No Indy 500 for McLaren

Zak Brown isn't looking at an Indy effort in 2018

McLaren executive director Zak Brown told Autoweek's Bruce Martin on Monday that it was "highly unlikely" that McLaren would return to the Indianapolis 500 in 2018, but he believes it is probable for 2019.

The statement comes in advance of the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

McLaren’s return to the Indianapolis 500 with two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso dominated the storylines heading into the 101st Indianapolis 500 this past May. Alonso skipped the famed Grand Prix of Monaco, F1’s premier event, to compete in the Indy 500.

The Spaniard was a fan favorite and quickly adapted to the high-speed oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He qualified fifth, led four times for 27 laps before his Honda engine blew up just 21 laps from the checkered flag.
McLaren is moving from Honda to Renault for 2018, and because of that, Brown wants to restore McLaren to competitiveness in Formula 1 before taking on another effort in the Indianapolis 500.

"Never say never, but I think it’s less likely than more likely," Brown said via a telephone conversation. "When we return to Indy — and I think it is ‘when,’ rather than ‘if’ — we need to go with the same amount of competitiveness and fanfare that we created this year. We set a high bar so that won’t be easy.

"We aren’t interested in going to Indy just to go to Indy. We must go with a shot to win and a very high-profile effort. Today, we are so focused on Formula 1 and what Fernando will do next year at Monaco with a very competitive race car."

So is the Indy 500 a long shot?

"Yes," Brown said.