McLaren deny Alonso Le Mans entry suggestion

Both Fernando Alonso and McLaren have denied reports that the Spaniard will compete in this historic 24 Hours of Le Mans race next year, potentially missing out on another Grand Prix.

Alonso was the talk of the paddock in Bahrain, as McLaren announced earlier in the week their driver would be skipping the Monaco Grand Prix to contest in the equally respected Indy 500. 

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier admitted that allowing Alonso to race in Indianapolis is a scheme to get him to stay on beyond 2017: "Everyone has his tricks when negotiating," Der Spiegel quotes the Frenchman as saying.

Alonso was once again heard over the radio complaining about the lack of power his engine was producing, ststing that he had never run with less power in his life.

"When the red lights go out you are motivated and you start to fight," he explained afterwards, "but when you are so far behind on the straights that you cannot defend your position, you cannot enjoy the battle.

"Now let's focus a little on the Indy 500," the Spanish sports newspaper Marca quotes Alonso as saying after Bahrain. "It will also do me good to refresh my head a little."

Alonso admits that everybody at the team needs to have a little patience when it comes to repairing the cracks that have developed this year

"We have to have a little patience," he said. "The next month or the next three or four races are going to be difficult. The amazing thing is that the other car was not even in the race, which for Stoffel [Vandoorne] I don't know if it was bad luck or good luck. So we have to do something but I don't know if the team has any idea what. We must find a solution as soon as possible."

As for the reports Alonso already has an agreement with Porsche to contest next year's Le Mans, a McLaren source told El Mundo Deportivo "there is no plan" for that. And sources close to Alonso added: "It is not true. It is an invention."

Fergal Walsh