Mark Webber doesn't expect Fernando Alonso to return to Formula 1 next season.
After retiring at the end of 2018, the double world champion has been named as a candidate to join Renault in 2021, taking the seat of McLaren-bound Daniel Ricciardo.
The former Red Bull driver though, who is a friend of the Spaniard, admits he would be surprised if Alonso came back and also doubted if he would be as good as before.
“We know Fernando is extraordinary. He’s had an insane career, but he’s not at his peak anymore, it’ll be harder for him to do what he did in the past," Webber told the F1 Nation podcast.
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With Alonso also still keen to try new disciplines, having added the Dakar Rally to his schedule at the start of this year, Webber also wonders if the 38-year-old would want to commit solely to the Renault project.
“What is his focus? Every week we see something else popping up. Where’s the focus on all of this," he questioned.
"Is he going to be loyal to a new regime, signing a two-or-three year contract in Formula 1, is it just for one year? Or you’re four months in and the team is looking for someone else, so what’s the point?"
But perhaps the main reason why Webber thinks Fernando will stay away from Renault is an inability to fight at the front, where he wants to be.
“At 9/10 he is still good for someone to have, but Alonso’s a serial winner and mid-pack, that’s what he left Formula 1 for," the Aussie added.
“He was determined to say, ‘If I can’t compete for podiums, then I don’t want to be in Formula 1’. That was the last message we had off him.
“I don’t see an opportunity for podiums for him in terms of a team that can do that for him. We know that he is a racer, he is missing it a lot.”
