When F1 legend Fernando Alonso embarrassed himself in Indy 500 qualifying

When F1 legend Fernando Alonso embarrassed himself in Indy 500 qualifying

Fernando Alonso, 2019 Indy 500

Fernando Alonso is a Formula 1 legend. Fernando has achieved tremendous success in and outside of the sport. Alonso is a two-time F1 world champion and has even won the 24 hours of Le Mans. Consequently, the Spaniard is just one step away from winning the unofficial ‘triple crown’ of motorsport. This achievement consists of winning the Monaco Grand Prix, the 24 hours of Le Mans and the Indianapolis 500.

However, Fernando Alonso has tried two separate attempts at winning the triple crown. This would make Alonso the second driver to accomplish such a feat alongside F1 legend Graham Hill. Although, Fernando has not been so lucky on the other side of the pond, the then-McLaren driver was humiliated during his second attempt at the Indy 500 in 2019. As the two-time world champion failed to qualify for this prestigious race.

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Fernando was forced to retire from the Indy 500 after an engine failure in 2017

Fernando Alonso had a bad start to his Indy 500 campaign in 2019. Alonso had crashed during practice prior to the event. This forced the McLaren driver to miss out on running till the spare chassis made it to the garage. This put Alonso and McLaren on the back foot for one of the most challenging qualifying sessions in motorsport. The Indy 500 ‘Bump Day’ shootout.

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Fernando Alonso and McLaren underestimated the Indy 500

Alonso failed to get a slot on the grid for the Indy 500 in 2019

Alonso competed in the ‘Bump Day’ shootout in a bid to qualify at the final row of the grid. Unfortunately, this was not meant to be, as Fernando Alonso was outpaced by Juncos Racing’s Kyler Kaiser. Kaiser defeated Fernando’s four-lap average of 227.353mph by just 0.019mph. This shocked the motorsport world as an F1 world champion failed to qualify for the Indy500. A video surfaced on Twitter, where Alonso tried to keep a neutral face after getting the news.

This was unbelievable for millions of fans worldwide. Fernando Alonso had previously led 27 laps of the Indianapolis 500 in 2017, when McLaren had partnered up with Andretti Autosport. Thus, the driver who led the biggest spectacle in racing on his first attempt did not even make it to the grid the next around. A major embarrassment for Alonso as well as F1. This was seen as a testament to the competitiveness in IndyCar.

McLaren accepted its shortcomings for Fernando Alonso’s failure to qualify. The team had partnered up with Carlin for this entry and had taken a more independent approach as compared to Alonso’s 2017 race attempt. McLaren CEO, Zak Brown took the blame for this embarrassment and stated, “McLaren is who failed to qualify for Indy, and we take total responsibility for that along the way.” This incident served as a lesson for McLaren.

Fernando Alonso’s 2019 endeavor was doomed from the beginning. As the team decided to run its own car with the assistance of Carlin. Hence, the team was caught unprepared for the challenges it faced, resulting in the driver and team having to save face. Although, Fernando Alonso is no longer with McLaren. Thus, it would be interesting to see if the Spanish driver has another shot at getting the ‘triple crown’ in the future. Perhaps this time, with a different team.

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