Racing fans might have to get used to seeing McLaren-Honda, with or without Fernando Alonso, competing in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
The Formula One team stunned the racing world when it revealed Alonso, its signature driver, would be competing in the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500. But when speaking to media ahead of Sunday’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, the Spanish driver said success, among other things, could determine whether the race on May 29 will be a one-time thing or the start of a trend.
“I’m very open,” Alonso said when asked whether he’d be open to competing in future Indy 500s, via Motorsport.com. “If I want to to be the most complete driver in the world or the best driver in the world, then I want to experience all the different cars and different driving techniques, and I need to adapt and grow up as a driver.
“And if I want to do that, I need to win it, and if it’s not this year then we need to plan it for the next event.”
Zak Brown, McLaren’s CEO, was more definite when discussing the team’s plans for making future trips to Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“Yeah, I’d like to see McLaren here on a more regular basis,” Brown said, via Motorsport.com “And would we do it with Fernando again? Absolutely. I hope that we have the problem of Monaco and Indy in the same weekend and we are fighting for the championship.”
Alonso’s decision has been polarizing in the F1 community, to say the least. Personally, we love the idea of professional drivers competing in other circuits and hope Alonso opens the door for more drivers to branch out.
Thumbnail photo via Honda
