Alonso: Sad to see F1 so predictable

Fernando Alonso says his early success with Toyota in the World Endurance Championship with have no bearing on his Formula 1 focus but has criticised the sport for being too predictable in recent seasons.

The two-time F1 world champion won on his WEC debut with Toyota at the 2018-19 season opener, 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, as he targets victory at next month’s Le Mans 24 Hours to lockdown the second part of the ‘Triple Crown’ of motorsport.

While securing his first professional race win in almost five years last weekend, Alonso has dismissed the idea it will detract from his future F1 commitments even if McLaren continues to struggle to fight for podiums and wins after its tricky start to 2018.

“It doesn’t matter what results we are achieving in both championships,” Alonso said. “I’m competing in two championships at the same time.

“I’m happy with the progress McLaren is doing and the direction things are going for the future. I’m happy here and I am happy in endurance attempt too.”

Alonso has highlighted his concerns about the “very demanding” F1 race calendar, which could be set to expand in 2019 with a mooted race in Miami, while the Spanish driver fears the sport has become too predictable when comparing it to other motorsport disciplines.

“The F1 calendar is very demanding and the biggest thing here is how predictable everything is,” he said. “We can put on paper what qualifying will be on Saturday [for the Spanish GP], in Monaco, in Canada or in Silverstone. That’s the biggest thing and for future seasons it’s sad things are so predictable in F1.”