Fernando Alonso to stay with Ferrari despite McLaren interest
September 20, 2013 -- Updated 1617 GMT (0017 HKT)
Ferrari's two-time world champion Fernando Alonso drove for McLaren during the 2007 season.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- McLaren want to resign former driver Fernando Alonso
- But the Spaniard has no intention of leaving current team Ferrari
- Ferrari announced the signing of Kimi Raikkonen last week
- Raikkonen won the world championship with Ferrari in 2007
(CNN) -- McLaren may want a reunion with Fernando Alonso, but the Spaniard has no intention of leaving Ferrari.
On a frantic Friday at the Singapore Grand Prix, McLaren chief Martin Whitmarsh announced he wanted to bring Alonso back to the team he drove for during the 2007 season.
When asked directly if he wanted to recruit Alonso, Whitmarsh responded: "Yes - any team would. He's the best driver."
"I don't know his contractual situation. I assume he's under contract."
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Ferrari will pit two world champions against each other in 2014 as Kimi Raikkonen (left) returns to join Fernando Alonso. The pairing could be one of the most sensational in the history of Formula One.
Raikkonen's high-flying F1 career began in 2001 with Sauber. Here the team treats him to a ride with the Royal Australian Air Force before his debut in the Australian Grand Prix.
Raikkonen (left) was one of many talented drivers making their F1 debut in 2001, along with future McLaren teammate Juan Pablo Montoya and Alonso (right).
Raikkonen celebrates his maiden grand prix win in Malaysia in 2003. He had moved to McLaren, where he would spend five years, twice finishing as runner-up in the drivers' championship.
After joining Ferrari, Raikkonen won a dramatic Brazilian Grand Prix to seize the 2007 title by a single point from his McLaren rivals Lewis Hamilton and Alonso.
Raikkonen celebrated his title with Ferrari but two years later the Italian team chose to stick with Felipe Massa as it juggled its lineup. The team ended the Finn's contract in order to bring in Alonso, a double world champion with Renault, for 2010.
Raikkonen quit F1 in 2009 after losing his Ferrari seat, and spent two years tinkering with a different breed of cars in the World Rally Championship.
After a two-year hiatus, Raikkonen returned to F1 with the rebranded Lotus team, formerly Renault. As well as winning two races, the 33-year-old has won new fans with his laidback style.
Following Raikkonen's decision to leave Lotus in 2013, the team revealed it had chosen to spend its money on developing the car rather than paying the Finn's wages.
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But any hopes McLaren had of luring Alonso back were quickly quashed, with the two-time world champion declaring he saw his long-term future with Ferrari.
"I keep repeating every weekend -- and I don't know why I have to keep repeating -- I love Ferrari and I will stay in Ferrari until the end," the 32-year-old told Sky Sports News.
"It is nice to have the comments from the other team principals every year saying they respect my job and my professionalism -- especially McLaren as there were so many rumors that we had a lot of problems that year.
"But I always say that I had no problems with anyone, it was just the philosophy of the team or rather one man in the team that is no longer there.
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"It is good to have these comments, but I have no intention (to leave). I have three more years with Ferrari and I hope many more to come if we can extend the contract and that will be my hope."
Two-time world champion Alonso has been with Ferrari since 2010, but his position as the team's undisputed No. 1 driver has been called into question following the announcement Finn Kimi Raikkonen will race for the Italian manufacturer in 2014.
Alonso was also given a dressing down by Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo for appearing to criticize the team's car earlier in the season.
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Alonso's solitary season with McLaren was a turbulent one, with in-fighting damaging team unity as both the Spaniard and rookie driver Lewis Hamilton challenged for the world championship.
The 2007 title instead went to Raikkonen, who was racing for Ferrari, by one point.
Raikkonen's return to Ferrari on a two-year deal was confirmed last week, with the current Lotus driver replacing outgoing Brazilian Felipe Massa.
Alonso is desperate to win a world title with F1's most successful team, but has been thwarted by Red Bull's triple world champion Sebastian Vettel and a car which has at times been uncompetitive.
Alonso sits second in the drivers' standings, 53 points behind current leader Vettel after 12 races of the 2014 season.
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