Fernando Alonso has said his future with McLaren has yet to be decided, despite the strong expectation he will stay after their announcement of a switch to Renault engines. The deal to drop Honda in favour of the French manufacturer has been a long time coming and is believed to be fundamental to keeping the Spaniard, who has been critical about the performance and unreliability of Honda power units over the past three seasons.

McLaren are on Friday expected to announce a switch to Renault in a three-year deal starting next season. Alonso, a two-times world champion, has been clear he would remain with the team only if they had a competitive engine. However, in Singapore for Sunday’s grand prix, the 36-year-old said he is still considering his future. “There are options everywhere and they are all very good,” Alonso said. “You just need to be patient and wait a couple of weeks.”

McLaren had hoped for great success from their partnership with Honda and it was one of the reasons Alonso joined the team, but for three years their engine has woefully underperformed. They finished ninth in 2015, sixth in 2016 and are in ninth place this season.

Alonso made it clear he aims to stay in F1 but only in a competitive car. “Whatever I do next year is because I want to win,” he said. “I will not be around in any series fighting for top-10 or top-15. There are many options I am looking at. F1 is my first and only priority.”

In reality in F1, outside McLaren, there are almost no options. A move to Williams has been rumoured but they are not competitive and do not have the resources McLaren can bring to their car. Alonso wants confirmation of his team’s future and prospects before announcing his own.

“I want to give time to my team. With the struggles we went through together, I want to have time together to make decisions, to see next year’s car and after they take a decision I will take mine,” he said. “I want to stay loyal and not make any decisions without them first making their decisions. I am relaxed, happy, and we will see what is happening in the next weeks.”

Alonso also said he would continue to pursue his goal of achieving the triple crown – winning the Monaco Grand Prix, the Indy 500 and the Le Mans 24 Hours – although not at the expense of his F1 career. “The triple crown is a clear target for me,” he said, while suggesting there was a chance he might yet compete at Le Mans in 2018. “My priority is F1 and winning here, the triple crown is in the background. There are three races, not only Indy – there are many possibilities to have a fantastic 2018.”

McLaren’s decision represents the completion of a complex series of negotiations across the sport. Their move to Renault engines was dependent on Toro Rosso (now supplied by Renault) switching to Honda. Part of the arrangement included Renault being allowed to take the Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz Jr – almost certainly at the expense of the current Renault driver, Britain’s Jolyon Palmer.

Palmer dismissed suggestions he would be replaced at the following round in Malaysia and insisted in Singapore he would be with Renault for the remaining seven races of the season.

The convoluted machinations look to be concluded, with Alonso representing the final piece of the jigsaw and he suggested that although he has yet to confirm his destination, he is finally optimistic for the future.

“For my fans and motorsport lovers, they will have a fantastic 2018 season,” he said. “The planning is ongoing and very good news is coming.”