Fernando Alonso returns to the world of F1 racing in 2021 with Renault. As a legend of the sport, with two world titles to his name, many would think that someone of his stature would have a big say in what the team does. However, McLaren CEO Zak Brown rubbishes those claims.

The Spaniard raced for McLaren from 2015 to 2018, and although his results are nothing to write home about, he shared a good relationship with the team and Brown.

Speaking about the speculation regarding Alonso being a manipulator in the team, Brown said, “People are under the impression that Fernando was calling the shots at McLaren. That was just so far from the truth.

“You have a 2-times world champion and you value his input. But he never once said, give me this, do this, do that. He was just driving our race car.  It is a shame but there are a lot of wrong ideas about that.”

Alonso joined McLaren following a 5-year spell at Ferrari. In a period where McLaren were in a severe decline, the Spaniard often put up rather solid performances.

Barring his debut season with the team, Alonso outperformed his teammates by quite a margin, especially in 2016 and 2018. Although he left F1 in 2018, Alonso still raced for McLaren at the Indy500, chasing his dream to win the ‘triple crown’ in Motorsport.

McLaren CEO recalls funny incident between Fernando Alonso and Lando Norris

Brown said, “There was a funny incident in Monza. (It) was the first time Lando was up against Fernando in free practice 1. They were trading times, he (Lando) was quick. Then on the last run, it was funny, Lando looked like he was going to put in a slightly quicker time.

“(But) Fernando says he didn’t see him and messed up his lap on the third sector and we all kind of laughed on the pit wall. It wasn’t anything nasty, it was, ‘Welcome to the big boy club.‘ He’s not going to have the new boy come in and not teach him a few lessons.”

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Credit to Lando, who seems to have learned a lot from those ‘lessons’. Coming into a team as an 18-year-old, replacing one of the legends of the sport, wouldn’t be an easy task. But Norris has done an amazing job thus far.

Still only 20 years of age, big things are expected from the young Briton. The prospect of him battling Alonso in the Renault next year would be a treat to watch.