McLaren CEO Zak Brown has implied the prospects of the team joining the NTT IndyCar Series in the near future as more "when than if".
The Woking-based outfit will be participating in the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500 with double Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso as the Spaniard chases down motorsport's unofficial 'triple crown'.
It will also mark McLaren's first event at the Brickyard after a 40-year absence as a factory team.
McLaren has been linked to an expanded IndyCar effort for several years and is weighing up a potential two-car entry, perhaps as early as next season.
"The racing is outstanding. Great teams, great drivers, great venues, so it's a place that McLaren would like to race,” Brown told IndyCar.com.
"There is no doubt that the shareholders at McLaren would like to be in IndyCar. I think it's more of a ‘when’ than an ‘if.’
"If we were to do it for 2020, I think you'd need to make that decision (this) summer in order to be properly prepared.
"So it's nothing that we've ruled out for 2020, and that decision will come sometime in the summer, and if not then, then we'll look towards 2021."
For Alonso's 2017 effort McLaren linked up with Andretti Autosport and Honda, but for 2019 it has instead formed an alliance with Carlin.
Carlin will provide technical support to McLaren, allowing both teams to share data and provide more on-track team-mates for Alonso courtesy of Carlin's trio of drivers Patricio O'Ward, Charlie Kimball and Max Chilton.
"This year, it feels like a lot more work because we're going about it as McLaren Racing," added the McLaren boss.
"So maybe the nerves are a little bit higher because you knew with Michael (Andretti’s team), you were going to have an outstanding, proven race car and racing team, and so I think that this effort comes with some higher risk, but then also potentially has a higher reward. This time is a totally different experience, this is a full McLaren effort.
"We're getting some assistance from Carlin, but that is more operational, giving Fernando some team-mates, some data sharing, things of that nature, which is good because being a one-car team, you can get lost around Indianapolis.
"We need some kind of support and some element of having some teammates come the month of May. So this is a big undertaking. It’s going to be a big task. It's unbelievably competitive and going to be a big entry, and I think going there as a one-car new team is a challenge, but we're up for that challenge."
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