Briatore: Alonso’s McLaren future uncertain

Jenson Button's future at McLaren is the topic of much discussion, but his team-mate, Fernando Alonso, might not remain with team for too long either.

Button looks set to retire from Formula 1 at the end of this season, despite McLaren indicating that they would like the Briton to remain with the team. While Alonso appears to have no desire to call it a day just yet, the Spaniard's spell at McLaren is shroud in some uncertainty.

Former Renault team boss Flavio Briatore has claimed that he was the one who encouraged Alonso to leave Ferrari and join McLaren ahead of the 2015 campaign, and has warned that if the unmitigated disaster that is the current campaign is repeated, Alonso is unlikely to stay with the Woking-based team.

"I encouraged him to leave and go to McLaren," Briatore Spain's El Mundo newspaper. "He could not stay there. They were blaming him for everything.

"He had to leave, especially after Marco Mattiacci arrived. Without him, he might have stayed."

Briatore added of McLaren: "No one imagined it would be this disaster, but I know the people from Honda well and although they do things their way, they know engines.

"In 2016 they will be fighting for podiums."

However, if McLaren aren't able to become competitive at the front end of the field, Alonso is likely to look for a drive elsewhere, even if it is outside of F1.

"If he cannot get a winning car in Formula One, he will find it somewhere else," Briatore asserted.