Fernando Alonso sends classy message to former boss Zak Brown as McLaren set to win F1 title

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McLaren have had a hand on the constructors’ title for the majority of the 2025 F1 season, and as they look to wrap it up at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix this weekend, Fernando Alonso has sent a message to his former boss.

The Woking-based racing outfit can clinch their 10th constructors’ championship on Sunday if Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri manage to outscore Ferrari by nine points, and prevent Mercedes and Red Bull from outscoring them by 12 and 33 points, respectively.

The feat will mark McLaren’s first consecutive constructors’ titles since 1991. If they fail to get the job done in Baku, they still have seven more rounds to secure the championship in a testament to how utterly dominant the team have been this season.

Zak Brown tried to play down McLaren’s dominance recently, but the standings don’t lie. The papaya-adorned team hold a whopping 337-point lead over the Prancing Horse in second place, more than the total of Ferrari’s 2025 points.

READ MORE: Lando Norris left Fernando Alonso ‘speechless’ at the Hungaroring before his F1 debut

Fernando Alonso gives credit to Andrea Stella and Zak Brown for what they’ve ‘created’ at McLaren

Fernando Alonso spent a total of six years within the McLaren ranks over two separate stints, utilising the wider scope of the team to compete in the Indianapolis 500 in his attempt to secure the elusive Triple Crown of motorsport.

The Spaniard ended up moving on from Woking at the end of 2019, opting for a reserve gig at Renault for 2020 as he returned to the grid full-time in the following year.

In comments to BBC Sport in Baku ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Alonso applauded the bosses at McLaren for what they’ve managed to create at the team.

“The credit has to go to Andrea [Stella] and Zak [Brown]; they created a winning structure and car, but they were also able to manage the driver for the benefit of the team,” the two-time world champion said.

“It is less exciting to watch and for the media because there is no controversy in some of the wins – not yet. But instead of thinking that way, we should think about how good Andrea and Zak are managing everything.”

Infamous for his questionable career moves, Alonso missed out on McLaren’s reemergence as a title contender by a number of years. Nico Rosberg believes it to be why Alonso can’t be considered as one of F1’s greatest drivers, a sentiment that is echoed by Bernie Ecclestone.

READ MORE: What Fernando Alonso did in 2007 that ‘damaged’ his F1 reputation for the rest of his career

Fernando Alonso’s comments about McLaren in 2015 may hinder him in 2026 with Aston Martin

Alonso’s second stint with the British constructor came at a time when the team were severely on the back foot to their F1 rivals.

Reuniting with the team for the 2015 season, McLaren and Alonso experienced one of their worst seasons ever as they finished ninth in the constructors’ championship with just 27 points.

The root of the issues came from the poor performance of the Honda power unit that the team had switched to for the 2015 season after previously enjoying a partnership with Mercedes for a number of years.

Alonso likened Honda’s engine to a ‘GP2 engine’ at the manufacturer’s home race in Japan, something that has reportedly stuck with engineers at Honda since.

With Honda returning to F1 to supply engines to Aston Martin in 2026, Ralf Schumacher believes Honda still holds a grudge over Alonso for his comments, which could serve to be problematic for the Spaniard’s relationship with them in the upcoming season.