Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/507285
21 Sport maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 6 MAY 2015 FORMULA 1 FOOTBALL MOTOGP Alonso signs a three-year deal with McLaren Fernando Alonso has signed a binding three-year contract with McLaren, team boss Ron Dennis has revealed ACCORDING to Dennis, the deal, which is believed to be worth around £25m per year, doesn't con- tain any opt-out clauses that would enable the Spaniard to leave if a more attractive seat became avail- able. Alonso has been touted as a tar- get for Mercedes in the event of Lewis Hamilton, who has yet to sign a new contract with the Silver Arrows, leaving the world champi- ons. But with Alonso under lock and key at McLaren until the end of 2017, that possibility has been ruled out by Dennis. "He has a straight three-year contract with us, with no options," Dennis told the official F1 website. "It's as simple as that. That's what we wanted to offer him, and that's what he wanted to sign. I can't make it plainer than that, can I?" Alonso won the last of his two world titles almost a decade ago and rejoined McLaren over the winter after 'losing faith' with Ferrari fol- lowing five years of championship near-misses and mounting frustra- tion. However, McLaren's reunion with both Honda and Alonso has suffered an ignominious start with the Spaniard ruled out of the sea- son-opening Australian GP after an unexplained accident in testing at Barcelona and the struggling team, who are yet to score a point, way off the pace. But despite the stress and strain of injury and injured pride, there has been no sign of a fissure in the Alonso-McLaren relationship which ruptured so spectacularly seven years ago when the Span- iard's previous stint with the Wok- ing outfit ended in bitter acrimony, a £100m fine from the sport's gov- erning body for McLaren's role in the 'Spygate' affrair, and an instant divorce. "That's ancient history now," countered Dennis. "We've all moved on - and by 'we' I mean McLaren, Ferrari and indeed the FIA. And the Fernando we're working with today, now, is a fantastically moti- vated and inspirational man. He's as quick as ever, as competitive as ever, more experienced than ever, more expert than ever, and he com- bines those traits with an infectious energy and enthusiasm. "We'll win again, we'll dominate again, and we'll do that together, with Fernando front and central. It'll be a wonderful culmination to his glittering career." It has become an immutable law of 2015 that the lower McLaren- Honda fall, with the team only able to field one car in the Bahrain GP, the more steadfast their public cer- tainty that they will come good. Ac- cording to Dennis, it is 'guaranteed' that McLaren-Honda will deliver success, and the McLaren boss' unfaltering belief in his team's su- premacy has been extended to his driver line-up of Alonso and Jenson Button. "To put it simply: in Fernando and Jenson we have the best driver line-up in Formula One," declared Dennis. "They're both world champions. Moreover, between them they've started 507 Grands Prix and they've won 47 of them. In Kevin (Mag- nussen) we have the best reserve driver in Formula One - a man who finished second in his very first race, let's not forget. That is a feat achieved once in a blue moon. And in the wings we have Stoffel [Van- doorne], who's driving superbly in GP2, and Nyck [de Vries], who's making excellent progress in World Series by Renault 3.5. "Those five drivers represent a meticulously selected staircase of talent that's the envy of every For- mula One team, believe me! What's more, they're family, they belong, and they know they belong. Honda are with us for the long haul, too. We'll win together. We're well set." Ron Dennis and Fernando Alonso Surgery for Daniel Sturridge THE 25-year-old's season had effec- tively been ended once the decision was made to send him to America for further investigation into his ongoing injury issues which have seen him miss the majority of this season. However, after undergoing sur- gery in New York the England international will now begin a programme of recovery and reha- bilitation. "Just want to let the world know I've had a successful operation on my hip today and I want to thank God for allowing that to be pos- sible," Sturridge wrote on Insta- gram. "Onwards and upwards from here. Thanks for the support." He added on Twitter: "Today was a big day for me...Thank you Jesus. Hip operation was successful. Road to recovery starts today!!" It is the second time this season Sturridge, who has made just 12 starts and six substitute appear- ances, scoring only five goals, has travelled to the States in an attempt to solve his ongoing fitness issues. Towards the end of a five-month absence with a thigh problem sus- tained on international duty in ear- ly September, which was followed by a calf strain, he was dispatched across the Atlantic where he spent 10 days in Los Angeles as part of his rehabilitation. He then f lew back to the east coast to work with the medical staff at baseball side Boston Red Sox, the other major sporting ven- ture of Liverpool's owners Fenway Sports Group. After spending some time there he then travelled to the west coast to continue his rehabilitation in California, eventually returning to England where he made his come- back as a substitute in the 2-0 win at West Ham on January 31. However, injury problems re- turned - this time associated with his hip - and he has not featured for a month since playing 85 minutes of the FA Cup quarter-final replay at Blackburn. Last week manager Brendan Rodgers said they believed they had made a breakthrough in the diag- nosis of Sturridge's injuries - which the player has previously suggested may be hereditary - which was why they were sending him away. "I think we have found some un- derlying issues that maybe relate to Daniel's issues and problems this season and the ongoing problems he's had so the medical team here, liaising with some of the medics in America, are doing everything we possibly can to give Daniel every opportunity to stay consistently fit and available," he said on Friday. "It is just unfortunate for him. If you look at his career he's had lit- tle issues along the way but when we brought him here we knew we wanted to give him every chance to be one to the top goalscorers in Europe. "We have to do everything we can to get him on the training field and into the game, hence the reason for looking into the issue." Daniel Sturridge Rossi not thinking about points situation VALENTINO Rossi insists he is not yet thinking about the cham- pionship standings despite extend- ing his advantage over Andrea Dovizioso to 15 points at the Span- ish Grand Prix. Rossi maintained his 100% po- dium record in 2015 - the 200th of his career - after finishing be- hind team-mate Jorge Lorenzo and reigning champion Marc Márquez, while nearest rival Dovizioso man- aged only ninth after an off-track excursion. But despite his advantage, Rossi says his focus is on improving his Yamaha after struggling at Jerez. "It was a difficult weekend," con- ceded Rossi. ""[But] in the end it's a podium, so it's not so bad, but also in the race I wasn't strong enough to fight with Jorge and also with Marc. "Especially entering the corners I wasn't at 100%. I had one moment in the race where I was not doing so bad and I was close to Marc. "We hoped for another good fight until the end and I thought I could do it, because I got the gap down to one second, but had to give up." Rossi believes that Lorenzo's vic- tory at Jerez means that both Yama- ha riders will be in contention for this year's crown. "I have scored a lot of points and scored two victories and four podi- ums," he said. "This time I extend- ed my lead to Dovizioso, but it looks like Jorge also came back into the championship with this victory. "He is just 20 points behind, but the championship is still long. We don't have to think about the points yet, just of the bike, trying to be competitive every weekend." Valentino Rossi