F1’s Alonso quickly gets up to speed
INDIANAPOLIS — Fernando Alonso spent a couple of hours and several laps on Wednesday working up to a moment of truth for a race car driver making his first serious run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
But with the help of Andretti Autosport, which will field a car for the Formula One star in conjunction with Team McLaren in the Indianapolis 500 on May 28, Alonso knew it was time to go for it. In racing parlance it’s known as going “flat” through turn one — not lifting off the throttle, though that seems nonsensical at more than 220 mph.
“So I arrive at turn one and I was convinced 100 percent that I was flat out, but the (right) foot was not flat out; it had its own life,” Alonso said, grinning. “It was not connecting the brain with my foot at that moment. So the second or third lap I was able to do it. But the first lap was definitely a very good feeling, to be able to feel the respect of the place, the respect of the car, the respect practice
Indianapolis 500 qualifying
Indianapolis 500 practice
Indianapolis 500 practice; Indy Lights Freedom 100, 12:30 p.m.
101st Indianapolis 500, noon of the speed, you know? It’s something that for any racing driver is just pure adrenaline. It was a good day.”
His day started after IndyCar veteran Marco Andretti had provided a shakedown run in the car. Alonso, 35 and a two-time Formula One champion, then drove slower laps as part of the rookie orientation program before coming back with more speed in another session.
It was the Spaniard’s first major step toward becoming the first current Formula One driver to compete in the 500 since Mario Andretti made a habit of it in the late 1970s. Until Wednesday, the only experience Alonso had at Indy was when he ran the F1 races on the road course at the speedway in the mid-2000s.
“The track, it is narrower than what I thought,” Alonso said. “When you watch on television and you see three cars side by side on the main straight, and now you are in a car on the main straight, it’s hard to imagine you can fit three cars there.”
That’s a new perspective, but Alonso took to the place quickly, something that did not surprise Mario Andretti.
“He’s a champion,” said Andretti, 77. “He’s got the experience (in big-time racing), and he’s got a car that’s set up properly. Marco made sure there would be no surprises for him. So I’m not surprised at all. But he’s doing everything that’s expected of him and more, and it’s a pleasant thing to watch.”