Where will Fernando Alonso race in 2019?

Fernando Alonso's announcement to leave Formula One after the current season has heated up the speculation about his plans for 2019. While he will finish the FIA World Endurance Championship season with Toyota Gazoo Racing in the first half of 2019, the dates of those races probably wouldn't prevent him from doing the full season in the Verizon IndyCar Series.

Alonso racing in the 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500 next May feels like a no-brainer. He wants to complete the Triple Crown of Indianapolis 500, 24 Hours of Le Mans, and Monaco Grand Prix victories, and it's only the Indy 500 win he's missing. He already had an impressive debut at Indy in 2017 and getting a seat for the 500 next year shouldn't be a problem for him. There are surely teams that want to run him, and although Alonso has been one of the best-paid drivers in F1, money should only be a secondary consideration when he's aiming for such a special achievement.

Might Alonso join INDYCAR full-time?

But as Alonso is leaving F1 and has only three WEC races in 2019 in his Toyota contract, might he be joining the Verizon IndyCar Series full-time? I think this is where money may come into question.

Alonso's goal in INDYCAR is to win the Indy 500. His Indy debut showed he doesn't need to run races before Indy to be competitive in the 500. Of course, he could go for the series championship if he did the full INDYCAR season, though I'm not sure how high that is among his priorities. If a Verizon IndyCar Series championship was such a big goal for him, I might have imagined him leaving F1 for INDYCAR already after the last year when it already seemed like he isn't getting into winning machinery in F1.

If Alonso joins INDYCAR full-time, I don't think it will happen on the cheap. A two-time F1 World Champion surely knows his value. Probably every team in the INDYCAR paddock would like a driver of Alonso's caliber but which teams can afford him?

If Alonso does the full season, I think it will be in the possible McLaren entry in a partnership with an existing team. If McLaren enters INDYCAR, Alonso would surely be their first choice to drive their entry. In 2017, McLaren partnered with Andretti Autosport to run Alonso at Indy. However, Andretti already has contracts with three of their current four full-time drivers, Alexander Rossi, Ryan Hunter-Reay, and Zach Veach. Would Michael Andretti drop his son Marco from the team's lineup to make space for Alonso?

Another potential issue with a McLaren-Andretti partnership is the Honda engines. Honda already supplies engines to more cars than the other manufacturer, Chevrolet, does. That might prevent Andretti adding a fifth Honda-powered car to their lineup. Also, any team running Alonso might ask the engine manufacturer to foot Alonso's salary. Following McLaren's criticism of the poor performance of the Japanese manufacturer's F1 power units, Honda may not be willing to be associated with McLaren's INDYCAR program. Besides, Alonso is driving for Honda's arch rival Toyota in the WEC. It's not even obvious Toyota would let him race in a Honda-powered Indy car.

There are rumors about Harding Racing becoming Andretti's satellite team. That might be a solution if Honda engines would be a problem in a McLaren-Andretti partnership as Harding is using Chevy power. Harding has not set the world on fire in their first full Verizon IndyCar Series season, though maybe a partnership with Andretti and McLaren would strengthen their engineering department to give Alonso a car to contend for wins. After the miserable last few seasons in F1, Alonso surely wants to get into a winning car if he joins INDYCAR.

As for other teams in the Chevy camp, Ed Carpenter Racing has usually been strong at the 500. That might be an option, especially if Alonso and McLaren are doing only the 500, not the full season. Though, whether it's drivers or the team, ECR has not made the podium on road and street courses ever since Josef Newgarden left the team. ECR may not be the best team for Alonso and McLaren to aim for the series championship.

Team Penske might be team that could best afford running Alonso, even without a partnership with McLaren. Though Roger Penske all but ruled out running Tony Stewart in the 500 as they already have four cars for next year. That sounds like the team will retain Simon Pagenaud whose contract expires after the current season. Or might they already have a contract in place with Alonso?

That being said, I wouldn't even be sure about Penske willing to run McLaren's INDYCAR program. McLaren's plan is to start with an existing team, then switch to operating the team independently. Team Penske probably already has their hands full with their existing programs and have sponsors for their cars; why would Penske jump-start a potential future rival's INDYCAR program?

Of course, McLaren doesn't have endlessly time to finalize the INDYCAR program for 2019. Their lead program in F1 isn't delivering the expected results. Can McLaren in their current situation expand their racing activities to INDYCAR? If not, then I'm not sure we'll see Alonso racing full-time in INDYCAR.

Is WEC an option beyond current season?

If Alonso doesn't join INDYCAR full-time in 2019, he'll have quite an open schedule for the year. Even if he did the Indy 500, he'd only have four races in his schedule, all before July. Might a WEC contract extension with Toyota be a possibility?

