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Alonso's bid breaks long drought of F1 drivers at the Indy 500

Posted at 8:46 AM, Apr 13, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-13 14:40:57-04

INDIANAPOLIS -- Three score and five years ago the first Formula 1 driver stepped into the Gasoline Alley. While the Indianapolis 500 had been on F1’s schedule during the two previous seasons none of the F1 drivers had made the trip to Indy. But in 1952, Alberto Ascari did.

Ascari was a budding legend. He didn’t know it then, but he would go on to win the Championship that year, then win it again in ’53. He along with the great Juan Manuel Fangio formed the first great rivalry in Formula 1. They traded world titles from 1951 to ’54.

Ascari would be dead three years after he arrived at Indianapolis. A testing crash at Monza claimed his life. Such was the risk and the reality of racing back then, danger and death lurking at every corner.

In ’52, Ascari and his lipstick red Ferrari qualified alright (19) but finished poorly (31). The result did not dissuade his F1 brethren from testing themselves at Indy’s four-turn proving ground for long. Greats like Jack Brabham, Denny Hulme, Jochen Rindt and Sir Jackie Stewart came. Jim Clark and Graham Hill won.

As the years went on, fewer champions came in their prime. Emerson Fittipaldi won two 500s while his racing career found an amazingly successful second wind in America; his first Indy win came 15 years after his last F1 title. Nigel Mansell shocked the world by following up his 1992 F1 title by heading to IndyCar for two 500s at a debut age of 39. A bad late restart cost Mansell the 500 in ’93.

After Mansell, the World Champs stopped coming. No Michael Schumacher. No Ayrton Senna. No Mika Hakkinen or Damon Hill. The divide between IndyCar and Formula 1 seemed light-years apart.

And then came a Spaniard: Fernando Alonso. His name rolls off the tongue melodically, and his resume is just as sweet. His name would appear on the shortest of short lists of the greatest drivers in the world. Anyone who doesn’t know his name simply doesn’t know racing.

He’s a two-time Formula 1 champ. He’s the driver who dethroned the great Schumacher. And two doesn’t do him justice. Infighting and more than mild toxicity tanked what should’ve been a golden 2007 with McLaren. He stepped into a lipstick red Ferrari, the team Ascari brought to Indy, and performed spectacularly. But spectacular wasn’t enough during the age of Vettel. Typical F1: one team always has it, everyone else chases. From 2010 to 2013 Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull had it. Alonso and Ferrari finished second, thrice.

Alonso’s stats are still pristine. 32 wins spaced out over nine different seasons. He’s finished on the podium 97 times. Six times he finished third in the championship or better. For most of his career he was the lead driver on his team.

The last few years have born little fruit for Alonso. Not so much a reflection on him, not even Fangio or Senna could have done much more in the McLaren Honda Alonso has been trudging around in.

But then, at last a forbidden fruit was found somewhere hidden in the McLaren thicket.

As it turned out, the Indianapolis 500 was not as unobtainable as once thought. It wasn’t just a retirement present or a fallback if you couldn’t find a ride at Ferrari or Mercedes. It wasn’t just a dream. It is real. Sixty-five years after Ascari bridged the divide, Alonso will scrape the thick dust off the bridge and cross it himself.

He’s entered the 101st Indianapolis 500.

And he won’t be doing it as a scrub either. Andretti Autosport is the defending 500 champion. Two 500 winners (Ryan Hunter-Reay and Alexander Rossi) will be two of his teammates. Two of his teammates (Rossi and Takuma Sato) once raced in F1. Another of his teammates, a rejuvenated Marco Andretti, has shown the pace he’s lacked over the last few seasons. Alonso can not only compete, he’s got the chance to win and duplicate the feat Graham Hill accomplished 51 years ago: coming from F1 and winning as a rookie.

Can he do it? Indy can be intimidating. Those narrow turns have shaken brave men before, it’s scarred off brave men too. But it couldn’t scare off Alonso. He’s coming, with his McLaren team in tow, in the steps of Ascari he will stride, and in the Greatest Spectacle, he will race.

 

The Current announced field for the 101st Indianapolis 500

(30 cars, 11 Americans, 6 winners, 4 rookies. Cars from Juncos and Lazier not included)

1 Simon Pagenaud, France, Penske, Chevy

2 Josef Newgarden, USA, Penske, Chevy

3 Helio Castroneves, Brazil, Penske, Chevy, W (01, 02, 09)

4 Conor Daly, USA, Foyt, Chevy

5 James Hinchcliffe, Canada, Schmidt Peterson, Honda

7 Mikhail Aleshin, Russia, Schmdit Peterson, Honda

8 Max Chilton, England, Ganassi, Honda

9 Scott Dixon, New Zealand, Ganassi, Honda, W (2008)

10 Tony Kanaan, Brazil, Ganassi, Honda, W (2013)

12 Will Power, Australia, Penske, Chevy

14 Carlos Munoz, Columbia, Foyt, Chevy

15 Graham Rahal, USA, Rahal Letterman Lanigan, Honda

16 Oriol Servia, Spain, Rahal Letterman Lanigan, Honda

18 Sebastien Bourdais, France, Coyne, Honda

19 Ed Jones, U.A.E., Coyne, Honda, Rookie

20 Ed Carpenter, USA, Carpenter, Chevy

21 JR Hildebrand, USA, Carpenter, Chevy

22 Juan Pablo Montoya, Columbia, Penske, Chevy, W (00, 15)

24 Sage Karam, USA, Dreyer & Reinbold, Chevy

26 Takuma Sato, Japan, Andretti, Honda

27 Marco Andretti, USA, Andretti, Honda

28 Ryan Hunter-Reay, USA, Andretti, Honda, W (2014)

29 Fernando Alonso, Spain, Andretti-McLaren, Honda, Rookie

40 Zach Veach, USA, Foyt, Chevy, Rookie

50 Jack Harvey, England, Andretti-MSR, Honda, Rookie

63 Pippa Mann, England, Coyne, Honda

77 Jay Howard, England, Schmidt Peterson, Honda

83 Charlie Kimball, USA, Ganassi, Honda

88 Gabby Chaves, Columbia, Harding, Chevy

 

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98 Alexander Rossi, USA, Andretti-Herta, Honda, W (2016)