FERNANDO Alonso will remain at McLaren next season after signing a new contract with the British team.
Two-time world champion Alonso, who is in the midst of his worst campaign in Formula One, has penned a one-year extension.
The 36-year-old, who has not won a race since the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix and has finished in the points just twice this year, made McLaren sweat over his future.
But with no vacancies at Mercedes, his former team Ferrari, or indeed Red Bull, the Spaniard was left with little option than to extend his stay at McLaren into a fourth successive year.
McLaren’s decision to end their miserable partnership with engine supplier Honda and switch to Renault power from next season is understood to have been integral in ensuring Alonso would stay with the Woking team.
McLaren have won 20 world championships, but their relationship with Japanese manufacturer Honda has been nothing short of a disaster.
Alonso, who has not featured on the podium since he returned to the McLaren in 2015, has failed to finish nine of the 14 grands prix he has contested this season – and even failed to start in Russia after his car conked out en route to the grid.
“It’s fantastic to be able to continue my relationship with everybody at McLaren,” Alonso said. “It was always where my heart was telling me to stay, and I really feel at home here.
“This is a fantastic team, full of incredible people, with a warmth and friendliness that I’ve never experienced elsewhere in Formula One. I’m incredibly happy to be racing here.
“Just as important, McLaren has the technical resource and financial strength to be able to very quickly win races and world championships in F1. Although the last few years have not been easy, we have never forgotten how to win, and I believe we can achieve that again soon.
“The last three years have given us the momentum to plan and build for the future, and I’m looking forward to that journey.”
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