Alonso joined Toyota's WEC program with the goal of winning the Le Mans as the second leg of the Triple Crown. He is also leading the WEC points standings with his No. 8 Toyota having beaten the No. 7 sister car in both two races this season. If he goes and wins the World Endurance Drivers' Championship, he will have achieved the two most important titles in the series.

With the Le Mans win now on his resume, winning the Indy 500 must be Alonso's big goal. But it doesn't rule out staying in the WEC. As long as it's fine for the WEC team, Alonso can do the 500 as a part-time entry and be competitive. If Toyota offered Alonso more money for a contract extension than any INDYCAR team can afford, I wouldn't be surprised to see him staying in the WEC and doing only the 500 in INDYCAR. Combining full INDYCAR and WEC seasons may not be possible because of possible date clashes, like Pocono and Silverstone this year. And even if it was, I'm not sure Alonso wants to commit to such a heavy schedule for another season.

The winter schedule of the WEC might still be problematic for Alonso. With the season finishing in June, there might be schedule clashes if he was to join another series with a calendar-year schedule. That wouldn't likely be a problem with INDYCAR next year, however. Though if Alonso is eyeing an F1 comeback, that might be problematic.

Might Alonso make an F1 comeback?

It feels like the lack of a competitive seat and the chase of the Indy 500 win were the reasons for Alonso to leave F1. At the age of 37, he's the second-oldest active F1 driver. However, one can't say he's too old for an F1 comeback. F1 is just an environment where drivers are brought in early and pushed out early. You can still stay or even return as long as you can show you're worthy of a seat.

Despite his decision to leave F1 after the current season, I wouldn't be too surprised if he jumped at the opportunity to make a comeback in a winning team. I think the fact that he stayed in F1 for another season after his Indy debut shows he still had ambitions in F1. The decision to leave F1 feels more like a realization he can't reach his ambitions in the current circumstances. If he could get back into a competitive car, I wouldn't be surprised to see him back in F1.

For sure, Alonso wants to win the Indy 500. But he's still got at least a decade to go for it. He can return to F1, and still return again to Indy in his hunt of the 500 win. Bobby Unser and Al Unser Sr. were 47 at the time of their last 500 wins, 1981 and 1987 respectively. Even in today's INDYCAR, drivers in their 40s can have success.

Are INDYCAR and WEC Alonso's only options?

When thinking about Fernando Alonso's options for 2019 beyond completing the WEC season with Toyota, running at the Indy 500 feels rather likely. A full Verizon IndyCar Series season is surely a possibility, and also staying in the WEC feels possible.

Beyond INDYCAR and the WEC, the only other option I might imagine for Alonso is Formula E with its increasing manufacturer involvement. Formula E may not take him towards the goal of winning the Indy 500, though maybe some manufacturer might like to spend some big money on attracting a star driver. With a winter schedule like the WEC, Alonso could join Formula E for a new season after he's finished the WEC season. However, unless the Formula E schedule was changed from the previous years, it might clash with the Indy 500 or at least the 500 practice and qualifications.

Personally, I hope Alonso joins INDYCAR full-time in a pursuit of not only the 500 win but also the series championship. That would send a message to other F1 drivers and fans that there's more to motorsports than just F1. INDYCAR has a product that should appeal to F1 fans; a familiar name should bring F1 fans watching INDYCAR. If Alonso did the full season, the fans that tune in to see him racing would see all sides of INDYCAR; not only the high-speed oval of Indianapolis but also the fast road courses like Road America, rough street courses like Detroit, and short ovals like the bullring of Iowa.

Great Month of May for IndyCar

The 101st Indianapolis 500 Presented by PennGrade Motor Oil is behind, concluding such a great Month of May for INDYCAR. Two-time Formula One World Champion Fernando Alonso joining Andretti Autosport with McLaren Honda brought lots of worldwide attention to the showpiece race of the Verizon IndyCar Series, and the month concluded with Alonso's teammate Takuma Sato becoming the first Japanese Indy 500 winner.

Alonso's participation was a huge boost for the global interest in the Indy 500. One of Formula One's biggest stars missing F1's showpiece race at Monaco was something no F1 fan could miss. Alonso's participation surely brought new viewers for the 500.

For his own and his fans' disappointment, Alonso's race at Indy ended in such a familiar way for him in F1, a Honda engine failure. Indy 500 victory was surely Alonso's only aim in his American adventure, yet there are lots of positives from his performances at the Brickyard.

Qualifying in fifth place and being a strong contender in his first oval race showed how great a driver he is. He was warmly welcomed to the IndyCar paddock, and will surely be welcomed again if he wants to have another chance at Indy. With the skill he showed this month, it would be disappointing if he didn't return to the Brickyard in the future.

