Andretti: IndyCar is primed and ready for Alonso

Alonso's future is somewhat uncertain, fed up with Formula 1 the Spaniard is already committed to the World Endurance Championship (WEC) Superseason and has hinted that he will not tolerate another season in the bowels of the midfield, and of course his quest for the rare Triple Crown of Motorsport.

Andretti revealed, “It was put to Alonso if he wants to do a partial season and he said no. If he does it, he wants to do the whole thing or not at all.”

Although Alonso-to-Indycar has lost momentum, with reports from the F1 paddock suggesting the double F1 World Champion has dropped the idea.

But according to Andretti, McLaren chief Zak Brown is set to revisit the project during the summer break, “There are still a lot of things in the air; a lot of things still have to happen. We are getting to a critical time and we have to get some things done in the next week or so.

“They have to get their driver situation settled. Is Fernando going to stay? Is he going to go? Is he going to come here? Is he going to stay in Formula 1? Is he going to retire? What is he going to do?"

"Zak has to work on his Formula 1 plan and he has a lot to work out there, but we’ll see what is going to happen.”

“For me, I would love to have Fernando because he was a joy to work with. We had a lot of fun at Indy and I think we would have a lot of fun doing this all year long."

“It would create a buzz, and a buzz is something you can’t buy. It would go back to like it was when Nigel Mansell came over. It feels like the early 1990s when things started to go for IndyCar."

"The timing of Fernando coming to IndyCar could help set it off. I think IndyCar is primed and ready for something like that to happen,” added Andretti.

The last Formula 1 World Champion to ditch F1 for Indycar was Nigel Mansell who went on to win the title in 1993, a year after winning the Formula 1 world championship.

But Andretti sees little similarity between the two drivers, “Fernando Alonso is the complete opposite of Nigel Mansell. Everybody thought Nigel was so great and so nice and Fernando is the complete opposite."

"But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Fernando is the nicest guy you would ever want to meet, but he has the perception of being a certain way and that is so wrong. You really don’t know the person you see in front of the camera."

“It will be good for everybody. It would be good for the whole team and the whole team could help him a lot. If he comes over here, there is a lot he will have to learn. I think the team helped him a lot at Indy and if he comes here, he will have pace from the first race.”

Andretti revealed that the deadline for a decision needs to be made by McLaren and/or Alonso by the Indycar round at Pocono on 19 August, so that they can put together a competitive package for the Spaniard.