WEC returns with Alonso the talking point once again

The FIA World Endurance Championship got a shot in the arm when Fernando Alonso confirmed his entry earlier this year. Over six months later, the Spaniard remains the big talking point as the endurance paddock prepares to reconvene at Silverstone this weekend.

Alonso's announcement earlier this week that he would be quitting Formula 1 for 2019 has got the motorsport world pondering what his next move will be. While a full-time IndyCar deal seems to be his target, Alonso's only confirmed commitments for next year at present are in the WEC. The championship's 'super season' features races at Sebring (March 15) and Spa (May 4) before a shot at a second victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

Nearly two months have passed since Alonso played his part in Toyota taking its long-awaited maiden Le Mans victory, teaming up with Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima. The trio currently sits 20 points clear of the sister Toyota crew, made up of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, and Jose Maria Lopez, in the drivers' championship, putting them in good stead heading into the middle portion of the season.

Following a barren period in F1, Alonso has already rediscovered the taste of winning in WEC. While there may be much speculating about his F1 future, his sights will be firmly set on taking a third FIA world championship win through the super season, regardless of his other plans for 2019. Continuing the winning start to the campaign at Silverstone will help stamp the #8 crew's authority on the standings.

The primary reason for Alonso's entry to the WEC was to win Le Mans - yet he's fully embraced the championship and enjoyed his adventure with Toyota. It would come as little surprise to see him extend his stint beyond the super season into a second campaign, giving him the chance to add more Le Mans victories to his trophy cabinet.

But putting Alonso's future aside, there are plenty of other talking points heading into the final European WEC round of the year at Silverstone.

CAN JB FINALLY HIT THE PODIUM?

One of the greatest anomalies in Jenson Button's F1 career was his failure to score a podium finish at Silverstone. Button scored a best finish of fourth at the British Grand Prix on three occasions (2004, 2010 and 2014). In fact, the only time he's stood on the podium there was when he conducted the post-race interviews in 2017!

So this weekend's race marks another chance for Button to finally snap that drought. His WEC debut at Le Mans may have been a baptism of fire as early-race issues left SMP Racing on the back-foot, but the team has professed confidence in its car, the BR1. While outright victory may still be out of reach for the LMP1 privateers, a podium is certainly attainable for Button. He will be racing with the Russian duo of Mikhail Aleshin and Vitaly Petrov once again at Silverstone.

EOT, ENTRY CHANGES IN LMP1

For all of the pre-season claims that Toyota wouldn't run away from the rest of the pack at Le Mans, the 12-lap gap to the leading LMP1 privateer proved that the promised fixes hadn't really done their job. Alonso's claim Toyota's Le Mans victory was on a "higher level" to any other win was, frankly, fanciful PR spin.

For Silverstone, race officials have made further tweaks via the regulations to try and create a more even playing field in the LMP1 class.

Toyota's previously-defined performance advantage of 0.25 percent has been wiped, while the LMP1 privateers have received an increase in fuel flow, as well as being allowed quicker refueling at pit stops. The normally-aspirated non-hybrids have also been given a minimum weight break of 15 kg.

The other big change of note in LMP1 is the reduction in entries from 10 to eight cars for Silverstone, following Manor-Ginetta's withdrawal. Manor failed to start at Spa and had a difficult 24 Hours of Le Mans, with just one car being classified, before the team failed to complete a requested change in engine supplier in time to be able to race at Silverstone.

PORSCHE/FORD FIGHT TO CONTINUE IN GTE-PRO?

While LMP1 may have dwindled to just one manufacturer following the departures of Audi and Porsche over the last two years, GTE-Pro has gone from strength-to-strength, boasting a five-manufacturer strong grid for the WEC super season.

But there hasn't been the wide-open fight many had hoped for. Porsche and Ford have been the two manufacturers fighting it out at the front of the pack, with Ferrari (AF Corse), Aston Martin and BMW - all of whom have new cars this year - struggling to keep up.

Aston Martin's Vantage GTE has received a decent Balance of Performance break for Silverstone, while the Ferrari 488 GTE Evos have also been given a boost in a bid to create a closer fight in the class.

Quite whether it will be enough to make GTE-Pro the wide-open class it has the potential to be, remains to be seen, though.

BRIT SUMMER

When the initial seven-round calendar for the 2018/19 WEC super season was issued, it was a drastic diversion from the previous schedules.

While rounds at the Nurburgring, Mexico City, Austin, and Bahrain were missing, Silverstone was the glaring omission, resulting in an outcry from the British WEC fanbase.

It took just two weeks for a date to be found and Silverstone to be re-instated.

At a time when the future of the British Grand Prix is in serious doubt, it is important for the UK to hold on to as many top championships as possible. The WEC is a premier series Silverstone must do all it can to retain on its schedule.

We've seen sunny days, rainy days, and even snowy days at Silverstone WEC. We should avoid the latter with the shift from a spring date to this summer slot, but regardless of the weather, you can expect fans to come out in droves to cheer on the world's premier endurance category.