Fernando Alonso has insisted that his participation in the Indianapolis 500 will be a “one-off” and will not be enticed to compete in further events in the championship this year.
Alonso will enter the prestigious race in a one-car McLaren team, run by Andretti Autosports and powered by Honda engines, meaning he will skip the clashing Monaco Grand Prix.
Alonso will return to Formula 1 for the Canadian Grand Prix, but has dismissed the prospect of additional IndyCar races.
“No, I don’t think so, I think it’s one off,” he told Motorsport Week when the prospect of additional IndyCar events was mooted.
“I will do the Indy 500, it’s the race, the biggest race in the world, the fastest in the world, after that, especially after Indy and Canada, I will be two weeks in the living room watching TV and relaxing!”
Alonso also insisted that his participation in this year’s Indianapolis 500 is not as a consequence of McLaren’s lack of competitiveness in Formula 1.
“It’s true that it’s a good motivation, the possibility to win a big race, a big trophy like Indy 500 in the middle of the year,” he said.
“It is like winning a world championship in one weekend, so you have two possibilities in one year, so it is very attractive.
“But it’s not that it came to our minds this year [because] we are struggling or [because] last year, the last two years we [have been] uncompetitive.
“It’s something I keep repeating since 2014, when I was at Ferrari, I was talking about this possibility to [Marco] Mattiacci and people in Ferrari, even [suggesting] racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a 458.
“So you [could] compete in two different categories in the same year, it’s nothing new because of the performance of this year.”
