McLaren want Fernando Alonso to rejoin them next season and have made the Ferrari driver their prime target.

The Spaniard is unsettled at Ferrari and McLaren hope to persuade him to return to a team he drove for in 2007.

When asked if he wanted the two-time F1 champion, McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh told BBC Sport: "Yes, any team would. He's the best driver. I don't know his contractual situation. I assume he's under contract."

Alonso is contractually committed to Ferrari until 2016, but there has been friction between team and driver in recent weeks, with the Spaniard unhappy with the Italian team's planning to sign Kimi Raikkonen.