Fernando Alonso has heaped praise on McLaren executive director Zak Brown for his “wider vision of motorsport” which is enabling the double Formula 1 world champion to compete in other series.
Last year, it began with the Spaniard escaping the misery of another difficult year with Honda to attempt the Indianapolis 500 as part of a tie-up between the British team and Andretti Autosports, in 2018, Alonso will take part in the Daytona 24 Hours in two weeks time ahead of a possible Le Mans 24 Hours bid later with Toyota.
For many, it has brought back memories of when F1 drivers regularly raced in more than a single series and, the 36-year-old believes, it has also risen the profile of other racing categories.
“He’s a very unique boss. He has this wider vision of motorsport, he’s a commercial genius,” Alonso said.
“He helped McLaren a lot in the last two years and now he’s not helping McLaren, I think he’s helping motorsport in general. So I completely share his vision. He’s not only my boss, he’s my friend as well.”
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Though Lance Stroll and some reserve drivers have taken the opportunity to compete at Daytona as well, Alonso doubts it will start a trend of seeing F1 stars make one-off appearances elsewhere.
“I can do it because with Zak Brown and McLaren they have maybe a different vision,” he stated. “We are expanding a little bit the McLaren brand as well in motorsport and we try to do it together.
“I think for other drivers in F1, it will be difficult to get that vision.”