Zak Brown eyes former McLaren driver to lead Le Mans assault

Zak Brown has signalled he would like to see Fernando Alonso spearhead McLaren's return to Le Mans in 2027. 

The Woking team has committed to a full works entry in the hypercar class programme for 2027, with the team having claimed overall success in 1995 with the iconic McLaren P1. 

Alonso is a two-time Le Mans winner, claiming victory in 2018 and 2019 for Toyota, with the 2018 victory being the first for an active F1 driver since Nico Hulkenberg three years prior.

Although no drivers have been announced for the project, McLaren CEO Brown is clear that Alonso would be a strong contender.

"Alonso is one of the best, and I know that because he drove for us," Brown told Marca.

"He's an incredible athlete and although his days in F1 will soon be over, we have already announced that we will return to Le Mans.

"He has already won it and I would love to see him back in a McLaren."

One of McLaren's current race drivers has also offered his thoughts on a potential programme at Le Mans, although it is not something Oscar Piastri is actively considering. 

"One day, but not for a while. I'm pretty happy in F1 at the moment," Piastri explained.

"I don't think you do either championship justice by trying to juggle both.

"It's probably actually not that detrimental to your F1 championship, but when you've got a lot at stake, as we do right now, and also just not giving Le Mans the respect it deserves from a preparation standpoint, I think that is not something you want to go into with being under prepared."