Toyota was interested in talking to potential drivers for its FIA World Endurance Championship team and Alonso knew the technical director Pascal Vasselon from Formula One. Brown discussed an entry for the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans with Alonso and was prepared to consent to a switch to another team if certain circumstances were met. Alonso and Toyota held talks and agreed to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He visited Toyota's factory in Cologne for a seat fitting in a TS050 Hybrid in November 2017. Toyota entered Alonso into a post-season rookie test at the Bahrain International Circuit later that month to build momentum. In January 2018, McLaren and Toyota reached an agreement to allow Alonso to enter the full 2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship to increase his motivation. He joined Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima in Toyota's 8 TS050 Hybrid and replaced Anthony Davidson.