Formula One driver Fernando Alonso is making a beeline for the Indianapolis 500 one month from now.
Fernando Alonso, a two-time Formula One champion, will race for the McLaren team run in partnership with Andretti Autosport, and powered by a Honda engine at the Indy 500, McLaren, Andretti Autosport, and Honda reported in a joint articulation on Wednesday. That will mean Alonso will skirt the Monaco Grand Prix, the F1 race he’s won twice that is likewise booked to run on May 28.
“The Indy 500 is a standout amongst the most acclaimed races on the worldwide motorsport date-book, matched just by the Le Mans 24 Hours and the Monaco Grand Prix, and it’s obviously a lament of mine that I won’t have the capacity to race at Monaco this year,” Alonso said in an announcement. “Be that as it may, Monaco will be the only 2017 Grand Prix I’ll be missing, and I’ll be back in the cockpit of the McLaren-Honda MCL32, for the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal toward the beginning of June.”
It has been a long time since McLaren ran in the Indy 500.
Fernando Alonso, who won Formula One titles in 2005 and 2006, has never contended on an oval track in his profession.
Nine freshman drivers have won the Indy 500, including Alexander Rossi finally year’s race. Rossi headed to triumph for the team co-owned by previous driver Bryan Herta and Andretti Autosport.
McLaren said in an announcement that the team would declare a swap for Alonso “at the appointed time.”
“Fernando’s absence of experience on super-speedways is not of worry to me. I do trust that the Indianapolis 500 is one of the best places for a freshman to begin, in light of the fact that there is the open door for so much practice time on the track — and, as we have illustrated, it can be won by a rookie on the block,” Andretti Autosport owner and previous F1 driver Michael Andretti said in an announcement. “Fernando is an awesome talent, and I have full certainty that he will represent unequivocally for McLaren, Honda and Andretti Autosport.”
It isn’t 1965, yet it sounds like it’s truly going to happen. Racer says that an arrangement was expedited between McLaren boss Zak Brown and IndyCar head Mark Miles, that’ll see the 2005 and 2006 F1 best on the planet in a 6th car for Andretti Autosport this May at Indy. Supposedly, Jenson Button will sit down for the Monaco Grand Prix.
Depend on it, this is a major ordeal. Alonso is one of, if not the best driver on the planet and has been saddled with poo gear for a considerable length of time. Running with Andretti Autosport would combine Alonso with the team that won the 500 in 2014 and 2016.
Questions with Fernando Alonso
McLaren-Honda Formula 1 driver, two-time F1 champion, and the world’s most up to date oval racer Fernando Alonso talked about adding his name to the Indy 500 section list in May, with Andretti Autosport/McLaren.
Why The Indy 500, And Why Now?
Fernando Alonso: “I think the intrigue is clear: It’s one of the best races on the planet, and a standout amongst the most prestigious races on the planet. As a driver, in the event that you need to be viewed as the best, you should have the capacity to drive all type of autos in all various series, and have the capacity to be focused in every one of them and if conceivable, win in every one of them.
“So after effective F1 titles, I think the chance to race in the Indy 500, the chance to race one day later on in Le Mans, the fantasy of the triple crown winning all the enormous three, is something alluring from a driver’s perspective.
“I think it was an overcome choice to compete this year already with a brief timeframe to adjust and to learn numerous things that will be important, yet it’s an enormous test before us that is so big, that it is energizing in the meantime.”
Are There Any Indy 500 Legends You Are Keen To Meet?
FA: “I [haven’t spoken] with anybody yet from the legends of Indy or the ebb and flow drivers, however I’m certain we will have a considerable measure of assistance from my partners, from Andretti Autosport, with an awesome involvement in rookies on the block and in addition what we saw a year ago with Alexander [Rossi].
“I got two or three [texts] likewise from various drivers, and one from [former F1 driver and two-time Indy 500 winner] Juan Pablo Montoya, [who] kept in touch with me some few hours back saying ‘welcome to Indy, anything you may need, I’m here.’ There’s awesome regard and incredible welcome so far in a primary couple of hours, and I will attempt to meet them as much as I can, and gain from everyone because certainly, it’s a totally extraordinary and diverse driving procedure I should learn very soon.”
Will You Have The Capacity To Take In The Track On A Test System Before The Principal Test?
“The program is as yet not characterized. Still some few discussions about the likelihood of testing the simulator either in Italy or Indianapolis, together likewise with some seat fitting that is required in Indianapolis in Andretti’s plant, and there’s some discussion about testing the car before free practice. As I stated, [I’m] still exceptionally open.
“The just a single thing that is affirmed: I will go to the [Barber Motorsports Park IndyCar] race one weekend from now (April 22-23) in Alabama. It’s not an oval, but rather I will go there to see the race behind the scene, in order to have the principal touch with the team that have an awesome atmosphere when Indy comes.”
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