Inside Line: Why WEC if Alonso wants close racing?

It's a one-sided contest in this year's WEC with Alonso's Toyota team the only works effort in the top-tier of the endurance series which thus makes it a two-car race for top honours.

Ahead of Round 3 of the WEC SuperSeason, the 6-Hours of Silverstone, Alonso along with his car #8 co-drivers Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima have won the first two rounds of the championship, including last time out a famous victory for the Spaniard and his crew at the Le Mans 24 Hours - on both occasions only their teammates in the #8 car anywhere close to the pace.

Thus the double world champion's disparaging remarks about Formula 1 are tough to swallow. Alonso's fame and fortune is owed entirely to his years at the pinnacle of the sport. Apart from the successes, he will walk away a very, very wealthy man.

Furthermore, he has 97 grand prix podiums on his CV of which 32 were wins. He gave to Formula 1 and took from Formula 1.

Now that his time is over, Alonso appears intent on some nasty snaps from the hand that fed him so handsomely for all these years.

Would Fernando be saying the same thing if he was at Ferrari or Mercedes competing for wins and titles?

Or better still, would he complain if McLaren were still a race winning force giving the current Big Three a run for their money?

Would he moan if he was a victory contender every grand prix weekend? Would he even quit under those circumstances?

Alonso has split opinions among Formula 1 fraternity throughout his career:

Will he unite true Formula 1 fans in disdain for his recent spate of trash-talking? Probably not, but the facts are he could leave with dignity instead of leaving a snail trail of crap.

This first salvo from the safety of the WEC paddock, at Silverstone, is to stab Formula 1 in the back which he will be accountable for, but be on the watch out as the man from Oviedo launches a final charm offensive, as he monsters his own final image at the expense of Formula 1.

On the surface, he will make it look all hunky-dory when deep down he is actually leaving the circus with a broken heart, kicking and screaming.

Instead of the torment, the Spaniard could take a leaf out of Jenson Button's more dignified departure from Formula 1 only tarnished for by an ill-advised one-time return for the Monaco Grand Prix last year - ironically in place of Indy 500 committed Alonso.

Jenson Button is also in the throes of the WEC campaign where Alonso is dominating.

The big difference is that the 2009 F1 world champion is with SMP Racing a private team contesting against the Toyota factory-backed effort in LMP1, the difference is about two or three seconds per lap between the works team and the non-factory teams.

Do the maths and see what that means over six hours or 24-hours!

Button was Alonso's teammate at McLaren, for two years, where despite their combined experience and pedigree were unable to reverse the freefall in fortunes of the once great Woking outfit.

Amid the trials, tribulations and huge disappointments, the pair had a good relationship. But Button was the first to flinch and decide to terminate his F1 career at the end of 2016 rather than suffer another year of hardship and misery with McLaren.

"It's always down to the individual when they choose to leave Formula 1," reasoned Button. “[Alonso] has done the same thing as what I chose to do: leave but leave it open, for one year after, to go back."

"I think that's the right option to do. And if the McLaren's quick and it's winning races, he'll be back to Formula 1, definitely."

Button's own experience after he left, was to return for a one-off race at the abovementioned Monaco Grand Prix.

It was a forgettable return for the Englishman on the streets of Monte Carlo where he won in 2009, but almost a decade later he never found the sweet spot and crashed out late in the race, vowing therefater never to return to race a grand prix.

Button mused, “Every driver in the world would love to be in a winning car in Formula 1. You retire, I think, because you get bored of the travel and the stress of it, and if your results aren't there, there's no reason to be there."

"If the car is quick, I'm sure he'd want to jump back in in 2020," explained Button

It's offensive and crass behaviour from the self-serving and sanctimonious Alonso to knife Formula 1. Someone needs to sit him down - Mark Webber springs to mind - and tell him, "Fernando, time is up mate."

"You have had a magnificent career, your name are etched up there with the F1 greats despite the shit career decisions you made, worst of which was ditching Ferrari for McLaren at the end of 2014. It was a huge and absurd gamble that did not pay off."

"You should have walked when Jenson departed, or even earlier. Go quietly before you destroy your legacy it even more, in other words: don't sh!t on your doorstep before you leave," would end the much-needed advice.