Alonso obsessed with Indy
FERNANDO ALONSO’S dedication to conquering the unique challenge of the Indianapolis 500 meant that he spent the nights right up to today’s race sending text messages to his driver coach, Gil de Ferran.
Until 10pm, the two men separately watched the same videos of past races on YouTube, with Alonso (below) comparing notes and picking the brains of the 2003 winner.
But before Alonso, who has qualified fifth, lowers himself into the cockpit just after noon today Eastern Time — 5pm UK time — there will be one final assault on his senses, one that any 500 rookie would find hard to withstand.
That is the view of Dario Franchitti, Britain’s three-time winner on the Speedway oval. ‘The atmosphere going on the grid will probably catch him a little bit unawares,’ said Franchitti.
‘The amount of people on the track and in the stands — up to 400,000 — will be like nothing he has tasted before. The layout makes it a giant goldfish bowl.
‘He has a lot of experience of blocking things out. But it can make you lose focus. There will be a crowd of 10,000 on the grid alone. There are 33 cars but you cannot see them for people. I used to look at my feet. I did not see the full extent of the craziness until I retired.’
There are 800 left-hand turns over 200 laps, each lasting 2.5miles, for some three hours. All that with Alonso’s team boss Michael Andretti on the radio calling the strategy and two spotters, sitting high in the stands at Turns 1 and 3, relaying information on who is around him. ‘Having the spotters will be like second nature by now after so many practice laps,’ said Franchitti.
‘As for the feeling of going left, he has done some long runs in practice. For me, the sensation only manifested itself when I got out of the car. I sometimes felt a bit dizzy but inside the cockpit it is fine.
‘The cars are designed to turn left at a certain speed. They are not designed to break or even accelerate.
‘The force while cornering takes you out to the wall and then you have to put on right-hand lock to keep it straight down the straights. It’s a big ask. These are the most difficult left-hand corners you will ever do.
‘The tolerances are so tiny. Any gust of wind makes a big differences. How do you handle that? And then there are the other cars around you and their positioning essentially changes the shape of the track.’