IndyCar – McLaren: a full-time program?

The announcement of Fernando Alonso at the 101st edition of the Indianapolis 500 May 28 might not be an isolated event for McLaren. If the double world champion has announced his plan to win the “Triple Crown” with a victory at the Indy 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans after winning at the Monaco GP, the Woking firm could support the Asturian in his approach.

Mansour Ojjeh, the executive director of McLaren, in any case mentioned new perspectives for the British manufacturer in motorsport which would correspond to the ambitions of Fernando Alonso.

“I am delighted and proud to see McLaren embark on a new adventure in IndyCar more than 30 years after his last stint, this time being associated with Andretti Autosport and Honda, commented Mansour Ojjeh. The Indianapolis 500 will be the only race we run in IndyCar this year, but we could do it again in future years and we could also run a full-time program with McLaren in IndyCar. »

McLaren has won the Indianapolis 500 three times with Mark Donohue winning in 1972 and Johnny Rutherford winning in 1974 and 1976.

Will McLaren return to Le Mans?

Mansour Ojjeh also raised the prospect of the Woking manufacturer returning to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“We could also enter the 24 Hours of Le Mans again at some point, added Mansour Ojjeh. We won the event in 1995 with our unforgettable McLaren F1 GTR (with Lehto-Dalmas-Sekiya), but there are absolutely no defined plans at the moment. »