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Fernando Alonso to retire from F1 at end of season

Double world champion Fernando Alonso will retire from Formula One at the end of the season, his team McLaren said in a statement on Tuesday. The 37-year-old Spaniard is competing in his 17th Formula One season and his fifth with McLaren, and has been widely expected to race in the Indianapolis 500 next year as he attempts to win the Triple Crown of motorsport. Alonso, a double Monaco Grand Prix winner, won the Le Mans 24 Hours on his debut with Toyota in June this year and is ninth in the Formula One drivers' championship standings. "After 17 wonderful years in this amazing sport, it's time for me to make a change and move on," Alonso said. "There are still several grands prix to go this season, and I will take part in them with more commitment and passion than ever." McLaren worked with Andretti Autosport to field a car for Alonso for the 2017 Indy 500 where the Spaniard put himself in contention, leading for 27 laps before suffering an engine failure with 21 laps remaining. McLaren has been exploring the possibility of working again with Andretti to field an IndyCar team to run the entire series next year or might consider putting together their own team. Ryan Hunter-Reay, winner of the 2014 Indy 500 and a team mate of Alonso's with Andretti for the one race, said the Spaniard would be welcomed back and would be a great addition to the series. "It would be appealing to me if I were him," said Hunter-Reay during a conference call ahead of this weekend's IndyCar race at Pocono. "I spent time with him as his teammate and know he's as hungry as ever to win. "We worked very well together and would welcome him, no doubt, but I have no idea where this whole thing is going right now. "I don't know where McLaren stands with it ... a lot of speculation at the moment, but I think he would be a great addition to IndyCar and have a lot of fun here." Alonso thanked Formula One Chief Executive Chase Carey and the sport's owner, Liberty Media, for trying to get him to change his mind and leaving the door open on a possible return to the circuit. "I know (McLaren) will come back stronger and better in the future, and it could be the right moment for me to be back in the series; that would make me really happy," he added. "I made this decision some months ago, and it was a firm one.

McLaren 650S GT3 stalks its prey in the woods

We're plenty excited about the new McLaren 650S GT3. While we've poured over images of the new racer, we've yet to see it in motion, which makes the arrival of this new video pretty fortuitous. By clicking 'play' above, you'll see the 650S streaking through the forest, showing off its many good angles along with an ear-pleasing exhaust note that should fit in nicely on the racing grid. Of course, what grid that will be is open for discussion. Rumors continue circulating that the replacement for the MP4-12C GT3 will herald McLaren's long-awaited return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans and other top-flight endurance series, provided it's converted to the GTE class standard. While that's yet to be confirmed, as of right now, it's a virtual certainty that this new model will take up the series currently contested by the GT3 class, including the Blancpain Endurance Series and Pirelli World Challenge. Take a look at the video and let us know what you think in Comments. Related Gallery McLaren 650S GT3 View 16 Photos News Source: McLaren Automotive via YouTube Motorsports McLaren Coupe Racing Vehicles Videos motorsport mclaren 650s mclaren 650s gt3

Fernando Alonso home from hospital, will miss next test

Following his big crash at Catalunya on Sunday, we're glad to report that Fernando Alonso is apparently on the road to recovery. According to the latest update from McLaren, the Spanish driver is heading home "for further rest and recuperation." It won't be straight back to business for the two-time world champion, though. The team has also announced that its star driver won't be participating in the next test session, set to kick off tomorrow at the same track where Fernando crashed. Instead his wingman and fellow champ Jenson Button will proceed without him, joined instead by test/reserve driver Kevin Magnussen. The young Danish driver was promoted straight to the race seat for last season in similar style to Lewis Hamilton, who had similarly leapfrogged the usual order of things: instead of starting as a test driver or driving for a lower team, both Hamilton and Magnussen were put directly in the hot seat at McLaren. After winning the pivotal Formula Renault 3.5 series the previous season, Magnussen showed early promise when he scored a second-place finish on his race debut at the 2014 Australian Grand Prix, but proved unable to repeat the success and was relegated to test driver at the end of the season to make room for Alonso. News Source: McLaren Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Motorsports McLaren F1 kevin magnussen