Alonso turns to Indy on drive to be best
Fernando Alonso sees the big picture. And now he wants the world to see it with him.
He doesn’t care if you’re a Formula One fan, an IndyCar fan or anything else. Racing is racing, the Spaniard says, and there is only one thing that matters: being the best in the world.
That’s why the internationally known F1 star has decided to skip the Monaco Grand Prix, cross the Atlantic Ocean and compete in the Indianapolis 500 on May 28. Because when you get to be 35, you don’t have time to care about petty squabbles over which series is superior.
“When you’re young, you’re focused on racing and winning and everything on the track side,” Alonso told The Indian-
apolis Star on Sunday before the Grand Prix of Alabama. “But with time and with experience, with 16 years in Formula One … your values change. You change as a person. (You start thinking) about your legacy. I start seeing more the big picture.
“I want to be remembered as the best driver in the world.”
And the best way the twotime world champion can figure to do that is to do something only one other driver in motor sports history (Graham Hill) has accomplished: Win the racing triple crown (Monaco, the 500 and 24 Hours of Le Mans).
So with two Monaco titles in the bank, it’s on to Indy.
He knows the task is daunting. But he’s ready and eager to put in the work. In fact, Alonso already has begun. Make no mistake, the McLaren driver didn’t come here during what little off time he has just to amuse North American reporters with jokes about Juan Pablo Montoya — though he did that, too. He came to Leeds to learn. Alonso, who will race under the flag of Andretti Autosport, said he has watched the last three 500s. And after his test session May 3 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he says, he will continue to watch old videos and study data.
But he has never driven an Indy car or raced on an oval or at a superspeedway. He will have only the May 3 test and about two weeks of preparation to draw on before trying his hand at one of the most competitive and demanding races in the world. The learning curve, Alonso concedes, will be massive.
“(I’m) a rookie — or even less than a rookie,” Alonso said during a news conference Sunday before listing the obstacles he will have to overcome. “The traffic, I think the level of downforce, the feeling with the car, running with a car that is not symmetric on the straits, on breaking. Traffic I think is a big thing, at least what I’m hearing. … I think the restarts, the strategies are a little bit different, as well. But as I said, I’m with the best team possible for the type of lessons I need to learn.” Gil de Ferran, the 2003 Indy 500 winner, will coach him, and team owner Michael Andretti will call the race for Alonso, who will have the opportunity to learn the IMS course’s ins and outs from veterans Takuma Sato, Marco Andretti and former 500 champions Ryan Hunter-Reay and Alexander Rossi.
Many have suggested Rossi’s win as a rookie last year as one of the biggest advantages Alonso will have in trying to snare the second jewel of the triple crown. Alonso said while it’s comforting to know Andretti has been through a process like this with a rookie who was famously clueless about Indy cars, Rossi’s victory might have given the world the wrong impression about how tough it is to win “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
“The perception from many people in Europe or Asia who don’t follow Indy so close is that last year they know a rookie won the Indy 500, so this year will be easy (for me),” Alonso told The
Indianapolis Star. “In a way, I’m happy to have that experience and to be on the same team as him and learn form him, but on the other side, (some people) will look at it like I should be winning. ‘If Alexander did it, why not?’ ”
In other words, Alonso knows he’s a long shot. But he made it clear that he will enjoy as much of the experience as he can, and if he can’t pull off a second 500 upset in a row, he and Indy will meet again. Soon.
“I want to win the triple crown,” Alonso said. “So if I don’t do it this year, I have to do it next year.”
“The restarts, the strategies are a little bit different. ... I’m with the best team possible for the type of lessons I need to learn.” Fernando Alonso, on shifting to IndyCar racing with Andretti Autosport