The Formula One series was off last week, giving Fernando Alonso free time to travel to Alabama on an exploratory mission.

He spent the weekend at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham getting to know his competitors and teammates for the Indianapolis 500.

Alonso, a two-time Formula One champion, figured to be an also-ran in next month’s Monaco Grand Prix. It was an ignominious prospect for one of Formula One’s most talented drivers, who is also a two-time winner at Monaco.

So it was not difficult for Zak Brown, the new chief executive of Alonso’s McLaren team, to suggest something highly unusual: Alonso should skip Monaco on May 28 and run the Indianapolis 500 on that day instead. Brown knew that Alonso harbored a not-so-secret desire to try his hand at Indy.