Alonso 'very open' to testing 2019 McLaren F1 car

Fernando Alonso is "very open" to the idea of testing McLaren's 2019 Formula 1 car as part of his continued role with the team, according to Zak Brown.

Alonso made his final F1 start for McLaren in Abu Dhabi last month after deciding to step away from the sport for 2019 so he can explore interests in other racing disciplines such as IndyCar, with a second appearance at the Indianapolis 500 already confirmed.

Alonso will remain part of the McLaren Racing family, driving for the team at the Indy 500, but team CEO Brown has also said he would like the Spaniard to play a part in its F1 interests moving forward.

2019 McLaren F1 drivers Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz Jr. have both been receptive to the idea of Alonso giving input to the team moving forward, potentially extending as far as testing next year's car at some point.

Asked by Crash.net about Alonso's thoughts on the possibility of driving the 2019 McLaren, Brown said the two-time world champion's response had been positive.

"I have spoken to Fernando about it. He is very open to it," Brown said.

"These F1 world champions, whether it's Michael Schumacher or Mika Hakkinen, who came close to a comeback, don't want to be too far from the F1 pit lane.

"There's a lot he can contribute experience-wise. Carlos and Lando are open to any ideas that will bring us experience. Fernando knows the team very well, Lando doesn't have that experience, and Carlos doesn't have that experience with us. It's something I'll be talking to him about.

"I'll go to Daytona for Fernando's Daytona testing and we're going to chat to him further then."

Brown said Alonso's exact contribution would be defined as part of McLaren's wider testing programme, which would be discussed with sporting director Gil de Ferran in the coming months.

The team is required to field a young driver for two of the four in-season test days in 2019 - a role that has been filled by Norris for the past two years - but is yet to formally name a reserve driver for next year.

"[I'm] ultimately working with Gil to decide what he thinks is the best driver testing programme for next year, as it's not only Fernando, but we have rookie tests, we have tyre tests, and we have reserve drivers that we need to consider," Brown said.

"So Gil is putting together the ultimate driver-race-testing programme, and we'll make a decision in early January."

McLaren currently has junior drivers Sergio Sette Camara and Nyck de Vries on its books, both of whom will race in Formula 2 next year.