Brown hopeful Alonso will finish racing career at McLaren

Zak Brown hopes that Fernando Alonso will not only see out his time in Formula 1 with the McLaren team, but also remain with the British marque until he is ready to retire from all forms of motorsport.

Alonso, 36, signed a new multi-year deal to remain with McLaren beyond the end of last year, but has already been trying out other forms of motorsport including IndyCar and sports car racing as part of his bid to win the 'triple crown of motorsport'.

Alonso raced with McLaren at the Indianapolis 500 last year, and the team is known to be interested in a possible return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where the Spaniard will compete this year with Toyota.

Asked about Alonso's long-term future with McLaren and if his contract included any break clauses, Brown stressed the team had a long-term deal in place that he hoped would stretch to the very end of the two-time F1 champion's career.

"We've got a long-term agreement with Fernando. We won't go any further than that on any contractual terms," Brown said.

"He's very happy here at McLaren. Quite frankly I've never seen him so happy in a racing environment as he is today.

"We've got long-term plans together. He obviously has his desires to race in other forms of motor racing, and I'd like to think he'll finish his career with McLaren - not just in Formula 1.

"For however long he'd like to drive, we'd like to race with him."

Alonso was linked with a move away from McLaren throughout 2017 due to the team's struggles with engine partner Honda, only for it to switch to a Renault power unit supply for 2018.

The deal with Renault stretches to the end of the 2020 season ahead of the introduction of the new F1 power unit regulations for 2021.