Alonso confident heading into Indy 500
INDIANAPOLIS— His steering wheel has been secured and the car is the proper colour, two signs Fernando Alonso has a far better shot this year at the Indianapolis 500. The former Formula One champion failed to qualify for the race last year i n a spectacularly woeful effort by McLaren. The Spaniard has returned to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a third attempt at winning the final leg of motorsports’ version of the Triple Crown, this time with an experienced organization.
Alonso will drive in the Aug. 23 race for Arrow McLaren SP, the Sam Schmidt-owned team that has been bolstered this year by a partnership with McLaren. During his recent seat fitting, Alonso noted the team is on top of preparations.
“I found a lot of talented people and good resources on everything, a lot of personnel, each one doing a specific job,” Alonso told The Associated Press on Tuesday. “I had a very nice feeling, a nice surprise of how well the team is organized and prepared and I think it’s going to be a good 500 for us.”
Alonso entered his first Indy 500 in 2017 with Andretti Autosport and led 27 laps before an engine failure ended his day late in the race. He returned last season as McLaren attempted to build a team that could qualify for Indianapolis on its own.
The project was a disaster from the start. The team tried to make its own steering wheel and wound up scrambling to buy one instead for Alonso’s first test in the car. He lost track time at both the test and at Indianapolis when his cars weren’t the proper shade of McLaren orange. The miscues continued all the way through qualifying when Alonso was bumped from the field of 33 by cars with considerably smaller budgets.
“I think last year was different, we were maybe too new for this job and the people maybe did not have the experience in IndyCar that was required for the event,” Alonso said. “With the guys here at Arrow, they’ve been racing for many years and they know everything about the series, they know everything about the car.”