McLaren set to commence IndyCar testing in April ahead of 500 entry

Fernando Alonso

After taking delivery of its Indy cars in January, McLaren will hit the track for the first time in April ahead of its entry to the Indianapolis 500.

Fernando Alonso will race for McLaren at the Indy 500 next year, but a 2nd driver has yet to be announced.

Giving an update on the team's Indy 500 preparations in yesterday's Q&A with media, McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said:

"We have ordered both our cars, and we announced our relationship with Chevrolet. We'll have our cars delivered to us sometime mid to late January," Brown said.

"The current plan is to bring them back here to McLaren. We'll have a car build program done here at the MTC. Bob Fernley is our president, who has a good history at Indianapolis. We have hired our engineer, our chief mechanic. I would say we're half way through our staffing of the team. We have our trucks and trailers ready, so we are on course.

"We're excited. It will be a separate team, Bob Fernley is doing an excellent job. I'll be in Indianapolis at the end of January. Stay tuned for personnel announcements and we do have some sponsors. There have been discussions, and we expect to have a great looking IndyCar for the Indy 500."

Asked by Crash.net when he expected McLaren to conduct its first Indy car test in 2019, Brown said: "There are a variety of testing restrictions, so we’re not free to do as we want.

"I think we will be on the track for the first time in early April, and that’s when our testing will commence. Then, of course, we’ll do the maximum allowed within the current regulations as far as the amount of testing both at Indianapolis and away from Indianapolis."