hacker-pschorr

Remember how fast Nigel Mansel got up to seed on ovals?

multi21

Yes, but the cars were much more simple back then. The electronics, aero and tire characteristics are much more complicated today.

Personally, I'm pulling for Alonso and feel that Indy car is the one that is taking a risk and come out of this looking bad if a guy who have never been in an Indy car can come in and get on with the program and beat career Indy legend drivers and teams like Penske. Perhaps Rossi winning as a rookie was an aberration last year, but if Alonso just gets on the podium....

The analogy is similar to the possible boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Conner McGregor. How bad would Mayweather look if McGregor beat him in a boxing match? The risk is all on Mayweather, but the money is so great (in this case the attention given to Indy with the likes of Alonso coming over) that it's too good to pass up.

mklaskin

Well said. The counter point is, how will it look if he has a bad day, and McLaren fail to score because their golden boy was indulging in whimsy? And with his pedigree, what's the expectation? Will it have been a mistake if he finishes lower than top 3? Top 5? Heaven forbid Honda has similar gremlins like they suffered last weekend.

Ultimately, we as fans win because that weekend will be particularly interesting.

PGas32

It's kinda a smart marketing move by McLaren too though, given that they now have a decent sized presence in the US car market. I'm still willing to bet that Honda is funding it, though. And as for Alonso - it's a great setup for him too. If he does well, it's because he's one of the best drivers in the world. If he does poorly, it can easily be explained away since no one could be expected to come in and be competitive on an oval their first time out...

gbuff

I did watch most of it--I like watching them on a bonafide road course and, though I enjoy it less (save Indy) I appreciate how fast they are on an oval.

But I have a real aversion to watching them on street courses--guess I have memories of Baltimore a few years back when they were going over the manhole covers and leaving the ground

Gary

multi21

Agree and see it as a sliding scale:.

If Alonso finishes mid pack or better, it can be considered a relative success because he's NEVER been on an oval. If he finishes top 10, it's a testament to how good of a driver he is. If he finishes on podium, it looks bad for the qualify of Indy drivers that another driver can come in first time and get on podium. If the Honda engine blows up..... then Honda will look even worse than they do in F1. If Alonso gets caught up in a crash that's not his fault, it's a push, to use a gambling term.

All in all thought, it's going to be a great weekend of racing!

mglobe

I figure that's about an order of magnitude improvement.


Yes PR comes to play here, but I'm not sure it is any bigger of a component than Kurt Busch's attempt. I suspect Alonso really does want to win the Indy 500 for himself. What driver wouldn't?

gbuff

He did say on F1.com that he wants to become the 2nd driver to win the "Triple Crown"--I find it absolutely amazing that with all the greats that have come and gone, especially in bygone days when they used to drive everything everywhere, only ONE driver has accomplished this. I got a kick out of "I'm only 35--I've got plenty of time for LeMans!"

Gary

Coochas

I love ALO as much as the next guy, but Indy oval is a whole different ball of wax. He might as well enter a BMX bike event.

Coochas

This just dawned on me. It would be so cool if RAI decided to do NASCAR. Can you imagine the radio transmissions and the pit brawls?

gbuff

IIRC he did give it a try years ago in between F1 stints......one of the lower series I think. He also tried rallying and some other stuff.

pu911rsr

This is very cool and shocking. Driving fast on an oval and wining the Indy 500 are two completely different endeavors. I wish him all the luck in the world. I remember Nelson Piquet was extremely fast as rookie until he crashed very hard.
Phil

multi21

Nico Hulkenberg has expressed his 'surprise' at the news Fernando Alonso will miss the Monaco Grand Prix to race at the Indianapolis 500 and has shot down comparisons to his dual commitments between F1 and the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2015.

Alonso rocked the motorsport world with his shock announcement to miss the Monaco F1 race in order to make a rookie appearance at IndyCar's Indianapolis 500 which are run on the same weekend.

Despite splitting his commitments between F1 and WEC for a chunk of the 2015 season – which saw him go on to win the Le Mans 24 Hours with Porsche – Hulkeneberg says he would never miss an F1 race if Le Mans had clashed.

“My case was completely different, I didn't go away from F1 in the way he is,” Hulkenberg said. “I would have never done it if I had to miss a race for it, especially Monaco.

“A big decision and big news obviously and he can do what he wants. I am a bit surprised like everybody about this situation."

Hulkenberg also predicts Alonso will have a tough time adapting to a new championship due to the different cars, tyres and oval racing – all of which will be brand new to the two-time F1 world champion. The German driver played down comparisons to his stint with Porsche as he had a lengthy testing programme to adapt to the different challenges.

“I think it is quite tough,” he said. “I don't know much about Indy but he has never driven these cars or an oval, so do you think you can come in and win that easily? I at least had half a year practice [for Le Mans].

“It sounds like a challenge but obviously Fernando likes challenges.”

gbuff

Nico's a talented driver, but IMO if, and when, he even approaches what Alonso has accomplished in his career, he can talk.

Though obviously not all his fault, again IMO right now his biggest claim to fame is that he has made the largest number of F1 starts without a win than any current driver.

Gary

mklaskin

Though obviously not all his fault, again IMO right now his biggest claim to fame is that he has made the largest number of F1 starts without a win than any current driver.

I thought that distinction belonged to Nick Heidfeld.