Alonso tips Sainz for future McLaren drive

Fernando Alonso has suggested that compatriot Carlos Sainz should join McLaren someday if the opportunity ever arose. Sainz has been already linked to the seat, with the team itself confirming that the Spaniard is an option for 2018.

By the end of this season, Sainz will have spent three years at Toro Rosso, Red Bull's junior team. With the senior team looking to keep Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen for the long term, Sainz may look for a move away and Alonso, who's own future is in doubt, has tipped him for a McLaren seat one day.

"Yes. Toro Rosso is a nice team to start, they help you through your career but McLaren is another level,” Alonso told Sky Sports F1. "Right now, we are not competitive, but McLaren will always be McLaren, at some point they will be on the podium, in the top five, they will always be there.

"After three difficult years, good times will come, I don’t know how good or if McLaren will win the champions in five or ten years, but you have a bigger opportunity than at Toro Rosso.  So if Carlos has the opportunity, I will always support that."

The difficult times that Alonso speaks of is, of course, the struggles that the team is having with engine suppliers Honda. The Japanese manufacturer has massively struggled since their Formula 1 revival in 2015. Its future with McLaren is in serious question, with the team sitting at the bottom of the standings with no points.

Fergal Walsh