14/10/2017
NEWS STORY
While many are of the opinion that Fernando Alonso remaining with McLaren next season is a foregone conclusion, Brendon Hartley's late F1 race debut (with a Red Bull team no less), much like the increasing odds of seeing Robert Kubica is the second Williams, confirm that one should never take anything for granted in F1.
Indeed, interacting with fans via Instagram, the Spaniard has admitted that motorsport's Triple Crown - winning Le Mans, The Indy 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix - remains his goal, Britain's Graham Hill being the only driver to have ever achieved this.
Asked about his plans for 2018, now that McLaren has split with Honda and agreed a deal with Renault, the Spaniard admitted: "I‘m still thinking, still deciding.
"I could have a decision already made," he added, "but there's still some details that we need to figure out.
"My aim is to be the best driver in the world, the most complete driver in the world and for that, you need to win in different series in different cars at different times," he continued. "The Triple Crown is still a very big priority for me, so I‘m working on that.
"I think it's going to be a very exciting 2018 season for motorsport fans," he added, clearly not singling out F1.
As was the case this year, next year's Indy 500 clashes with the Monaco Grand Prix, a fact that hasn't gone unnoticed by the Spaniard. However, when asked if he might consider a full switch to IndyCar he was adamant.
"I think the full championship is something not in the short term that I‘m thinking," he said. "The Indianapolis 500 is something very attractive that I will do in the future. I don't know when that future will be but I would like to have another try there."
Next year's running of the Le Mans 24 Hours is on a non-F1 weekend, and with Honda out of the picture, Alonso could well consider hitching a ride with Toyota which is understood to have expressed an interest.
In respect of his Indianapolis adventure earlier in the year, next weekend's United States Grand Prix will see Alonso sport a helmet livery that reflects that worn in the Indy 500.