McLaren chief executive Zak Brown has raised the possibility of the British team returning to prototypes in the future and would want Fernando Alonso behind the wheel.
Last year the Woking-based outfit returned to the Indianapolis 500 to help the Spaniard in co-ordination with Andretti Autosport as Alonso eyes matching Graham Hill as the only driver to win motorsport’s ‘triple crown’.
This year the 36-year-old is attempting the third leg, the Le Mans 24 Hours, with Toyota and is indeed completing a full WEC season stretched over the next two years.
In recent months some reports from Spain, albeit baseless, have suggested Alonso could leave F1 at the end of the year and focus full-time on endurance racing, regardless of where he goes though, Brown wants him in a McLaren.
“We’d like to have Fernando in our racing team for as long as he wants to drive,” the American entrepreneur told Racer.
“I think he’ll continue driving beyond his F1 career and so if we’re in other forms of motor racing, then of course we’d love to have Fernando in our car.”
Suggestions of a potential return to IndyCar were mooted a year ago and haven’t totally gone away, but it does appear as though the WEC is the most likely first step in expansion.
“McLaren has a long history in additional forms of motorsport whether that was Can-Am, IndyCar, we’ve won Le Mans,” he said.
“We’re participating in those meetings [to decide the 2020/21 rules] and reviewing what that looks like and the rules as they’re being proposed we find compelling.AA
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“We would consider running the new whatever they’re going to call it — GTP, Silhouette, LMP1 — I’ve heard various phrases.
“But I think what’s exciting is trying to go to Le Mans to win outright. That’s the highest value for a racing team.”
