Fernando Alonso will miss the Monaco Grand Prix on May 28th, to instead head stateside to compete in the 101st Indianapolis 500. 

McLaren have announced that the team will enter, with Andretti Autosport running the car for the two-time Formula 1 world champion. 

The shock announcement comes as McLaren have continued to struggle with its Honda power unit in the 2017 season, which has severely dented Alonso's confidence in the package ever delivering on its promise. 

"Immensely excited"

"I'm immensely excited that I'll be racing in this year's Indy 500, with McLaren, Honda and Andretti Autosport" said Alonso. 

"I've never raced an IndyCar before and neither have I ever driven on a superspeedway, but I'm confident that I'll get to grips with it fast." he went on to say. 

The 35-year-old continued: "The Indy 500 is one of the most famous races on the global motorsport calendar, rivalled only by the Monaco Grand Prix and Le Mans 24 Hours.

He admitted it was a regret to be missing the GP in Monaco this year, "but I'll be back in the cockpit of the McLaren MCL32 for the Canadian Grand Prix in early June."

The Indy500 forms part of Motorsport's 'Triple Crown' - the other two being the Monaco Grand Prix and Le Mans 24 Hours. (Image Credit: Indianapolis Motor Speedway.com)
The Indy500 forms part of Motorsport's 'Triple Crown' - the other two being the Monaco Grand Prix and Le Mans 24 Hours. (Image Credit: Indianapolis Motor Speedway.com)

After years of suffering with uncompetitive equipment in F1, one of the lures to Indy for Alonso is the "great precision that is required to race in close proximity with other cars on the far side of 220mph."

Who could replace him?

So far, McLaren have not announced who will replace Alonso for the one-off event, although Jenson Button is the official reserve driver for the team.

However, after he retired at the end of last season, Button said he did not want to drive in F1 in 2017. The lure of a one-off drive in Monaco, might be just too much, but there is no official word yet. 

Chances are, McLaren place one of their other drivers in the car, with Oliver Turvey, Nobuharu Matsushita, Nyck de Vries or Lando Norris being the most likely candidates. 

Matsushita is due to be on Formula 2 duties in Monaco, but could step up, while de Vries isn't regarded as the hot prospect he once was. Norris is still relatively inexperienced, and so Turvey could be the favourite if Button says no.