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IndyCar: McLaren officially rule out 2018 Indianapolis 500 return

By Asher Fair

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 28: Fernando Alonso of Spain, driver of the #29 McLaren-Honda-Andretti Honda (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 28: Fernando Alonso of Spain, driver of the #29 McLaren-Honda-Andretti Honda (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /
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After an absence of 38 years, McLaren fielded an entry in the 2017 Indianapolis 500. However, they will not be doing so in the 2018 IndyCar season.

Two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso, a 36-year-old who drives for McLaren in Formula One, made his IndyCar debut in the 2017 Indianapolis 500, the 101st running of the event, when McLaren returned to the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” after a 38-year absence.

However, despite ongoing speculation that McLaren would field another entry in the 102nd running of the race in 2018, Zak Brown, the team’s executive director, officially ruled out that possibility.

Here is what Brown had to say on the matter, according to Racer.com:

"“It’s off the table. It didn’t tick all of the boxes and it will be hard to repeat the awareness we created with Fernando. But McLaren, we’re proud, and when we do things we have to do things the McLaren way. We could have gone to Indy next year as just another Indy 500 entry but that’s not McLaren. If we can’t do it right and be a big part of the show, then we don’t want to do it.”"

A huge reason why Alonso drove in the 2017 Indianapolis 500 for McLaren, who partnered with Andretti Autosport to field the #29 Honda, was due to the fact that his frustrations in Formula One were mounting. In fact, he even skipped the Monaco Grand Prix to come to Indianapolis.

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McLaren were powered by Honda engines in 2017, and those engines simply did not have the speed nor the reliability to allow Alonso to contend for wins — or even for solid results. In the five Formula One races in the 2017 season prior to the Indianapolis 500, Alonso had recorded just one finish, and that was just a 12th place effort in the Spanish Grand Prix.

With McLaren switching from Honda engines to Renault engines in the 2018 Formula One season, they are expected to be far more competitive both from speed and reliability standpoints, so skipping the Monaco Grand Prix would not appear to even be an option.

In his Indianapolis 500 effort, Alonso qualified in 5th place, which put him in the middle of the second row on the starting grid. He went on to lead 27 of the race’s 200 laps before, ironically, an engine failure ended his race with 21 laps to go. He finished in 24th.

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Will we ever see McLaren back at the Indianapolis 500 after the great awareness they created at the race in 2017 with Fernando Alonso? If so, how soon will they be back, and who would be their driver? There is still a lot that has to unfold before those talks get serious.