Share this article on LinkedIn Email

McLaren is not charging its sponsors any extra for their involvement with Fernando Alonso's Indianapolis 500 programme, in part due to its troubled Formula 1 fortunes.

Alonso's Andretti Autosport-run Dallara-Honda is almost entirely bedecked in McLaren's traditional orange and covered with stickers representing the team's partners.

Executive director Zak Brown said the outfit felt offering that branding without additional cost helped offset the exposure lost through McLaren-Honda's on-track struggles in F1.

"It's something we're doing as part of our larger motor racing programme, to deliver for our partners," he said.

"It isn't anything we have charged them incrementally for.

"As good partners, you need to recognise when you're delivering and when you are not and we're not delivering on track, which directly impacts their exposure.

"So this is a great way to offset that loss of exposure we are generating now with a tremendous amount of exposure.

"We felt that was the right thing to do.

"Commercially, it's to make sure we deliver to our partners the exposure we promised."

Alonso will line up fifth for his maiden Indy 500 attempt on Sunday, hours after Jenson Button contests the Monaco Grand Prix as his replacement.

Brown said F1's new owner supports Alonso's IndyCar bid, despite the double world champion missing the blue-ribband grand prix.

"They like it," he said. "I was just with [Liberty Media CEO] Greg Maffei, and he thinks it is super cool.

"I think it's such a good story, it generates great exposure for everyone.

"In reality, we're not in the zone where people are showing up to watch McLaren race right now.

"I think the fact we brought Jenson back is a bigger story than had we just continued to run our two drivers.

"It's created a massive story in America and it's created an additional talking point here.

"I don't think we've sacrificed that much because we're here to win races and Jenson was on it right away.

"We want to get in the points here and at the same time have a successful Indy 500 so we come out with three great results instead of two."