Fernando Alonso has not been short of headlines this week as he announced his retirement from Formula 1, now at Silverstone for Round 3 of the 2018-2019 World Endurance Championship he told media that he is now focused on winning the sportscar world title.
The McLaren F1 driver wearing his Toyota Gazoo Racing gear and inevitable Kimoa cap, told Sportscar365, "That’s probably a big possibility, that I run sportscars for a couple of years."
"I feel good. I feel competitive and I feel a good atmosphere. Obviously, I won Spa and I won Le Mans, so it feels even more positive now. Toyota was a team that was very committed and very professional from day one. I like the way they work and the way they prepare."
“The same with WEC – it’s a championship that has opened the doors from day one for me. They are extremely happy and they do everything they can to make everyone happy. So when everyone is happy with you, you are happy with them.”
Moves are afoot to secure the Spaniard a drive on the Indycar grid, a move that he has yet to confirm but involves a number of interested parties. Alonso's presence in the series is sure to be a much-needed boost for America's premier open-wheel series.
Alonso is expected to test the road car version of the Dallara in early September, but there is still some way to go before an official announcement is made.
"I will not decide or be ready to confirm anything until a couple of months," explained 37-year-old from Oviedo, "Maybe October or something like that. It’s going to be a long wait and a lot of predictions."
In his quest for the elusive Triple Crown of Motorsport, he needs only to bag the big Indy 500 trophy to put alongside his Monaco Grand Prix and Le Mans winners' trophies.
But the dominance of Toyota, in what is essentially a one team race for top honours in this edition of the WEC LMP1 class, makes the WEC title a distinct possibility for Alonso.
“One of the priorities of the ‘Super Season’ was to win the world championship. Le Mans was the first priority, but the second priority was to become world champion. That’s the biggest thing right now.
“Next year was the clash with Sebring and Australia, so now there is even more priority to WEC and the world championship possibility,” ventured Alonso.
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