Alonso open to options outside of F1 if he can't find winning project - MotorSportsTalk

Fernando Alonso is not afraid to explore options outside of Formula 1 for 2018 if he is unable to find a winning project as the saga surrounding his McLaren future continues.

Alonso is out of contract at the end of the season, and has been exploring options away from McLaren after three difficult years fighting down the order due to issues with the team’s Honda power unit.

The two-time world champion does not appear to have many options for 2018, and is still talking to McLaren about a drive for next year.

“I’m very open. I haven’t made a decision yet,” Alonso told CNN.

“I’m talking to McLaren, of course, because it’s my team. I think we have unfinished business together to win in Formula 1.

“I think everyone will have their opinion of what we need to be competitive. I have mine. If that happens, I will consider for sure to stay and win with McLaren.”

Should Alonso decide to leave McLaren, the Spaniard confirmed he would explore other options on the F1 grid, but is not afraid to look beyond the sport.

“Formula 1 is still my priority, it’s my life, and winning the world championship is what I’m hoping,” Alonso said.

“If I don’t see any clear project that will allow me to fight for the win, I will look outside Formula 1, but that’s [a decision for] November, December. I will try all the possibilities before that.”

Alonso stole the headlines earlier this year with his entry to the Indianapolis 500 as part of a joint entry between McLaren, Honda and Andretti Autosport, qualifying fifth and running up the order before retiring with an engine failure.

While Alonso enjoyed his stint in the IndyCar paddock, a full-season ride is not thought to be a serious consideration for him currently.

A future shot at the 24 Hours of Le Mans is also on Alonso’s radar, although the lingering uncertainty regarding the future of the LMP1 class and prototype racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship may put the brakes on that for the time being.

When asked if he felt he had taken his last win in F1 – the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix – Alonso said: “No, no. It will happen.

“I have a feeling it will happen next year.”

Follow @LukeSmithF1

Media and fan attention focused on a controversial run-in between Haiden Deegan and his Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing teammate Jordon Smith during Round 10 of the Monster Energy Supercross race at Detroit, after which the 250 East points’ Hunter Lawrence defends the young rider in the postrace news conference.

Deegan took the early lead in Heat 1 of the round, but the mood swiftly changed when he became embroiled in a spirited battle with teammate Smith.

On Lap 3, Smith caught Deegan with a fast pass through the whoops. Smith briefly held the lead heading into a bowl turn but Deegan had the inside line and threw a block pass. In the next few turns, the action heated up until Smith eventually ran into the back of Deegan’s Yamaha and crashed.

One of the highlights of the battle seemed to include a moment when Deegan waited on Smith in order to throw a second block pass, adding fuel to the controversy.

After his initial crash, Smith fell to seventh on the next lap. He would crash twice more during the event, ultimately finishing four laps off the pace in 20th.

The topic was inevitably part of the postrace news conference.

“It was good racing; it was fun,” Deegan said at about the 27-minute mark in the video above. “I just had some fun doing it.”

Smith had more trouble in the Last Chance Qualifier. He stalled his bike in heavy traffic, worked his way into a battle for fourth with the checkers in sight, but crashed a few yards shy of the finish line and was credited with seventh. Smith earned zero points and fell to sixth in the standings.

Lawrence defends Deegan — *Jordon Smith failed to make the Detroit Supercross Main and fell to sixth in the points. – Feld Motor Sports*

“I think he’s like fifth in points,” Deegan said. “He’s a little out of it. Beside that it was good, I don’t know. I wasn’t really paying attention.”

Deegan jokingly deflected an earlier question with the response that he wasn’t paying attention during the incident.

“He’s my teammate, but he’s a veteran, he’s been in this sport for a while,” Deegan said. “I was up there just battling. I want to win as much as everybody else. It doesn’t matter if it’s a heat race or a main; I just want to win. I was just trying to push that.”

As Deegan and Smith battled, Jeremy Martin took the lead. Deegan finished second in the heat and backed up his performance with a solid third-place showing in the main, which was his second podium finish in a short six-race career. Deegan’s first podium was earned at Daytona, just two rounds ago.

But as Deegan struggled to find something meaningful to say, unsurprisingly for a 17-year-old rider who was not scheduled to run the full 250 schedule this year, it was the championship leader Lawrence who came to his defense.

“I just want to point something out, which kind of amazes me,” Lawrence said during the conference. “So many of the people on social media, where everyone puts their expertise in, are saying the racing back in the ’80s, the early 90s, when me were men. They’re always talking about how gnarly it was and then anytime a block pass or something happens now, everyone cries about it.

“That’s just a little bit interesting. Pick one. You want the gnarly block passes from 10 years ago and then you get it, everyone makes a big song and dance about it.”

Pressed further, Lawrence defended not only the pass but the decision-making process that gets employed lap after lap in a Supercross race.

“It’s easy to point the finger,” Lawrence said. “We’re out there making decisions in a split millisecond. People have all month to pay their phone bill and they still can’t do that on time.

“We’re making decisions at such a fast reaction [time with] adrenaline. … I’m not just saying it for me or Haiden. I speak for all the guys. No one is perfect and we’re under a microscope out there. The media is really quick to point a finger when someone makes a mistake.”

The media is required to hold athletes accountable for their actions. They are also required to tell the complete story.

Alonso open to options outside of F1 if he can’t find winning project

Hunter Lawrence defends Haiden Deegan after controversial block pass at Detroit

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