Alonso 'very interested' in IndyCar move

Zak Brown says a chance to be competitive in IndyCar could appeal more to Fernando Alonso in 2019 than to remain struggling with McLaren in Formula 1. Alonso is yet to announce a decision on his future, amid reports that his F1 career may be winding to an imminent end.

Alonso has not won a race in more than five years, his move to McLaren backfiring spectacularly amid underpowered misery with Honda and this season's inability to make things work with Renault on board.

Alonso needs to win the Indianapolis 500 in order to complete the 'Triple Crown' - but Brown believes F1 success remains his priority.

"I think if we were more competitive, he'd definitely want to stay in Formula 1," Brown told the Indy Star.

"He's talked about his frustrations about being in a manufacturer's championship as opposed to a driver's championship. If you look at the race results, it's probably a fairly fair statement.

"He likes to challenge himself. And racing the Indy 500 and/or IndyCar might compel him.

"He's very interested in [IndyCar]. He likes the series but hasn't decided yet what he wants to do as it relates to Formula 1."

Central to Alonso's decision could be whether McLaren enter a team into IndyCar in 2019 or not.

Michael Andretti, whose team is linked with facilitating McLaren, has warned that a decision must be made imminently, and Brown suggests an announcement could be on the horizon.

"Right now, we're laser-focused on Formula 1," he added. "We have driver decisions to make. We just hired a new technical director.

"That being said, we're making progress on our Formula 1 and we feel we still have time to make a decision on IndyCar for 2019.

"We're running out of time. I don't think we have a lot of time for a decision to be made. But we're close to making a decision on when we'd enter."