AUSTIN, Texas – Two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso is adamant about his desire to race again in the Verizon IndyCar Series as soon as next season, but not the full 17-race schedule.
Not yet, at least.
The 37-year-old Spaniard confirmed Saturday during F1’s U.S. Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas that he will not attempt a full Verizon IndyCar Series season in 2019, but he left open the possibility of taking a second shot at the Indianapolis 500. The McLaren driver announced in August that he would not return to F1 next year.
“In the summertime I was thinking about (moving full time to the Verizon IndyCar Series), but it was always linked with the team and McLaren. We talked a lot at the beginning of the year what were the plans were for F1,” Alonso said.
“I always tried to share my thoughts with the team. Then, eventually it came into my mind that it was the time now to stop Formula One, so they were the first ones to know. At least they had time to make whatever plans they were thinking for the future.
“Then it was the same with INDYCAR. I had it in my mind that maybe I could do INDYCAR or the Indy 500 or something to plan for next year. They were doing similar observations and thoughts about the future of the team, so we were talking and linked all the time.”
Alonso is already committed to run the second half of the 2019 FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing, with whom he captured the 24 Hours of Le Mans with in June. It gave Alonso the second leg of motorsport’s fabled Triple Crown, to go with his two wins at the F1 Monaco Grand Prix.
Alonso felt piling a full INDYCAR season on top of his sports car commitments would be asking too much.
“Eventually, one day, in my case, I thought it was too demanding next year,” he said. “I don’t know about in the future, but next year the commitment of the 17 races, it was too much. That dedication and that amount of work that you need to put into that series to be competitive, starting from zero, I felt it was too much and I shared that with the team.”
Widely regarded as one of the best pure talents in world of motorsports, Alonso traded the scenic Monaco Grand Prix for Indianapolis Motor Speedway and a shot at the Indianapolis 500 last year. A collaborative effort saw him pilot the No. 29 McLaren-Honda-Andretti Honda.
The outcome was a masterful performance. He qualified fifth and led 27 laps before a mechanical failure brought retirement just 21 laps from the finish, leaving the sour taste of a 24th-place result. The overall body of work was enough to warrant Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
Alonso needs an Indy 500 victory to join the legendary Graham Hill as the only drivers to complete the Triple Crown of motorsports. Alonso said a return to IMS for the 103rd Indianapolis 500 remains “a possibility.”
“I would love to do it, to be honest,” he said. “It’s a race that was magic last year and it still has the biggest appeal for me, especially now after winning Le Mans.
“It’s only one step away from the Triple Crown and I would love to do it. I don’t know if it’s going to be next year or in the future, but it is part of the project of next year’s calendar.”