Alonso will only stay at McLaren if he is "winning before September"

Fernando Alonso says that he will decide on his future by September, and has vowed that he will leave McLaren if they do not produce a winning car this season. Alonso has always been a loud critic of the McLaren-Honda package and has shot his most threatening warning yet to the Woking-based team.

"We have to win," the Spaniard told media. "If we are winning before September or something like that, [when] I will make a decision, then I will stay."

"You cannot be 100 per cent now in June about one decision for next year that you don't even start to consider. What we all want is to win, and I think relating to the answer before, Zak's comments about Honda, is probably what you expect Zak to say.

"He wants to win and he wants to put McLaren [in] position for the championship. After three years we are not in that position, so things have to change, for the team. It's the same with me, I want to win.

He continued: "I joined this project because I wanted to be champion, and we are not in that position, so if you don't see things changing, if you are not in a competitive position, maybe you change project. That's the only thing I can say now. Until I sit down in September, October or whatever, after the summer, as I've always said, I cannot say 100 per cent about anything now."

Fergal Walsh