switching teams has always been wrong.

Alonso’s last win came at the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix in a Ferrari, while the last of his podium finishes came in 2014. After a couple of seasons of near misses with Ferrari, he abandoned them in order to join McLaren for the 2015 season – after it was decided that they will partner with Honda.

It proved to be yet another ill-timed move for the Spaniard as the Woking-based team struggled to replicate their past successes with Honda. The Japanese manufacturer’s engine failed to match that of their rivals, while Ferrari looked to have upped the game and began challenging Mercedes for race wins. McLaren struggled in the bottom half of the grid and after three seasons of misery switched to Renault power at the end of the 2017 season.

Despite the switch, McLaren’s fortunes have not changed – they are seventh in the Constructors’ standings – and Alonso continues to cut a figure of frustration despite delivering 40 of McLaren’s 48 points this season. The double world champion is out of contract at the end of the 2018 campaign and is yet to decide if his future lies on F1.

McLaren are hoping to retain him, but he has been experimenting with other avenues of motor racing. He won the LeMans 24 hours earlier this year, and is keen to try his hand at IndyCar in order to win the motorsport’s fabled Triple Crown – that includes, LeMans, the Monaco Grand Prix and Indy500.

Alonso is also racing in the World Endurance Championship alongside his F1 commitments but could remain in F1 if he gets a chance to drive a race-winning car. Ferrari are genuine title contenders this season with Sebastian Vettel challenging Lewis Hamilton and the team only eight points behind Mercedes in the Constructors’ race.

The Italian team, however, were said to be considering one of Kimi Raikkonen – their current driver – or youngster Charles Leclerc as Vettel’s partner for 2019. Sergio Marchionne, the now former Chairman and CEO of the team, was pushing for the latter, but Brundle thinks that now the direction could change after he was replaced following his inability to return to his role due to illness.

Louis Camilleri was recently appointed the new CEO of Ferrari and the former F1 driver suggests that Alonso could make contact with the new hierarchy and out himself in contention for that second seat.

“I'm very sorry to hear that Sergio Marchionne, the Ferrari boss, is very unwell and not returning. This will have a big impact on the imminent direction of Ferrari and probably F1 too,” Brundle wrote in his Sky Sports column after the German Grand Prix. “I'm pretty sure that Fernando Alonso will be having a word with the new boss Louis Camilleri in one last desperate attempt to regain a winning car. Judging by his on-track performance and radio transmissions in Hockenheim he's at the end of his tether otherwise.”