Canadian Grand Prix: A driver defined by success and unfulfilled promises, Fernando Alonso is now at a crossroads

Ahead of the Spaniard's 300th grand prix, The Independent takes a look back at the career of a driver who, despite his early title success, never quite lived up to his potential

Fernando Alonso’s mercurial character and decision-making, allied with the odd spells of poor reliability, have undermined what should have been a stellar career. (Getty)

Five years is a long time between drinks, especially when the tipple is victory champagne. Fernando Alonso will drive his 300th grand prix this weekend on Canada’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, and his recent victory at Spa-Francorchamps on his debut for Toyota’s world endurance championship team was a brutal reminder that his last big success in F1 was at the Spanish Grand Prix way back in 2013.

So slim have been the pickings for him since then that he was allowed by the McLaren team to race in the Indianapolis 500 last year. With a third world title to add to those he won with Renault in 2005 and 2006 looking slim, the now 36 year-old Spaniard had turned his ambition towards matching Graham Hill’s feat as the only man to win the Triple Crown: the Monaco Grand Prix, the Indianapolis 500 and the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Having come so close at Indy before mechanical problems intervened – ironically, given what was happening in F1, a Honda engine failure – Alonso next week turns his attention to Le Mans, where he set the fastest time last weekend in a post-Monaco test.

Ultimately, the Spaniard’s career will always be one of promise unfulfilled. You cannot win two titles the way he did, against Michael Schumacher, without it being regarded as a success. But like the great Jim Clark he should have won more.

Yet where the fragile mechanical reliability of his Lotus robbed the Scot - in the final races in both 1962 and 1964, and again in 1967 despite twice as many wins as rival Denny Hulme – Alonso’s mercurial character and decision-making, allied with the odd spells of poor reliability, have undermined what should have been a stellar career.

The way he let his rivalry with new team-mate Lewis Hamilton at McLaren, where the rookie edged him out in 2007 but both lost out to Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari at the 11th hour, arguably cost him a third title. And certainly the way he handled events there that year obliged him to leave and return for two tough years at Renault, as Hamilton went on to win his first crown in 2008. Alonso should have won a third crown with Ferrari when he moved there in 2010, but the team’s insistence on covering Mark Webber in the showdown race in Abu Dhabi, and taking their eyes off the Australian’s team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who snuck through to grab his first title with Red Bull, was a massive blow and the start of the German’s run of four titles.

Like the great Jim Clark, Fernando Alonso returned to the Monaco GP after missing last year's race (Getty)

Thereafter, Alonso’s story at Ferrari was one of dashed hopes and disappointment, and when Alonso is disappointed, a team knows it. Gradually, for myriad reasons, his relationship with the red team fractured and finally fell apart, promise unfulfilled. It’s still debated whether he jumped ship or was made to walk the plank at the end of 2014. But with Mercedes happy with Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, Red Bull not interested as they chose to pair Daniel Ricciardo with Daniil Kvyat – arguably as put off by Alonso’s tricky reputation as it was motivated by the desire to promote the drivers it had been grooming – his only option was to rejoin an already struggling McLaren team for 2015.

It caused a shock that he and Ron Dennis would ever consider working together again after 2007, but F1 is never-say-never-land and they needed each other. Each was the other’s only realistic option. But the fresh alliance brought nothing but pain in three years of struggle with Honda power, which ended in such acrimony last year.

Much was expected of the McLaren Renault partnership this season, but it has thus far failed to bring the predicted podium performance. Alonso has so far said positive things about progress, but it remains to be seen whether he signs again for 2019 or calls time on his F1 life. Once again, despite the fact that he is still widely regarded as Hamilton’s one genuine rival and has a hugely respectable 32 victories under his belt, his options are sorely limited. In many ways that is a ridiculous situation, given his abundant talent, a cruel waste, yet he has brought much of that upon himself. His critics argue that Fernando is out for Fernando, and is a poor team player unless things are going his way.

It's unclear whether Alonso will commit his future to McLaren for the 2019 season (Getty)

But was the Indianapolis deal done to keep the restless Spaniard at McLaren, who appear to pander to his every whim? Team boss Zak Brown argues not.

“Oh, you know, I think a lot of what we’ve done has kept him. That was never done with that intention and I never even thought he’d want to do it. I threw it out as kind of a joke, more like ‘I’d like to do it but I’d like to do it with you.’ So I didn’t know where he was going to come out on it at all. Maybe that helped us but I think it was more the mindset of our attitude of he’s a racer, we’re racers. So, I think that played a big part but it was never a ‘we’ll do this if you do that situation.’ I think it was more ‘I like this place, they let me do that, they let me do Indy...’ And as for the suggestion that it distracted him from driving, I think he’s never driven better.”

So will Alonso sign again for 2019? Does he still have the fire to keep pushing a team from mid-rank back to the front? He has said that he will not consider that until the summer, and he was happy with a recent big upgrade that McLaren made to their car in Spain, though it only put it where it should have been at the start of the year and more upgrades are still essential. But recent rumours in the paddock have suggested that McLaren protégé Lando Norris – already a winner in the Formula 2 series– could replace troubled Brendon Hartley at Toro Rosso in order to give the British rising star race mileage, just in case they need him to join Stoffel Vandoorne for 2019.

Alonso was unsuccessful in his bid to win last year's Indy 500 (Getty)

“The win in Spa [with Toyota] did not change anything for me,” Alonso says. “I think it’s two different series and two different worlds. But it shows that every time that I will have a car that is close to victory, I will go for it. I did some better races in the last five years, even if the last victory was five years ago, than previously, even if I was not able to win the race.”

Nobody would argue with that, and he showed in Mexico last year that he could still fight wheel-to-wheel with Hamilton. And his recent recovery to seventh place in Baku, after pitting with two punctures on the opening lap, was further demonstration that the fire still burns fiercely.

“It’s difficult to see from the outside but you are extremely proud and motivated every time you do such a one-off performance,” he says. “I keep my motivation because I am a competitive man. I love to race and I love to win.”

Yet when asked what would bring the greater emotion, winning his home race again or winning Le Mans, he said: “It’s difficult to comment. A couple of years ago I would say the Spanish Grand Prix. Winning a race in Formula 1 is obviously something that we dream for a long time, when you are a go-kart driver and you dream for Formula 1.

McLaren boss Zak Brown insists his team do not pander to the Spaniard's every whim (AP)

“Now that I have won a couple of times in Spain, obviously for me it would be winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans, because it’s the biggest race in the world. But I think everyone will have different answers in different parts of his career.”

When asked if that first sports-car success presaged a possible move fulltime to the category in 2019, he parried the question with his usual dexterity, nonetheless giving the impression that he won’t be leaving F1 any time soon.

“It doesn’t matter, I think, the results that we are achieving in one or other championships as I am attempting two World Championships at the same time. I am happy with the progress we did here at McLaren and with the direction that everything is going for the future. I am happy on the endurance attempt as well.”

His speed is unimpaired, and many believe that he would still be winning in the right car. But the clock is ticking. Brown acknowledges that McLaren won’t be challenging for the world championship in 2019. Probably not in 2020, either. So it remains to be seen how much more patience a man not renowned for that trait might be able to muster in the twilight of his F1 career. Or how much more attractive the chance of winning might be if McLaren’s much-vaunted return to IndyCar competition proves to be more than a pipedream.