A rumour emerged in the wake of the Hungarian Grand Prix suggesting that Fernando Alonso would miss the Singapore Grand Prix in favour of the Indycar season finale at Sonoma, but McLaren chief Zak Brown calls the reports fake news.
Brown told Racer, “It’s completely crazy. He would have to first make that request through us, which he has not, and that event conflicts with F1 in Singapore. It’s fake news.”
Alonso did compete at the Indianapolis 500 where he ran strongly, leading at one stage, and was massively popular with media and fans alike.
Furthermore there has been much speculation with regards to the Spaniard’s future amid McLaren’s worst Formula 1 season in history as Honda failed for a third year to make any progress with their unreliable and under-powered engine.
Thus Alonso has made it no secret he is seeking a competitive F1 team as a first priority and even considering a move to Indycar, with Andretti Autosport – who he raced for at Indy under the McLaren banner – a possible team.
But Brown and McLaren has always insisted that the Indy 500 foray, at the expense of Alonso racing at the Monaco Grand Prix, was a one-off and only possible because of the team’s form in F1.
Big Question: Who would benefit if Fernando raced in the Indycar season finale?