Alonso back to McLaren for 2020 Indy 500

Including the Indy 500 and all junior series leading up to IndyCar
Post Reply
User avatar
PTRACER
Forum Administrator
Forum Administrator
Posts: 42138
Joined: 20 years ago
Real Name: Paul
Favourite Motorsport: Formula 1
Favourite Racing Car: Lotus 49
Favourite Driver: Gilles Villeneuve, James Hunt
Favourite Circuit: Nordschleife
Car(s) Currently Owned: Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X JDM
Contact:

Alonso back to McLaren for 2020 Indy 500

#1

Post by PTRACER »

Nope, not deja vu, but it's really happening.
Two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso will contest the Indianapolis 500 for a third time with the Arrow McLaren SP IndyCar outfit.

Alonso's #66 Chevrolet-powered car, a third entry in addition to those driven by the team's full-time 2020 IndyCar drivers Patricio O'Ward and Oliver Askew, will hit the track for the first time in the Indy 500 open test on April 30.
I'll truly be supporting him with this one!
Developer of the 1967v3 Historic Mod for Grand Prix Legends: viewtopic.php?t=17429

King of the Race Track, Destroyer of Tyres, Breaker of Lap Records
User avatar
MonteCristo
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 10660
Joined: 8 years ago
Favourite Motorsport: Openwheel
Favourite Racing Car: Tyrrell P34/Protos
Favourite Driver: JV
Favourite Circuit: Road America
Location: Brisbane, Australia

#2

Post by MonteCristo »

I hope he doesn't win, just so he comes back next year :). But good news.
Oscar Piastri in F1! Catch the fever! Vettel Hate Club. Life membership.

2012 GTP Non-Championship Champion | 2012 Guess the Kai-Star Half Marathon Time Champion | 2018 GTP Champion | 2019 GTP Champion
User avatar
John
Ultimate Member
Ultimate Member
Posts: 8885
Joined: 8 years ago
Real Name: Jo
Location: Insert Swedish countryball here

#3

Post by John »

So they got one complete rookie in Askew, one almost rookie in Pato, who DNQ-ed last year, and Alonso, who has one Indy 500 under his belt. The talk of adding a fourth car for Bourdais may not seem that outer worldly, after all. They need someone to help with set ups.
2018 GTP Accuracy champion.

CEREAL IS A SOUP.
DoubleFart
Elite Member
Elite Member
Posts: 5223
Joined: 9 years ago
Real Name: YouKnowWho
Favourite Motorsport: F1

#4

Post by DoubleFart »

Cheaper to buy setups from Andretti?
Gavle Yule Goat Predictor 2018, 2019 and 2021 Champion
MonteCristo wrote: 2 years agoVettel: Not a fan at all on track. But off track, good guy.
User avatar
PTRACER
Forum Administrator
Forum Administrator
Posts: 42138
Joined: 20 years ago
Real Name: Paul
Favourite Motorsport: Formula 1
Favourite Racing Car: Lotus 49
Favourite Driver: Gilles Villeneuve, James Hunt
Favourite Circuit: Nordschleife
Car(s) Currently Owned: Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X JDM
Contact:

#5

Post by PTRACER »

Are setups/lack of preparation the reason why Alonso failed to qualify last time?

Since it's a flat out circuit you cannot simply blame the driver for being several seconds off the pace, especially if he is a pro.
Developer of the 1967v3 Historic Mod for Grand Prix Legends: viewtopic.php?t=17429

King of the Race Track, Destroyer of Tyres, Breaker of Lap Records
User avatar
Cheeveer
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 12549
Joined: 18 years ago
Real Name: Jacob
Favourite Racing Car: Panoz GTR1
Favourite Driver: Alex Zanardi
Favourite Circuit: Bathurst
Location: 24 hours from Le Mans

#6

Post by Cheeveer »

PTRACER wrote: 4 years ago Are setups/lack of preparation the reason why Alonso failed to qualify last time?

