McLaren has confirmed Sergey Sirotkin, not Fernando Alonso, would have replaced Lando Norris if needed at the Belgian GP.
Just a week before the race at Spa, the Briton revealed on Twitch he was wearing a protective boot as a precaution for a foot injury he sustained while running during the summer break.
Though it was never expected to jeopardise his participation last weekend, that didn’t stop team boss Andreas Seidl from being asked the obvious question of if Alonso could have made a one-off return.
“With Lando being clear that he felt fine to race, the back-up would have been Sergey,” he stated.
“It’s a different situation if we know early enough, to look for alternatives, but it’s something we discuss when it comes to that situation.
“Our reserve driver is Sergey, so we have the seat ready and everything, and we have prepared him in the simulator.”
Earlier this year, Alonso did drive the 2019 McLaren in Bahrain but later changed his plans, ruling out any more F1 testing with his eyes seemingly set on Dakar.
“I don’t know exactly how the contract is exactly but he is still a part of McLaren,” Seidl reassured.
“[CEO] Zak [Brown] is still having a lot of exchanges with him and other programmes I’m sure. If we would have an issue like that, there would be a discussion happening.”
The McLaren boss also announced Alonso will be at Monza this weekend in his role as an ambassador.