McLaren hints at "bigger picture" with Alonso Indy deal

The Woking-based team has made an unprecedented move in entering a car at Indianapolis for Alonso, who will skip the Monaco Grand Prix to take part in IndyCar's blue riband event.

With Alonso making no secret of the fact that he wants to become the first man since Graham Hill to take the Triple Crown of victories in Monaco, Indy and Le Mans, the prospect of being able to do that alongside F1 is something McLaren knows it can offer over other outfits.

When asked if its plan was part of a bid to nail down Alonso to a 2018 contract, racing director Eric Boullier said: "Why not, you know? Everybody has got his own tricks when you have to negotiate about a contract."

Alonso absence

With Monaco perhaps offering McLaren its best chance of a good result this season, the team is aware of what opportunities it could lose to score valuable championship points.

However, Boullier says that the decision to let Alonso race in Indy is justified because of the wider implications for the future, and the fact it has a high quality replacement in Jenson Button.

"It is a bigger picture than this," said Boullier, when asked about what not having Alonso in Monaco could cost the team.

"First I have got Jenson in the car, so I have another world champion who can extract the best out of this car.

"We have Stoffel [Vandoorne] who we believe has one of the greatest potentials and will be also there.

"He has won GP2 in Monaco, so he knows how to race there, and then it is not a missed opportunity. In the bigger picture it is more rewarding for McLaren Honda."

He added: "We have a strong relationship and partnership with Honda. We want to show that we can be competitive. It is part of the legacy of the past that McLaren was racing and winning in Indy 500.

"This is our best market as well - the first market in terms of commercial and automotive side. So there are a lot of positive boxes to tick in this project, part of building a longer term relationship with Honda and Alonso."