SO WHO COULD REPLACE ALONSO?
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What Alonso chooses to do next is key to getting the driver market moving again in the teams behind the top three. If he stays on at Mclaren, it takes one seat out of the equation and narrows the options for Carlos Sainz, in whom Mclaren are interested. The Toro Rosso driver is under contract to Red Bull, who took up his option in June, but he’s also a contender at Renault and Williams. The same goes for Force India’s Sergio Pérez and Esteban Ocon, whose future at their current team is in doubt because they keep driving into each other on track.
The latest in a series of incidents came at Spa, when Pérez squeezed Ocon into the wall on the run to Eau Rouge twice in one race, the second incident resulting in a damaged front wing for Ocon, a puncture for Pérez and the conversion of a likely ten points into two. That prompted action from the team, keen to protect their fourth place in the standings. They have banned racing
in instances where one driver passing the other makes no difference to the team’s points score. Force India insist they want to keep both drivers: they’re keen to retain Pérez’s Mexican sponsorship, and the Mercedes discount that comes with Ocon. But Pérez has to be considered a possibility to replace Jolyon Palmer at Renault – the two parties have had talks, and signing him requires no cash layout, whereas Sainz would need to be bought out of his contract. And Mercedes are unlikely to make Ocon available unless they can retain an option on him.
Williams, meanwhile, are said to be growing jaded with Felipe Massa, so there is probably an opening there. Alonso is not believed to be a realistic replacement, not least because Lawrence Stroll, billionaire father of Lance and a key investor in the team, is unlikely to relish the prospect of his boy being blown away to such an extent.
Somewhere in this mix is Pascal Wehrlein, for whom a future seat at Mercedes is, according to Toto Wolff, dependent on his performances at Sauber. Wehrlein is not an option for Williams, who need a driver over 25 for sponsorship and marketing reasons, while Force India had already chosen Ocon over Wehrlein a year ago.