Home » Formula 1 » Lewis Hamilton leaving could open door for this former F1 star to return claims Nate Saunders

ESPN F1 journalist Nate Saunders was speaking on the possibility of Fernando Alonso returning but he wasn’t convinced the Spaniard would be back soon

Fernando Alonso hasn’t driven in F1 for over a year and it is unlikely he will be back, according to ESPN’s Nate Saunders.

The F1 journalist was sharing his views with the other ESPN F1 members and would be happy to see Alonso return to the paddock.

However, the Spaniard has been one of the most unluckiest drivers in recent years. His moves to Ferrari and McLaren failed to see him win any more titles after his two with Renault.

Lewis Hamilton hairstyle
Lewis Hamilton with his old hairstyle from the 2019 season (Getty)

Saunders also shared his views on the possibility of him joining an F1 team and ruled out Ferrari or Red Bull becoming his new employers:

“If he did come back, Red Bull were probably off the table anyway, I don’t think Ferrari will go near him, they’ve invested in the future with Leclerc.”

However, Saunders did keep a door open with a move to Mercedes but that would require Lewis Hamilton to leave.

The Englishman is out of a contract at the end of this season and Saunders also rejected the idea of Hamilton teaming up with Alonso, again:

“I’m sure he would love Toto Wolff to call him tomorrow and ask ‘Hey Fernando, what are your plans next year?’

“But Toto Wolff’s quite a pragmatic and unless Lewis did leave, that might be an option.

“Toto Wolff is never going to put Fernando Alonso in the same team as Lewis Hamilton.”

Hamilton and Alonso didn’t have a great time early on

Ron Dennis seemed to have pulled off a coup when he signed Hamilton and Alonso for McLaren in 2007.

The pair battled throughout the campaign, however, and there was a lot of bad blood between them.

Fernando Alonso Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton (L) and Fernando Alonso were teammates at McLaren in 2007 (Getty)

Both came into the final race of the season with a great chance of landing the title, however, they made a huge error in the end and Kimi Raikkonen won the championship on the last race of the campaign.

Alonso was sent back to Renault for a couple of years before joining Ferrari. His time with the Scuderia didn’t go all too well as he failed to land a title in four years.

He was back at McLaren during the Honda era, but that didn’t go too well for him either.

More Formula One news

Follow our dedicated Formula One page for instant Formula One news and updates