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Alonso focuses above ‘small world of F1’

Fernando Alonso says his goal is to become "the best racing driver in the world" and to achieve it he's hunting success in and out of Formula 1.

Fernando Alonso says his goal is to become "the best racing driver in the world" and to achieve it he is hunting success in and out of Formula 1.

After announcing his debut entry into the Daytona 24 Hours race with United Autosports next January, a team co-founded by McLaren chief Zak Brown, Alonso says it is part of a wider plan to become the world's best racing driver with one eye on achieving the prestigious Triple Crown - winning the Monaco Grand Prix, Indianapolis 500 and Le Mans 24 Hours while Graham Hill remains the only driver in history to accomplish the feat.

Alonso has paid credit to Brown and McLaren for allowing him to line-up the opportunity to race in Daytona as it marks his first significant step towards endurance racing having also contested his maiden Indy 500 with McLaren-Honda-Andretti last May.

"I want to be the best racing driver in the world and to do that you need to compete in different series and win in different cars," Alonso said. "Sometimes you need to get out of the small world of F1. Motorsport is more than F1.

"My plans in motorsport are much greater than anyone can think.

"There are things ongoing with different opportunities for Le Mans and other series as well so we will make the best decision for motorsport, the fans and myself."

Alonso also feels the Daytona entry benefits all parties in order to help raise McLaren's profile in the US by backing up his Indy 500 debut - while planting a small dig at his former F1 bosses for denying him the opportunity to race in other series.

"I've been trying this for eight or nine years and I could not succeed with previous bosses I had before," he said. "Zak understands motorsport is bigger than what we think and some of the experiences we had from Indy 500 added value to McLaren in the US and its approach. It was a win-win situation for everyone and I am happy with this approach."

Zdroj: crash.net