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McLaren CEO Zak Brown has said McLaren would be happy to partner once again with Fernando Alonso for next year's Indianapolis 500 if he is allowed by Renault.
Alonso, who will return to F1 with Renault next year, first competed in the Indy 500 with McLaren in 2017, but despite leading a number of laps throughout the race, he retired in the closing stages of the race with an engine failure.
Alonso and McLaren returned in 2019, but failed to qualify for the event. Alonso will once again partner with McLaren for this year's race on August 23rd, joining full-time Arrow McLaren SP drivers Oliver Askew and Pato O'Ward.
Speaking to Motorsportweek.com on the possibility of Alonso returning on Indianapolis for a fourth time in 2021, Brown revealed that the team would be happy to join the Spaniard if his Renault contract allows him to compete.
“I don’t know what his Renault contract says,” Brown said.
“From our point of view next year the races don’t conflict and the way Indy 500 is run the car qualifies not the driver so it is not out of the question, especially as he’ll have more experience, that if he wanted to do the Indy 500 in 2021 and his contract allows.
“I just don’t know what his contract allows – you could have a situation where someone qualifies the car for him and if he wants to compete at the Indy 500 in ’21 we’d have to see where we were at as a team but certainly that wouldn’t be something I’d be opposed to if we had a seat available.
“If he wanted to do the Indy 500 in 2021, and he was allowed to do the 500 in 2021, then that scenario could play out in a positive way.”
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C. Sainz jr
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Replies (4)
Login to replydenis1304
Posts: 284
McLaren was ready to buy him a seat for 2019 race after DNQ, but Alonso didn't want that.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
Because it would be a really soft move for a guy that can definitely qualify on merit.
This is also good evidence for people that like to parrot the old narrative that Alonso is toxic and never leaves teams in good terms: 1. McLaren still wants to have a relationship with him and 2. He's going back to Renault a third time. Seems to me that the only ones that have a problem are Ferrari.
denis1304
Posts: 284
Can't wait for him to get back to F1. Hopefully more teams will be competitive in 2022.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
He did though. And bigtime at that. Whether you like him or not, you must agree that getting pissy with Ferrari, a generally successful team with 2 beneficiaries, and Honda, engine supolier to another 2 teams, one being a top 3 team, and involved in multiple other sports, is a really stupid thing to do. Furthermore, he also got pissy with Hammy, locking himself out of another top 3 team in Mercedes. Furthermore, McL are happy to partner Alo in Indy, while they are not in F1 as it stands today. That leaves Renault, a mess of a team who parasites on political moves, Aston Martin, who cannot afford him, and Williams (need I say more?).