McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has revealed his predecessor Ron Dennis is supportive of the team's upcoming Indianapolis 500 endeavour, describing his feedback as 'pretty cool'.

McLaren will take to the start of the Indy 500 for the first time in 37 years this weekend with Fernando Alonso driving a Honda-powered Andretti Autosport-prepared machine, the Spaniard set to get away from the second row for the 200 lap race.

Though McLaren has a rich and successful history in the iconic event, this renewed project - which come together less than two months before the race - is considered to be very much the hallmark of new CEO Brown, who was announced as taking over from the ousted Ron Dennis in November.

However, Brown suggests Dennis - who has stayed out of the public gaze since he was forced to end his tenure after 36 years - is on board with the team's Indy 500 because it offers a chance to look competitive.

"I do chat with Ron from time to time," he told Crash.net. "I think his feedback on this was pretty cool. Ron's a racer. Always has been, and so I think any time Ron can see McLaren being competitive in a major form of motorsports."

"Ron is Mr. McLaren in many ways and always will be, and I'm a big admirer of what he's achieved. He's spoken in the years about being a chapter in the McLaren book. My view is that he's an encyclopaedia version of McLaren."