Mark Webber believes that it is a "travesty" Fernando Alonso is battling at the back of the Formula 1 grid with McLaren in 2017, but thinks the Spaniard's market va💃lue has never been h𓄧igher as he begins to plan for 2018.

Alonso has struggౠled towards the back of the field for much of his second stint with McLaren, linking up with the team in 2015 when♐ it struck a power unit deal with Honda.

Honda's engines have lacked both reliabi﷽lity and performance through 2017, leaving McLaren at the foot of the cons🐬tructors' championship with zero points from the opening seven races of the year.

Alonso is currently evaluating his movements for 2018🎉, but ex-F1 racer Webber believes that his worth to possible teams is greater than ever.

"It's day-by-day with Fernando. He's his own man," Webber said at the FIA Sport Conferenceཧ in Geneva when asked about Alonso's future.

"He's a phenomenal talent. It's a total waste and an absolute travesty that he's at the back of the grid, driving a car that's uncompetitive. But he's still in a situation where he's driving phenome💫nally.

"I think his market value has never been higher, what he's done at the Indy 500, and 🌞then what he's done sometimes with that McLaren. Stoffel [V🍷andoorne] I don't think knows what's hit him, so that's what it's like on Sundays working with someone like Fernando.

"I don't know. Let's see what engine McLaren get, see if 𒊎they can hold him over the winter, and convince him that they're gꦓoing to win next year."

Speaking about Alonso's Indy 500 adventure, Webber was full of praise for the two-time F1 champion, having alsꦛo heard impressive stories from others about his display.

"Big balls for having a go, I must take my hat off to him," Webber 😼said.

"I've been hearing incredible things about how♏ awesome he was. Gil de Ferran, I know Gil well, and he just said it was 💯phenomenal how well he took to it.

"I was h💙appy he was in one p𝓡iece, that was the biggest thing I was happy with."