Have McLaren scored an own-goal by letting Fernando Alonso miss the Monaco Grand Prix for the Indy 500?

Instead of trying to bring the best out of an ailing McLaren-Honda on the streets of Monte Carlo, Alonso will be 4,554 miles away trying to win the Indianapolis 500

Fernando Alonso's frustrations are pushing him closer to the McLaren exit (Getty)

If the decision taken by McLaren to allow Fernando Alonso dip his toes into the world of Indy Car by competing at next weekend’s Indianapolis 500 was an attempt to lift the frustrated Formula One driver’s spirits, then it may have backfired already.

The two-time world champion has not hidden his desire to win motorsport’s Triple Crown: the Indy 500, the Le Mans 24 Hours and the Monaco Grand Prix. He has already ticked off one of those after triumphing on the streets of Monte Carlo, twice, in 2006 and 2007, and next weekend he will try to add the Brickyard to his extensive list of race wins.

But early signs from the United States aren’t exactly what Alonso fans will want to see. He finished practice on Tuesday down in 24th, more than 3.5mph off Will Power’s fastest average time. This isn’t the end of the world for his Indy hopes though, with more than a week left of practice and qualifying to negotiate.

More concerning are the noises that are coming out of Alonso and the fact that if McLaren are looking to keep their best driver, they need him in the cockpit of their own car and not an Andretti Autosport one.

With his attention clearly starting to wain after a difficult 2017 so far, the Spaniard has already been making noises about his next move that, if there is no clear improvement with McLaren-Honda, will be to another team or even another class of racing.

“I like this F1,” Alonso said before his home Spanish Grand Prix at the weekend, in which he vastly outperformed the McLaren’s practice pace to qualify seventh before coming home in 12th. “My intention or first priority is to race here. “I am happy with the team, but we are not winning.

“If from here to September/October we are in a position where we see clearly a possibility to win in 2018, I will be more than happy to stay with the team. If it is not the case, then I will be more than happy to talk to anyone.”

These aren’t the positions that Alonso wants to compete for, nor the sounds that a man fully committed to his team will make. But Spain did at least feel like a step in the right direction, and with the emphasis on aerodynamics and chassis-build at next weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix rather than the top speed that the Honda clearly lacks, McLaren should be in good nick for another positive weekend.

Alonso will miss the Monaco Grand Prix as he'll be competing at the Indy 500 (Getty)

So why have they allowed Alonso to miss the race in order to compete in a category that they currently have little to do with? Rather than developing the McLaren-Honda further to get the best out of it this weekend and further down the line, the Woking outfit will instead be trying to get Jenson Button back up to speed, a man who retired from the sport at the end of last season and has made it clear he has no intention of competing in any more grand prixs than in Monaco – where he resides.

Despite the good publicity that Alonso’s American holiday is bringing the team at a desperate time of need, the move is starting to feel like a bit of an own goal. Fail to score any points in Monaco – or worse leave the Principality with two damaged cars as has been seen before on the tight public roads surrounded by ArmCo barrier – and fail to make a serious impression in the Indy 500, and McLaren will be straight back to square one; an angry Alonso fighting at the back of the field before his inevitable departure.