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.
Fernando Alonso Photo: Lapresse Digitale
The 37-year-old Spaniard is competing in his 17th Formula One season and his fifth with McLaren, and has been widely tipped 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.
Fellow Spaniard Carlos Sainz, who will lose his place on the Renault team to Daniel Ricciardo next season, is a strong contender to replace Alonso along with McLaren reserve driver Lando Norris.
Alonso started his Formula One career with the now-defunct Minardi team in 2001 and moved to Renault two years later. He became the youngest world champion in Formula One history with Renault in 2005, winning again the following year.
His storied career has included 32 wins, 22 pole positions and 97 podiums so far, although he has not won a race since wining the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix with Ferrari. He has not finished on the podium since rejoining McLaren in 2015.
"There is a time for everyone to make a change and Fernando has decided the end of this season to be his," McLaren chief executive Zak Brown said.
"We respect his decision, even if we believe he is in the finest form of his career."
-Reuters
