Alonso quits Mclaren
Two-time Formula one champion leaves team after uncomfortable stint.
Alonso clashed with his team all season [EPA]
Fernando Alonso, the two-time Formula one champion, has left the McLaren team, a spokesman for the driver told Spanish radio on Friday.
Alonso has reached a deal with McLaren team chief Ron Dennis by which the driver is exempted from paying costs for rescinding his contract, after a fractious season with the team.
“Since I was a boy I had always wanted to drive for McLaren, but sometimes in life things do not work out,” Alonso said in a statement.
“[We] want to wish Fernando all the best for the future,” Dennis said. “He is a great driver but for some reason the combination of [our team] and Fernando has not really worked out, and in the end we reached a stage where none of us could find a way to move forward.”
Alonso has been linked with possible moves to Renault and Williams.
Bumpy ride
The Spaniard joined McLaren this year after winning two consecutive drivers’ championships with Renault. He still had two years left on his contract with McLaren, but had clashed throughout the season with McLaern management and teammate Lewis Hamilton.
Alonso lost his title this year after coming third in the drivers’ championship, behind champion Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari and Hamilton.
He complained during the season that Hamilton received preferential treatment from McLaren and did not talk to Dennis for a period.
“I know there have been suggestions of favouritism within the team and people say a lot of things in the heat of battle, but in the end I was always provided with an equal opportunity to win,” Alonso said.
“Yes, we have had our ups and downs during the season, which has made it extra-challenging for all of us, and it is not a secret that I never really felt at home.”
Alonso was one of the drivers who’s name was involved in the spying scandal that dominated the second half of the season.
McLaren was fined a record $100 million by the World Motor Sport Council and were kicked out of the constructors’ championship on September 13 after being found guilty of using leaked data from Ferrari.
Authorities believed that Alonso had some knowledge of the facts.