Alonso promises Indy return, McLaren and Andretti strongest options

Fernando Alonso insists he will return to the Indianapolis 500 in 2020 and says his strongest options are to race for McLaren or Andretti.

The Spaniard led a number of laps for Andretti on his first attempt at Indy in 2017 before retiring with a Honda engine failure, but a return with McLaren this year saw the team fail to qualify. With McLaren entering IndyCar full-time next year as Arrow McLaren SP, Alonso says racing for one of those two teams is most likely as he still has his eyes set on winning at the Brickyard.

"Indy is the only one missing,” Alonso told the BBC, referring to motorsport's unofficial triple crown. “If I do that after winning Le Mans, WEC, Daytona, there is nothing more I could ask. Definitely I will try again.

"They are not the only options but for sure they are the strongest two. I have a loyalty to McLaren and there is also how good I felt in Andretti, and I feel part of that staff and team. I have a very good relationship there.”

Alonso will not make a decision on his Indy 500 team until after his first attempt at the Dakar rally in January, and then will look at the possibility at returning to Formula 1 in 2021 once May is out of the way.

"First I want to do Dakar and Indy and then see if I'm missing F1. This year, it was nice to be out of the F1 bubble but my friends are saying, 'Now you are out of F1 it is the time to enjoy life a bit.' And I say that what makes me happy is to race.

"F1 is still a possibility. The 2021 rules are quite interesting. Maybe it will move things around a bit and make the cars easier to race. If it turns out I miss F1, I am open to coming back. Also the driver market is very open for 2021, so there is no hurry to make a decision."