ARROW MCLAREN SP

If Fernando Alonso has inevitably stolen the show over the past few days, it’s the squad’s full-timers Pato O’ward and Oliver Askew who have delivered without threatening the wall. It will be disappointing to all that they’ve done so without threatening the Andretti cars or Dixon, but their wisdom at such a young age has been impressive all year, and that has continued at IMS.

Their performances at Iowa Speedway proved that both drivers have the guts to stick it out with any of the series’ established aces, and they both have a strong feel for the car. O’ward is the one that you’d expect to be making the bold slashes through traffic and kissing the SAFER barrier with his outside rear tyre. He has superquick hands and mind. But Askew, while his talents are less overt, can be very incisive too. And, of course, he has the memory of the Freedom 100 Indy Lights victory last year to boost his confidence around the Speedway.

The pair of them will be learning at the feet of one of the finest talents of 21st century open-wheel racing: Alonso will doubtless be reaping the benefits of listening to two racers who have less overall experience than himself but greater oval mileage. He’s made it tough on himself by crashing the best parts of his original car, but it’s impossible to imagine him not making strong forward progress at the drop of the green this Sunday. Hopefully he’ll enjoy the experience enough (again) that he’ll return once his Renault F1 commitments are over.

“HE’S MADE IT TOUGH ON HIMSELF, BUT IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO IMAGINE ALONSO NOT MAKING STRONG PROGRESS AT THE DROP OF THE GREEN”