McLaren Honda May Offer F1 Driver Sabbatical In 2016 If Team Performance Does Not Improve

Ron Dennis is open to Fernando Alonso taking a sabbatical in 2016 should McLaren-Honda appear uncompetitive in Formula 1 pre-season testing next year.

Alonso's return to McLaren this season has been a miserable one after opting to move on from Ferrari at the end of last year, with the double world champion making his feelings particularly plain after the Japanese Grand Prix.

At the end of a wretched race Alonso declared himself to be "embarrassed" and "frustrated" with the performance of the team, and when asked if he would be with them for next season, he replied: "I don't know."

PUGPROUD - 11/30/2015 3:49:44 PM

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Give me a break ! Did Jim Clark, Sterling Moss, Fangio, Mario Andretti, Phil Hill, Dan Gurney, Graham Hill, et al ever take a sabbatical or be asked to take one because equipment not at head of the pack. I don't think so. Man up and go racing.

Dr550 - 11/30/2015 4:35:29 PM

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Alonso should have known moving to McLaren was a big gamble. Even when McLaren had the Mercedes-Benz engine they were experiencing performance issues. The McLaren chassis is the main suspect and the Honda engine needs better reliability.

MorePower - 12/2/2015 2:03:56 AM

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While every car has room for improvement, the McLaren chassis was one of the top four chassis on the grid this year. These are not my words, but those of multiple analysts based on data gathered throughout the season.

Unfortunately, Honda just underestimated the engineering challenge and McLaren should have kept Magnussen.

MorePower - 12/2/2015 2:07:25 AM

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Fernando costs too much money, especially with the year McLaren had and the likely loss of sponsorship funds if Fernando does not suit up!

I could see Jensen missing a few F1 races to do ALMS or being groomed as some sort of mentor/team executive.