Since it's a flat out circuit you cannot simply blame the driver for being several seconds off the pace, especially if he is a pro.
Oh you don't know? It's amazing.

https://apnews.com/a8653967a9714ac7a9a3ba576f712fff
McLaren purchased a car from technical partner Carlin, and though the car was orange when McLaren received it, it was not the proper McLaren “papaya orange.” It had to be repainted after the test, and that still had not been completed when Alonso crashed his McLaren-built car last Wednesday.

The Carlin spare was in a paint shop 30 minutes from the track, more than a month after McLaren complained about the color, and it ultimately cost McLaren almost two full days of track time.
Alonso went into qualifying on shaky ground. His first qualifying run was sabotaged by a tire puncture — which wasn’t detected beforehand because Brown said the team had purchased incorrect tire sensors.
Alonso went out to practice Sunday with an entirely new setup, but in the frantic changeover a mistake was made in converting inches to the metric system the English team uses and the car scraped and sparked on his first lap. It had to be fixed and Alonso got in just five more laps before rain ended the session.
It was Amateur Hour Deluxe.
***Some say you should live each day like it was your last... but who wants to live each day in wild panic and extreme death anxiety?

The universe, look at the hugeness of it... it is a dizzying thought that little ol' me is the centre of it all!***
User avatar
John
Ultimate Member
Ultimate Member
Posts: 8885
Joined: 8 years ago
Real Name: Jo
Location: Insert Swedish countryball here

#7

Post by John »

DoubleFart wrote: 4 years ago Cheaper to buy setups from Andretti?
With Hampson at the helm, they'll probably do well regardless. They're a damn sight more prepared than last year. Not that it's a difficult task to achieve, really.
2018 GTP Accuracy champion.

CEREAL IS A SOUP.
User avatar
MonteCristo
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 10660
Joined: 8 years ago
Favourite Motorsport: Openwheel
Favourite Racing Car: Tyrrell P34/Protos
Favourite Driver: JV
Favourite Circuit: Road America
Location: Brisbane, Australia

#8

Post by MonteCristo »

Arrow McLaren SP puts part-time third car on ice until 2021
Brown also reconfirmed Fernando Alonso will join the team, as previously announced, for the Indy 500.
https://racer.com/2020/05/29/arrow-mcla ... ntil-2021/

Yeah, no way they'd expand in this climate.
Oscar Piastri in F1! Catch the fever! Vettel Hate Club. Life membership.

2012 GTP Non-Championship Champion | 2012 Guess the Kai-Star Half Marathon Time Champion | 2018 GTP Champion | 2019 GTP Champion
User avatar
MonteCristo
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 10660
Joined: 8 years ago
Favourite Motorsport: Openwheel
Favourite Racing Car: Tyrrell P34/Protos
Favourite Driver: JV
Favourite Circuit: Road America
Location: Brisbane, Australia

#9

Post by MonteCristo »

Oscar Piastri in F1! Catch the fever! Vettel Hate Club. Life membership.

2012 GTP Non-Championship Champion | 2012 Guess the Kai-Star Half Marathon Time Champion | 2018 GTP Champion | 2019 GTP Champion
User avatar
MonteCristo
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 10660
Joined: 8 years ago
Favourite Motorsport: Openwheel
Favourite Racing Car: Tyrrell P34/Protos
Favourite Driver: JV
Favourite Circuit: Road America
Location: Brisbane, Australia

#10

Post by MonteCristo »

Well, enjoy it while it lasts. He won't be back in 2021 or 2022...

Fernando Alonso will not be allowed to race in the Indianapolis 500 in 2021 or 2022 even if there are no clashes as a result of his Renault Formula 1 contract.

https://racer.com/2020/08/14/renault-ru ... or-alonso/
Oscar Piastri in F1! Catch the fever! Vettel Hate Club. Life membership.

2012 GTP Non-Championship Champion | 2012 Guess the Kai-Star Half Marathon Time Champion | 2018 GTP Champion | 2019 GTP Champion
User avatar
John
Ultimate Member
Ultimate Member
Posts: 8885
Joined: 8 years ago
Real Name: Jo
Location: Insert Swedish countryball here

#11

Post by John »

He's a nutter, but it would be good for the series to have him on a part-time schedule.
2018 GTP Accuracy champion.

CEREAL IS A SOUP.
Post Reply