Formula 1: Will Stoffel Vandoorne drive for McLaren in IndyCar in 2019?

With Stoffel Vandoorne set to leave McLaren at the end of the 2018 Formula 1 season, could he sign to drive for the team in IndyCar next year?

As expected, McLaren’s Fernando Alonso announced last month that the 2018 Formula 1 season will be his 17th and final season in the sport, as he will retire at the end of the year. However, the 37-year-old Spaniard isn’t retiring from professional racing.

The two-time Formula 1 champion is still set to compete in the World Endurance Championship, and all signs point to him driving for McLaren in IndyCar next year. All signs also point to McLaren forming a partnership with Andretti Autosport and possibly Harding Racing to field an entry for him.

Alonso made his IndyCar debut last season in the Indianapolis 500 in an entry fielded by McLaren and Andretti Autosport. As a result of his win in this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, the two-time Monaco Grand Prix winner is just one Indy 500 victory away from becoming the second driver to win all three races of the Triple Crown of Motorsport at least once. Only Graham Hill has ever done so.

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Renault Sport’s Carlos Sainz Jr. was announced as Alonso’s replacement at McLaren in Formula 1 next year, and shortly thereafter, it was revealed that Stoffel Vandoorne, Alonso’s teammate, would also not be returning to the Woking-based team in 2019. McLaren reserve driver Lando Norris was promptly announced as his replacement.

With the 26-year-old Belgian being set to leave McLaren after his second full season driving for the team reaches its conclusion, McLaren CEO Zak Brown has urged Scuderia Toro Rosso to sign him so that he can continue to compete in Formula 1.

Here is some of what Brown had to say about the matter, according to Motorsport.com.

"“Stoffel’s an outstanding race car driver. You know, ultimately, we look to the future and Lando’s a future star. I think in a different environment Stoffel may excel more with a better race car.”"

There are several candidates to drive for Toro Rosso next season, and Vandoorne is certainly one of them. But with him being set to be released by McLaren as a result of his lackluster performances over his two seasons as a full-time driver for the team, will the Italian team really sign him above other young and talented prospects?

The odds of this are slim. But think about what Brown is saying: “Stoffel may excel more with a better race car.” McLaren have had stronger cars than Toro Rosso this season, so how, exactly, would Vandoorne going to Toro Rosso benefit him? This is a complete unknown, and there are no two ways about it.

But what is known is that if Brown is being truthful when he claims that “Stoffel’s an outstanding race car driver”, he will take advantage of the opportunity to put him behind the wheel of a “better race car” if that opportunity comes along.

With McLaren likely set to join IndyCar next year, that opportunity is poised to emerge. In the 2017 Indy 500, which ended McLaren’s 38-year absence from the sport, Alonso qualified in fifth place in his #29 Honda and led 27 laps of the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in Speedway, Indiana.

However, his engine failed with 21 laps remaining. Had this not happened, Alonso likely would have been in the lead group battling for the win in the final few laps of the race.

Make no mistake about it. McLaren can field a two-car IndyCar team next year, and they can field a competitive two-car IndyCar team next year, especially given their partnership possibilities.

If Brown is serious about Vandoorne being an “outstanding race car driver”, the perfect way for him to prove it is by essentially turning McLaren’s Formula 1 lineup from this year into their IndyCar lineup for next year, thus signing him to continue driving as a teammate to Alonso.

According to Brown himself, this might just happen.

With Max Verstappen, Kevin Magnussen, Jolyon Palmer and even four-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton having all discussed the possibility of driving in IndyCar in the future, this idea isn’t as far-fetched as it seems even with Vandoorne having not explicitly discussed a potential future in the sport.

Will Stoffel Vandoorne sign with McLaren for the 2019 IndyCar season? Will he continue to be a teammate to Fernando Alonso even though neither driver will be driving for McLaren in Formula 1 next year? If not, where will he end up driving in 2019?