Two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso will be competing in all six rounds of the World Endurance Championship with Toyota in 2018, BBC Sport has confirmed, now that the Japanese round of the WEC has been moved to a week earlier than the F1 round taking place in Texas, United States.
It appears the Spaniard’s influence is such that organisers of the Japanese WEC round at Fuji Speedway requested the date change with the FIA, and will now take place on October 14. Though officially the request originated from Fuji Speedway, the circuit is owned by Toyota, which is contesting the LMP1-class in the WEC, meaning the request effectively came from Alonso’s team.
Alonso has also committed to a further three races in the WEC next year which count towards the ‘super season’ championship, as long as they do not clash with Formula 1 dates should he remain in the open-wheeler series next year. There are no concerns regarding his F1 commitments, McLaren executive director Zak Brown said.
“Fernando is very well prepared, knows what it takes to be successful and he wouldn’t have taken on the additional commitment if he didn’t think he could do both at the highest level. “It is no other agenda than he wants to race and he wants to win Le Mans. What would he be doing those weekends otherwise? He wouldn’t be testing an F1 car or on the simulator,” Brown said.
“We have everything we need out of him on the F1 front so these are weekends he’d either be in a go-kart or golfing or whatever he wants to do. He’ll just be in a WEC car. He wants to spend his spare time in race cars,” Brown added, though with emphasis that F1 remains Alonso’s top priority.
The date change for the Japanese round of the WEC now means there is a clash of dates with an IMSA series sports car race in the United States, where some WEC drivers are also competing in. The situation is ‘fully understood’ by IMSA, said WEC chief Gerard Neveu. Alonso hopes that IMSA will be able to move the date of the IMSA race, the report added.
Alonso’s foray outside the Formula 1 realm will see the Spaniard attempt to clinch the Triple Crown – the Monaco Grand Prix in F1, the Indy 500 in the IndyCar Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the World Endurance Championship. Alonso led 27 laps of the 2017 Indy 500 before engine failure saw to his retirement from the Brickyard.
The two-time F1 champion will get two shots at Le Mans thanks to the WEC’s upcoming ‘super season’ calendar, and a victory in any one of the above will be a crowning jewel in Alonso’s recent motorsport efforts, having being absent from the F1 podium in his most recent tenure with the McLaren F1 team.
The last full-time F1 driver to win at Le Mans was Nico Hulkenberg for Porsche in 2015, the first to do so since Johnny Herbert in 1991.
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
Quite sad how McLaren made him lose all interest in F1 and now he has to go to another series to get his mojo back. AMG-Pet cud have given Nicos seat to him back then, but they probably din wanna repeat 2007 again.
Why blame McLaren? It is not McLaren’s fault
McLaren chose to stay with Honda for 2 whole years b4 dumping them this year. Yes, it is their fault.
Since Honda was crap, then it’s Honda’s fault.
Honda sama sama at fault but McLaren can cancel contract anytime as seen this year, but they din which caused Alonso to take frequent picnics during race week. So McLaren is more at fault in this.
Monaco is probably the only race Alonso has a hope of winning this yr
“The two-time F1 champion will get two shots at Le Mans thanks to the WEC’s upcoming ‘super season’ calendar, and a victory in any one of the above will be a crowning jewel in Alonso’s recent motorsport efforts”
As all other car companies withdrew their teams from Le Mans and only privateers are left, now it should be possible for Alonso and Toyota to get the “crowning jewel”.
The only reason for his 2 championships was Michelin. And that FIA rubbish regulations of using 1 set of tyres per race in 2005/06