Double Formula 1 World Champion, Fernando Alonso, has stated that he is hopeful that he has helped his beloved McLaren F1 Team on his return to the sport at the In-season post-Bahrain Grand Prix tests.
The Spaniard, who called time on his illustrious career – one in which he amassed two world titles and 32 victories – following last November’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix; returned to the fray for McLaren, sampling their MCL34 for the first time.
Alonso has remained in contact with the Woking-based squad through the role of an advisor. This also left Alonso able to sample Pirelli‘s 2020 tyre compounds as part of the Italian manufacture’s in-season testing programme in Sakhir. Alonso shared the car with McLaren’s current incumbent, Carlos Sainz.
The 37-year old was hopeful his input was beneficial to the McLaren team and also Pirelli.
Alonso stated, “It was positive being back in the car over the past two days. Hopefully, I’ve been able to help the team and Pirelli with its tyre development, managing almost 70 laps each day.”
Alonso also praised the incomparable feeling of driving a Formula 1 car, stating, “It’s always nice to be active in a Formula 1 car and experience the evolution of the car and tyres. So everything has been positive and I’m happy.”
The Spaniard now looks onto the Indianapolis 500 in May as he looks to follow in the footsteps of fellow double world champion, Graham Hill and complete motorsports coveted triple crown. While also dovetailing this with his attempts to win the World Endurance Championship with Toyota at the first time of asking.
