Fernando Alonso To Decide IndyCar Move After Test, McLaren Chief Says

Fernando Alonso announced that he will quit Formula 1 at the end of the 2018 season in August, but is yet to reveal his plans for the future. The McLaren Racing driver is looking for a new challenge after struggling at the wrong end of the grid in F1 for the last three and a half years.

It is a well-known fact that the Spaniard is chasing motorsport’s fabled Triple Crown and has completed two of the three steps required to achieve his dream. Alonso has won the Monaco Grand Prix and recently added the LeMans 24-hours race to his kitty leaving just the Indy500 race to be conquered.

The 36-year-old made an attempt to win the Indy500 in 2017 but came up short and is certain to try again in the future. It is rumored that he will go again in 2019, but it remains to be seen if he will only do a single race or compete in the full season in the American car racing series.

Alonso is driving in the World Endurance Championships in 2018 and is contracted to do so with the Toyota team again in 2019. But it is looking like he could also enter the IndyCar Series next season after McLaren CEO Zak Brown confirmed he will complete a test on a road course on Wednesday.

“It is for him to evaluate what an IndyCar feels like on a road course," Brown said, according to Sky Sports. "From there I think he'll start to take a decision on what he wants to do next year."

Alonso will undertake the test with the Andretti Motorsport at the Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. F1 is currently on a two week break between the end of the European season and the start of the flyaway races in Asia and the Americas.

The Spaniard admitted he is in no hurry to make a decision on his future, but IndyCar is certain to be high on his list of priorities when he considers his next step. Michael Andretti has urged Alonso to make the switch to IndyCar and believes the sport will benefit having the double F1 world champion on board.

Meanwhile, McLaren, Alonso’s current team in F1, are also considering entering IndyCar and Alonso could drive for the team in the American racing series. However, Brown admitted they will make a decision this month, but are not entirely sure if they want to do a full season or just compete at the Indy500 race.

“Clearly IndyCar is one of those series under consideration [for Fernando] and we're very much doing the same in terms of consideration," the McLaren CEO added. "I think we'll make a decision sometime this month whether we'll move forward with Indy [500], IndyCar or do nothing. Those are our three decisions that we need to make."