David Coulthard believes Fernando Alonso could take a sabbatical from Formula One next season.
Veteran Scot says two-time world champion might consider sabbatical
David Coulthard believes that Fernando Alonso could take a year out of Formula One in 2008 if he is unable to land a suitable seat.
The two-time world champion parted ways with McLaren-Mercedes last month after a fraught season alongside Lewis Hamilton - Alonso still having two years left on his contract.
Renault - with whom Alonso won world titles in 2005 and 2006 - remain favourites to land the Spaniard, but any move could depend on the outcome of Thursday's FIA hearing into allegations of 'spying' levelled at the team.
The Regie have been charged with holding confidential McLaren data - much the same offence for which the latter were fined $100 million and stripped of their Constructors' Championship points in September.
Return
If Renault avoid such punishment then there is every chance Alonso might return. However, he has also been linked with other teams - with speculation focusing on Coulthard's Red Bull seat.
But the veteran Scot has insisted that he will see out his Red Bull deal before suggesting that Alonso could take a sabbatical of the type Alain Prost took in 1992 - the French ace returning the following season to take the last of his four world titles for Williams.
"He could take a year out," remarked Coulthard, speaking on Monday at the promotion of the Race of Champions event at Wembley on December 16.
"I don't think it would be a problem for him to do that. Prost was the last guy to do that (in 1992), and he came back and won the world championship.
"If you can get yourself in one of the best two cars then you've a great chance of winning a world championship.
"But we saw this season, to even be in that situation, just how difficult it is to win a title.
"Even when you have one of the best cars, there are so many things that need to go your way, and you need to make good decisions all the way through."
Nevertheless, Coulthard, who drove for McLaren between 1996 and 2004, said he was surprised by Alonso's decision to leave the Woking outfit with no other leading seats free - even given the deterioration of his relationships with Hamilton and senior team personnel.
"He doesn't have the option of McLaren or Ferrari, and based on last season's performances, they were one of the two winning teams," he continued.
"So if he left the team because he felt he was not winning enough, or he should be winning more, it's going to be quite difficult to be in a car in which he can do that.
"I don't quite understand the strategy. I understand he wasn't quite happy there, and you have to follow your heart and head.
"I also appreciate from a British media point of view he was in a difficult situation.
"His arrival coincided with the emergence of Lewis and his great achievements, so he probably got more of a hard time than he would have done otherwise.
"But that said, it is a slightly strange strategy and a way to manage your career. Time will ultimately tell where he ends up."
Step back
According to Coulthard, for a driver like Alonso who has become accustomed to running at the sharp end of the grid, an up-and-coming team like Red Bull may be too big a step back.
"If he didn't enjoy not winning a lot at McLaren, then he is not going to enjoy not winning at Red Bull," he pointed out.
The 36-year-old added that his own contract specifically precluded a scenario such as a driver like Alonso joining Red Bull at his expense.
"My contract is fixed and solid and registered at the Contracts' Recognition Board," Coulthard added. "Somebody like (Heikki) Kovalainen has a contract with Renault, but it doesn't guarantee him a seat in Formula One.
"As I have been around the block a few times, my contract specifically states that if there is a world championship then they (Red Bull) have to enter me into it."
