McLaren CEO Zak Brown concedes that Fernando Alonso could be attracted to another IndyCar team for future efforts at the Indianapolis 500, having failed to qualify for this year's race. A somewhat shambolic week in the McLaren garage leaves Alonso with a watching brief for this weekend's race at the Brickyard and shelving his 'Triple Crown' ambitions for another year at least.
Delays across the weekend, due to a wait to get a steering wheel finished and the incorrect paint used on the car among other things, put Alonso on the back foot, with more than a day on the track lost after the Spaniard crashed in last week's testing.
Alonso then failed to make it through the main segment of qualifying and was nudged out of the last-row shootout, but Brown hopes the two-time world champion will return to the team for future efforts in the race.
"I think we'd like to go back with Fernando. I've spoken to Fernando a lot since then, we've had that conversation," Brown told Sky Sports.
"He, like us, just wants to decompress for a little bit. Clearly there's lots of great teams there and Fernando wants to win it.
"I think Fernando wants to win it with McLaren and McLaren want to try and win it with Fernando, so I wouldn't rule it out. It's a conversation we'll be having with him later.
"At the same time, though, if one of the top teams that routinely win the race gave him a call and I'm Fernando Alonso… you'd certainly consider it wouldn't you?