Brown doesn’t care how Alonso spends his spare time

McLaren boss Zak Brown says he doesn’t mind that Fernando Alonso will contest 26 races this season, including five WEC races, and believes the Spaniard has freedom to decide how he spends his spare time.

Alonso’s attempt to win the Triple crown wants to win at 24h Le Mans and this season he will drive for Toyota, the only factory team in the LMP1 category that fields two out of a total of 10 cars.

Mark Webber expressed concern that participation in the WEC championship would distract Alonso from Formula 1, but McLaren boss Zak Brown is unconcerned and says Alonso is just ‘loaned’ to Toyota.

“Fernando is limited to only driving a Toyota racing car, commercial activities, sponsorships and such things are maximally limited,” said Brown.

“When you think about Fernando, you think of him as a McLaren driver.”

Brown believes that Alonso WEC adventure will not have a negative impact on his engagement in McLaren F1 programme.

“We have everything we need for F1, so on his free weekends he would either be in the go-kart or golfing or whatever he wants,” he said. “Instead, he will be in the Toyota WEC car. ”

“He wants to spend his spare time in racing cars.”

Alonso ‘knows what he is getting into’

The double world champions from 2005 and 2006 will participate in 26 races this season, 21 in F1 and five in the WEC series, but Brown doesn’t think it’s too much for him.

“He’s a very special athlete who can do things that would  break most of us,” said Brown.

“I don’t think he would do that if he didn’t think that he could do it at the highest level.”

“He knows what he’s getting into, he’s unbelievably prepared.”

2018/2019 WEC SUPERSEASON CALENDAR

Note: All WEC races last 6 hours except 24h Le Mans

ALONSO CALENDAR FOR 2018