Fernando Alonso believes his assault on the 2017 Indy 500 is necessary if he wants to be considered "a complete driver" in motorsport.
Alonso will make his debut at The Brickyard in a McLaren entry powered by Andretti Autosport and Honda on May 28 following a landmark announcement by the team on Wednesday. The Spaniard looks set to endure another painful and fruitless season with McLaren, with Honda falling well short of expectations for the third year in a row.
The Spaniard -- who wants to complete a Triple Crown with victories in the Indy 500 and Le Mans 24 Hours to go with his two Monaco Grand Prix wins -- insists his one-off appearance will not detract from the remainder of the Formula One season.
"I know it is a one-off because immediately after Indianapolis I will be in Canada and my full focus remains in F1 -- this remains a one off but who knows the future also I will attempt more one-off races," Alonso said. "Of course the 'Triple Crown is probably one of the biggest challenges I can have in front of me."
Alonso has failed to add to the two world championships he won in 2005 and 2006, when it looked like he was set to dominate the sport like Michael Schumacher before him, and says his limited title success in F1 made him look towards other records and landmarks to break.
"Winning in F1 is great, winning eight world championships in F1 would be great to have one more than Michael but that is very, very unlikely because I don't have time to do that. But I consider myself a racer, a complete driver adapting myself to any type of car in any conditions and the best way to show this to the world is to compete in different categories and try to win them."
Despite the huge challenge facing Alonso of getting to grips with one of the most punishing race circuits in motorsport in just over one month, the Spaniard is relishing the prospect of rising to the occasion.
"F1, Le Mans 24 hours are the biggest races in the world and one day I was thinking to compete and participate. Winning is just another step forward that I was lucky enough to succeed in F1 but the other two series' will be an unknown situation because the driving technique is different but it is something that is challenging, especially when it is 46 days to Indianapolis today [Wednesday] and I know probably zero about the technique of the ovals, zero from the strategy in the races, the pit-stop procedures, start procedures...
"It is very challenging but I am not afraid of doing it, I am not afraid that I will be completely ready when the racing starts because it is very challenging and very attractive as well, I am looking forward to this event."