If Alonso was warmly welcomed to Indy, so was also McLaren. It is great to see McLaren's current management appreciating the brand's legacy at Indy and they are considering a continued involvement in Indy car racing, be it 500-only or the full Verizon IndyCar Series. Having an F1 team in Indy might enable more crossover between the two series, promoting Indy car racing to a wider audience like Alonso's running showed.

Alonso suffering an engine failure was probably the outcome Honda wanted to see the least, given Alonso and McLaren's poor success in F1 has very much been caused by the unreliable and underpowered Honda engines. But Honda also has a big reason for joy after this Indy 500.

The Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato has been a Honda protege throughout his career. He raced for Honda-powered teams in F1, and the Honda connection brought him into IndyCar. Honda has wanted a successful Japanese driver; now Takuma Sato became the first Japanese winner at the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

The was some talk about whether Alonso winning the 500 would be good for IndyCar. While Alonso's victory would've dominated the global motorsports media, the 500 winner wouldn't have been there to promote the series. Besides, people might have made ignorant assessments on the skill level of the full-time IndyCar drivers, like F1 star Lewis Hamilton did already after the Indy qualifying.

Sato's victory may not get the attention as Alonso's victory would've. But I think Sato's victory is great for IndyCar. Sato is a full-time IndyCar driver you'll see racing again next weekend at the Detroit doubleheader, though he's also familiar to the F1 crowd that watched the 500 because of Alonso.

While Sato's F1 career lacked the greatest success, F1 was a worse environment than IndyCar for him. In his F1 days, Sato showed he can be as fast as anybody but lacked the consistency. You don't get into a winning team if you can't show the consistency. But in IndyCar almost any car can be a winning car because of the limited technical competition. Sato can be as fast as anybody, in IndyCar he's got the machinery to win. He had already showed his skills at the Brickyard in 2012 when he crashed on the final lap when trying to pass Dario Franchitti for the lead.

Sato's Indy 500 victory will hopefully increase IndyCar's popularity in Japan. Honda-owned Twin Ring Motegi hosted Indy car races from 1998 to 2011. Maybe after Sato's 500 victory, Honda would have some desire to bring the Verizon IndyCar Series back to Japan. With rumors about a Chinese IndyCar race, it would make sense for IndyCar to visit also Japan in the Asian trip.

Alonso was the rookie who got the biggest attention at Indy and he did impress in his oval debut. But one must not forget another impressive rookie performance by Ed Jones. Last year's Indy Lights champion qualified in 11th place and achieved his young Verizon IndyCar Series career's best result by finishing in third place. Even without the engine failure, the double F1 world champion Alonso might not have beaten  Jones who was running higher when Alonso's engine failed. The Indy Light champion Jones' great results in the Verizon IndyCar Series this season showcase the talent of the Mazda Road to Indy graduates.

Jones' third place was also a nice finish for Dale Coyne Racing's dramatic month. The team lost their biggest ace as pole contender Sébastien Bourdais suffered pelvis and hip fractures in a heavy qualifying crash. James Davison did great job as a substitute driver, making his way to the front with the help of strategy before getting involved in a late-race multi-car crash. Like in Davison's case, strategy helped also Jones to get to the front in the end of the race, though Jones did solid job staying among the frontrunners on his way to the third place.

The heavy crashes of Bourdais as well as Scott Dixon and Jay Howard showed the dangers of oval racing. Oval racing is inherently dangerous and there's not much you can do to prevent crashes like those. But the crashes also showed how safe the current Indy cars are. The crash where Bourdais fractured his pelvis and hip was measured at 118 G. After crashing into Howard in the race, Dixon went airborne into the catch fence and the SAFER Barrier, yet the car protected the drivers like it's supposed to, and both drivers survived without injuries. While you can't eliminate the crashes from oval racing, INDYCAR and the chassis manufacturer Dallara have done great job to make the crashes less serious. Improving safety must continue, yet INDYCAR has showed you can do it without hurting the spectacle.

I think this was a great Month of May for INDYCAR. Alonso brought lots of global attention for the 500 and it got a globally recognized winner in Sato. It was also great to see an impressive performance from a MRTI graduate. It might take a NASCAR star for the 500 to get more attention in the USA, though this year's race must surely have attracted the biggest global attention in years.

Why could Rossi victory be greater than Alonso victory?

Two-time Formula One World Champion Fernando Alonso has created lots of worldwide interest around this year's Indianapolis 500 Presented by PennGrade Motor Oil. While Indy has had former F1 drivers like last two years's winners Alexander Rossi and Juan Pablo Montoya, it's been ages since an active F1 driver has participated in the 500, let alone a world champion and by missing the Monaco Grand Prix.

