Fernando Alonso may never realize his dream of adding a third title to his championship wins in 2005 and 2006 when he drove for Renault.
Former F1 driver Allan McNish says the 33-year-old cannot afford to wait for McLaren-Honda to get their act together and deliver the Spaniard a car capable of winning titles.
McNish believes that could be an eventual cause of tension between Alonso and McLaren which could potentially see them falling out.
“As a driver, when you are in a car that isn’t performing as you would like when you know you have the capability to win as a driver, it just frustrates you and it can be very difficult if the problem persists to keep the focus and stay positive, McNish wrote in his BBC column.
“It starts to sap the motivation and we have seen that with quite a few drivers, where they struggle to push to the limit in absolutely everything. If you don’t believe that everything around you is able to perform to the same level as you then it can be tough.”
However, the Scottish racer feels Alonso is probably the best person to deal with such a scenario but is skeptical about his chances of securing a third title.
“If there is a character who can cope with that then it is Alonso, but time is marching on and it is a long time ago since his title wins at Renault in 2005 and 2006,” he added.
“He is 33 and it is not as if he can afford to wait two or three years for a program to get up to speed, and that is where his internal pressure lies and could be his downfall.”