News Director 
Column By: JOHN DOUGLAS / RPW – INDIANAPOLIS, IN – A Formula One ace straps in and pulls off the pit lane at Indianapolis. No this isn’t the 2005 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix. It’s the 2017 Indianapolis 500 and Fernando Alonso is about to take his first laps ever on an oval track and in an Indy Car simultaneously.
“Two weeks? That’s not enough time. You can’t learn how to win the Indy 500 in two weeks!” Said just about every talking head in the Motorsports world, “No way Alonso finishes that race.” O.K., I’ll concede. He obviously didn’t finish. What he did do was prove every person who doubted him wrong in the process.
First was practice. It was obvious we were looking at a rookie Spaniard in King A.J.’s Court. That however, didn’t last long. As the days wore on and there were plenty of practice days, Alonso honed his craft. Working with other Andretti Auto Sport teams in pack racing simulations, Alonso learned how to build slipstream runs and even more importantly, when to hold back. Patience is key in 500 miles at Indy and Alonso knew and most importantly respected that.
On no less than two occasions Alonso made highly difficult passes on competition that even the most grizzled veterans get a case of the butterflies over and he did it with all the poise one could ask for. Alonso was starting to show hints that he understood this whole oval thing far more deeply than anyone really thought he would.
Alonso had never experienced 4 laps around Indy Motor Speedway at the ragged edge. He had run in a pack and his McLaren with Andretti Auto Sport team had done a couple practice runs, but when Alonso took to the speedway for qualifying he had to learn how to adjust the car on the fly, hit his marks for turn in, the apex and exit of four distinct corners four times in a row. All the while running maximum turbo boost pressure and running the lowest downforce at high speed he’d ever experienced.
Again Alonso shined. Qualifying for the “Fast 9” Pole round of qualifications, Alonso gave himself a highly respectable fifth place result and more importantly, a far less dicey start to his first 500 miles.
That start did go fairly smoothly for Alonso. He fell back to ninth place and took a few laps to get settled in. Once he did he instantly started to check off the long list of excuses many had for why Alonso couldn’t win the Indy 500.
The two-time Formula 1 World Driving Champion began to methodically pass one car after another. His moves were calculated and thought out. While others jockeyed for position and drove aggressively Alonso faded high, gave drivers room to race, and all the while learned what the race asked and sometimes demanded from its participants.
Lap 26: The viewers at home get their first taste of Alonso’s ability. As the field streamed down the front stretch, Alonso put his car to the high side of J.R. Hildebrand entering turn one and moved into the top 5. Just three circuits later he found himself streaking by a suddenly ill handling Scott Dixon for fourth place. Alonso was serious and he had a fast car.
Just a few laps later Alonso’s next big challenge came. Pit stops. For a man who had never done live green flag stops at an oval race, Alonso showed no signs of the pressure as he did his job perfectly entering and exiting his pit box. His one off pit crew did not disappoint either. Alonso was in third less than 35 laps into his first attempt at Indy glory.
Alonso was tucked in behind Ed Carpenter and Alex Rossi, the defending and 100th Indy 500 champion. Then the moment. First around Carpenter, then, approaching the yard of bricks to begin lap 38 Alonso charged to the inside of Rossi’s NAPA Auto Parts sponsorred Dalara to take the lead going into turn one.
This wasn’t pit strategy or any other kind of “fluke.” Alonso had driven around the defending Indy 500 champion to assume the lead and he did it on driving skill. About half the viewing public at the track and in their recliners at home leaned just a bit closer to the track or t.v. for most of the remainder of the event.
Not only did Alonso lead on that occasion, he led the second most laps in this year’s race. Again. No fluke. He passed at will yet never seemed desperate. His patience may have been the most noticable thing about his race. After falling deeper into the field after the halfway mark, he worked his way back up through the turbulence to the front of the running order. Climbing as high as fifth, it seemed Alonso would meet and exceed every expectation fans and pundits had of him.
Alonso met every challenge. His car did not. Sadly, much like the last two seasons he’s experienced in F1, his Honda power plant gave out on him. The rash of engine issues that Indy Car teams experienced in the month of May was frankly gut wrenching to watch. Honda has been a solid Indy Ca engine supplier for over a decade. Now it seems that their F1 troubles are trickling down the line.
Fernando Alonso dressed in street clothes walked into the Indy Motor Speedway Media Center long before the checkered flag had flown but his demeanor, willingness all month to do interviews and frankly relax from the all too sterile world of Formula One was more than just a little surprising. Even with 1000 reporters noting his every action.
“Thanks to Indianapolis. Thanks to the fans. I felt at home. I’m not American, but I felt really proud to race here.” Alonso said of his month long experience in the heartland of America. Alonso wasn’t a class clown by any means, at least not on James Hincliffe levels but his gesture to the media who scrutinized his every move for 15 plus days was one of the most endearing things he did all month long. Pulling out a child sized school lunch pint of milk, Alonso toasted the media center.
“Last thing,” Alonso said. “Thank you to all the media, I didn’t win, but I will drink a little bit of milk. You followed me for two weeks — every single minute — but I really enjoyed.”
Personally, I hope Fernando Alonso caught the Indy bug. I hope Honda fixes whatever this issue was during this month of May and it gives Alonso the desire to come back to finish what he so skillfully started. He and every fan who followed his entire journey to the lead at Indianapolis deserve to see that papaya orange car take a checkered flag in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
