Alonso prepared for hectic 2018

Fernando Alonso says he is fully prepared mentally to combine roles a Formula 1 season at McLaren with a campaign in World Endurance Championship with Toyota. Having sampled the Indianapolis 500 last year, Alonso's latest bid to move closer to winning the 'triple crown' will see him tackle Le Mans 24 Hours.

Amid McLaren's miserable three-year stint with Honda, the team kept Alonso sweet last year by allowing him to skip the Monaco Grand Prix - the leg of the 'triple crown' Alonso already has - to compete in IndyCar's showpiece event.

It was perhaps fitting that Honda engine failure cost him his chances at the Indy500.

Alonso took on the 24 Hours of Daytona in January, finishing 38th overall with the United Autosports squad alongside McLaren junior Lando Norris.

The two-time world champion is not slated to miss any F1 races this year as we enter the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, but Alonso is confident he can handle the increased workload - as long as he does not run into travel issues.

"The only concern is travelling," Alonso said. "Travelling is going to be energy-consuming and I need to be very efficient on that.

"Every delay on the flight or every connection that you miss is going to hurt this year. So hopefully everything runs smoothly.

"There are many things that I am now in the point of my career that I can deal with. Probably a couple of years ago maybe I didn't have the knowledge of all of the areas.

"So I thought now was the time to do it and I feel ready. I think in terms of mental approach it's going to be not an issue because every time you jump in the car you want to be competitive.

"Physically, while driving it's going to be OK."