Alonso: My fans would like to see me winning

Some have questioned the wisdom of such a programme but the Spaniard is adamant that he does not regret the decision to branch off the Formula 1 beaten track in his quest for motorsport's elusive Triple Crown.

The double F1 World Champion has often been criticised for decisions he has made in the past, including an ill-fated first move to McLaren in 2007 and more recently his call to depart Ferrari in favour of the Woking outfit.

Alonso explained in an interview, "I don’t regret any decisions. Obviously, if you can see the future with a crystal ball, you would make different decisions because the performance in the following years were very different."

"But I don’t regret it because at the moment I took those decisions, I would make the same decision 100 times again. For me, at that point, it was black and white. I don’t look back but I understand the questions. My fans would like to see me winning."

He has not won a Formula 1 race since he was victorious with Ferrari at the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix, while a podium has eluded him since early-2014.

Many believe that his lack of success in Formula 1 in the past five years, thanks to uncompetitive machinery, is the catalyst that has prompted him to look elsewhere to race and ultimately become a winner again.

Last year he wowed the Indycar fraternity when he made his debut at the Indianapolis 500, where he led briefly before retiring with a blown engine. However, during that week, his attitude and enthusiasm won over the hearts and minds of many racing fans Stateside.

Alonso continued, "I am a very competitive person in everything. Not only F1 but in everyday life. That has helped me to continue for so long. Every day, every year, every new season is a reset from the last and you are still hungry for success, to do things better and better."

“I always had that, even when I was a kid in a go-kart or when I was playing soccer or tennis, that need of winning. It was there all my life and it’s still there now.”

"In 2007-2008 I thought: Maybe I will race a couple more years. But then situations change, your career changes. It is difficult to take in how long you have been doing one thing when you compete at the highest level and always with the highest intensity," he added.

Alonso succesfully completed the mandatory day long FIA simulator test for Le Mans rookies in Paris last week and after this weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix, he will swap his McLaren F1 car with a seat in the Toyota Gazoo Racing team, alongside Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima at the WEC season-opening six hours of Spa-Francorchamps.