Alonso set for Indy road test amid interest from other series

Fernando Alonso certainly isn't looking short of future career prospects now that he's confirmed he is retiring from Formula 1 at the end of the current season.

RACER magazine in the United States says that the two-time world champion will test a road course-spec IndyCar for Andretti Autosport next month, with Barber Motorsports Park the most likely venue.

Alonso is known to be interested in taking part in the Indianapolis 500 again as he seeks to complete the Triple Crown of Motorsport after victories in the Monaco Grand Prix and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The Spaniard made his début in the event last year with Andretti. He led the race before being sidelined with engine problems 20 laps from the finish.

• Fernando Alonso to bow out of Formula 1 at the end of 2018!

“I think he'd be a great addition to IndyCar and I think he'd have a lot of fun here,” said former series champion and 2014 Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay.

“It would be appealing to me, if I were him," he added. "He's as hungry as ever to win. I think IndyCar is a great spot. IndyCar stock continues to rise for that reason.

“This series, I've been saying it for a while, is the most competitive series in the world, no doubt," Hunter-Reay continued.

"You cannot name who is going to win each race. There are no favorites. There's a long list of winners even from this year. You have a really tight championship.

"He would be the kind of guy who'd be fantastic for the sport," fellow driver Simon Pagenaud told the Indy Star. "It'd be like it was with Nigel Mansell."

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But the question now is whether Alonso is interested in a full-season campaign in the Verizon IndyCar Series as a whole in 2019, rather than just a one-off run in the Indy 500.

The answer may be linked to whether his F1 team McLaren are pressing ahead with plans to field a full-time entry in the series next year. It could buy up the Wink Hartman-owned Harding Racing shop as a North American base of operations.

“I have no idea where this whole thing is going right now," Hunter-Reay admitted. "I don't know where McLaren stands right no [There's] a lot of speculation at the moment."

And it's not just IndyCar that is hoping to secure the star power of Alonso's participation next year, with NASCAR officials inviting him to come to the forthcoming Daytona 500, saying it hopes he will "accept with pleasure".

• McLaren and Alonso moving ahead with 2019 IndyCar plans

In addition, Formula E chief executive Alejandro Agag has already said that he "would love to have him" in the all-electric championship.

"He is obviously an incredibly talented driver and it would be a privilege for us to have him," Agag told Autosport in June.

"Fernando's talent is incredible," former F1 driver Pedros de la Rosa told Mundo Deportivo when asked about the prospect of his compatriot joining Formula E. "With drivers like Lewis Hamilton or Fernando Alonso, they'll adapt to whatever car you throw at them."

Alonso is already committed to racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for at least part of the year once he's done with F1.

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