Timeline: Mclaren's fall from grace in F1

5. Alonso's Departure

Fernando Alonso

Perhaps the final nail in the coffin to add to the misery was the departure of Fernando Alonso. After enduring and enduring for these many long years Alonso's Patience itself finally gave way and he has decided to take a sabbatical from the sport. If one really needs to understand how important Fernando was then all they have to do is look at the standings. Mclaren has accumulated 62 points this season out of which Alonso has accrued 50. The fact that there's no big name willing to sign up for McLaren when Alonso announced his departure is a clear indication of the rut Mclaren is in right now. Mclaren will field a line up of Lando Norris a highly rated albeit an inexperienced rookie and Carlos Sainz, a driver who was deemed not fit enough for the seats at Red Bull and Renault. For a year or two at least it does seem Mclaren won't be making the jump to the front. Let's hope they're not another Williams in the making.