No room in McLaren’s IndyCar project for F1 rejects - Brown

Zak Brown has suggested there is now no place in McLaren's IndyCar project for either Sergio Perez or Kevin Magnussen should they fail to find a new seat in Formula 1 for 2021.

After Perez was axed by Racing Point in September, Brown had suggested he would talk to Perez about the team's IndyCar plans</u>, while Magnussen has maintained his links with McLaren after starting his F1 career with the team in 2014-15.

While Perez is now being heavily linked with a drive with Williams, Magnussen's options look bleak.

Asked if there was a potential haven for either driver in the US, Brown said: “We do have our [IndyCar] driver line-up sorted. One of those drivers is announced, one is yet to be announced.

“I think Kevin is a very fast driver, very aggressive, which I think fits IndyCar driving styles, but I don’t think there is a window of opportunity for Kevin in our IndyCar team. Had there been, he would definitely have been considered.

“I think Sergio, too, is an extremely good talent and someone that would be great to have in an IndyCar. I suspect he’ll stay in Formula 1, but I don’t know that for sure, but I think a third car for us, other than at the Indy 500, is unlikely.”

McLaren, who ran a car for Fernando Alonso at the Indy 500 in 2017, has grown its involvement in the series, partnering with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports to run an official two-car joint entry known as Arrow McLaren SP this season.

The team ran a third car for Spaniard Alonso again at Indy this year, and in August Brown confirmed they could repeat the feat next year if an agreement could be reached with Renault, with whom the 39-year-old drives in its rebranded form as Alpine.

Although it appears there will be no clash between the Indy 500 and an F1 race next year, a return to Indy for Alonso seems unlikely, which means there could at least be a one-off Indy 500 spot for another F1 retiree in McLaren’s plans.

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