Qualifying in fifth place showed Alonso has the pace to race even for the victory. How he'll perform in the traffic against drivers with lots of oval racing experience remains to be seen, however his impressive quaifying and practice performaces have made his running at Indy even bigger of a story.

There has been some talk on whether Alonso winning the Indy 500 would be good for INDYCAR or not. If that happened, the 500 might overshadow F1's Monaco Grand Prix, and still dominate the F1 press in the build-up to the next race. On the other hand, the winner of the biggest race wouldn't be there promoting the other Verizon IndyCar Series races. Besides, a rookie winning his first oval race might give an impression of a weak series.

Alonso winning could have a long-term impact if it motivated more F1 stars to race at the 500 or even in the full Verizon IndyCar Series. Then again, seeing an F1 star in the 500 would probably need a partner already involved in IndyCar. Honda supplying engines in IndyCar as well as for McLaren in F1 worked perfectly to enable Alonso's participation. Even if there were F1 drivers with some Indy 500 ambitions, they would need the right circumstances to participate.

I'm a bit skeptical about seeing many more F1 stars at Indy in the near future. Alonso may be the most likely also in the upcoming years as he's stated he's aiming for the Triple Crown of Monaco GP, Indy 500, and Le Mans 24 Hours victories. But if he wins at Indy, he may not come back again. He'd unlikely leave F1 again for a race he's already won. Besides, once he's won at Indy, the Le Mans victory would be his big aim outside F1.

I want to see Alonso running at Indy again in the future, and I believe the pace he's showed so far will encourage him to do it, unless he achieves his aim of the Indy 500 victory already this year. That's why I do hope somebody else wins this Sunday. Alonso winning would be a great and popular storyline, yet I can imagine also other great storylines. While the attention was on the F1 star Alonso, I found it sweet that Scott Dixon won the pole; he may be the best active driver who's never raced in F1.

One of the nicest storylines for the race I could imagine would be Alexander Rossi winning his second consecutive Indy 500. Rossi was the USA's best prospect to have a career in F1, though being unable to secure an F1 seat made him make a switch to the Verizon IndyCar Series where he won the Indy 500 as a rookie.

I wasn't a huge fan of Rossi last year. I didn't like his comments where he said he would rather have raced for (the backmarker team) Manor in F1 than in IndyCar, even though he was racing for one of IndyCar's top organizations. His 500 victory was quite underwhelming, enabled by a fuel-mileage run to the checkered flag while others had to stop for fuel. While he had shown competitive pace throughout the month, so had the entire Andretti Autosport team and Rossi hadn't been the fastest of the teammates.

While the 500 still remains his only victory, he's been improving ever since. A mechanical retirement may have cost him the victory at this year's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. He qualified on the front row in third place for this year's Indy 500, eight places higher than last year. His comments about racing Indy cars have become more positive and the 25-year-old American may become one of the Verizon IndyCar Series' biggest stars.

The five races for the backmarker Manor didn't allow Rossi to make an impression in F1. But what a nice storyline it would be if he won his second consecutive Indy 500, beating two-time F1 world champion Fernando Alonso among others. He is in a great position to do it, having qualified in third place as the best of the Andretti Autosport drivers, one of which Alonso is. A young American succeeding would be great for the Verizon IndyCar Series with ageing stars.

The F1 world is following this Indy 500 closer than usually. If Rossi won his second consecutive Indy 500, maybe it might open F1 doors for him. While losing a young American would be a blow for the Verizon IndyCar Series, I would be happy to see a top IndyCar driver going to F1. Rossi is still young enough to be attractive for F1 teams. And anyway, if Rossi won, Alonso would have a reason to return to Indy, which would be great for Indy car racing.

Anyway, my favorites for the victory are Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan, Andretti Autosport's Ryan Hunter-Reay, and Team Penske's Will Power. Dixon must be the favorite after his impressive pole but his teammate Kanaan is always a strong contender on ovals. Although Hunter-Reay missed the Fast 9 qualifying, I think he's the best oval racer of the Andretti team and even the entire series.

If Chevrolet has the better package, then you can't overlook Penske, despite their poor qualifying. Not only Power was the only Penske driver to make the Fast 9 but he's also become very competitive on ovals; he's the Indy 500 runner-up from two years ago and he won last year at Pocono, the track most similar to Indy. Penske of course has the three-time Indy 500 winner Hélio Castroneves, yet I see Power as a stronger contender than Castroneves who hasn't won a race in almost three years.

Both Alonso and Rossi can also be expected to have competitive cars prepared by Andretti Autosport. How Alonso performs in the traffic remains to be seen after the practice he's had this month. Rossi has now one year of oval experience under his belt; if he's to win the 500 again, he probably needs to do it racing wheel-to-wheel and not by strategy like last year.