IndyCar: Will Fernando Alonso still return to the Indy 500 in 2019?

Even with McLaren not joining IndyCar on a full-time basis in the 2019 season, will Fernando Alonso still return to the Indy 500 next year?

McLaren CEO Zak Brown confirmed Friday that the Woking-based team will not be joining IndyCar on a full-time basis in the 2019 season, effectively meaning that two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso, who has driven for the team in Formula 1 since the 2015 season, will not be a full-time IndyCar driver next year.

This confirmation came after months of speculation that McLaren would join IndyCar on a full-time basis next year and that the 37-year-old Spaniard would be their driver.

This speculation heated up in April when it was revealed that Alonso would likely not return to McLaren in the 2019 season, and it heated up even more in August when he announced his impending retirement from Formula 1 at the end of the 2018 season.

However, in addition to confirming that McLaren will not compete full-time in IndyCar next year, Brown admitted that the team competing in the Indianapolis 500 and fielding an entry for Alonso is not out of the question.

Here is what Brown had to say about the matter, according to Autosport.com.

"“For the IndyCar Series, we have taken a decision to not compete on a full-time basis in 2019. We are simply not ready yet and we are very focused on F1. So we won’t be doing that in 2019. We do have a desire to do it, as I have mentioned before, in the near future. And as far as the Indy 500 is concerned it remains of interest to us.“That will be a decision that ultimately we will take in the off-season, and I think it is something that Fernando would like to do as well, but right now we are still focused on F1 and until we get a little bit of fresh air we will remain focused on that.”"

Will McLaren end up returning to the Indy 500 and fielding an entry for Alonso for the second time in three years next year?

Alonso has hinted that he wants to return to the Indy 500, especially given the success he had in the 2017 Indy 500, which was his first career IndyCar race. He qualified in fifth place and led 27 of the race’s first 179 laps before he was taken out of contention with an engine failure that left him in 24th.