Alonso: Bahrain test not a precursor to full F1 comeback

SAKHIR, Bahrain -- Fernando Alonso says his decision to test a McLaren Formula One car next week should not be interpreted as the first step towards a return to the series in 2020.

Alonso left F1 at the end of the 2018 season to pursue new challenges, but after just two races away he will return to the cockpit of a modern F1 car to complete one and half days of tyre testing in Bahrain.

Among those new challenges is a second attempt at winning the Indy 500 in May and the completion of his first season in the World Endurance Championship in June. He has no further commitments to race beyond those events, meaning a return to F1 in 2020 could be possible.

"As I said last year, and in Barcelona…