Alonso braced for toughest leg of 2018 racing schedule

Fernando Alonso is expecting his upcoming run of races in Formula 1 and the FIA World Endurance Championship to form the most difficult part of his 2018 racing schedule.

This weekend’s Russian Grand Prix will mark the first of eight races in nine weeks for Alonso, who balances his McLaren F1 commitments with a full-season WEC drive for Toyota.

Following the F1 back-to-back in Russia and Japan, Alonso will head to Fuji for the six-hour WEC race. This is followed by another F1 double-header in the USA and Mexico, after which he has an off week.

Alonso will resume racing duties in Brazil for the penultimate grand prix of the season before then returning to WEC in China. He will then make what looks set to be his final F1 appearance in Abu Dhabi at the end of November.

The Spaniard had motorsport commitments across F1 and WEC in nine of 10 weeks between the start of May and middle of July earlier this year, highlighted by a debut victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Despite having one event fewer to contend with this time around, Alonso expects the greater amount of travel to make it a tougher challenge as he crisscrosses the globe.

“I think this is going to be a little bit more difficult, just because the races are not that close,” Alonso said when asked by about his upcoming schedule.

“When I did eight consecutive weekends, they were Silverstone, Paul Ricard, Austria, Le Mans… so they were all in the same place in Europe.

“Now in Japan, Austin, Brazil, China, Abu Dhabi, I think it’s going to be a little bit more demanding.

“It’s going to be tough, but I’m hopefully prepared, and I’ll try to do my best.”

Fernando Alonso’s remaining races in 2018

September 30 – F1 Russian GP
October 7 – F1 Japanese GP
October 14 – WEC 6 Hours of Fuji
October 21 – F1 United States GP
October 28 – F1 Mexican GP
November 11 – F1 Brazilian GP
November 18 – WEC 6 Hours of Shanghai
November 25 – F1 Abu Dhabi GP