After leaving F1 at the end of 2018, Fernando Alonso’s sole ambition was to win the Indianapolis 500 and complete motorsport’s Triple Crown.
To date, only Graham Hill has won the Indy 500 (1966), the Monaco Grand Prix (five times), and the Le Mans 24 Hours (1972), and following his success at the Circuit de la Sarthe in 2018, Alonso had two legs in the bag, following his 2006 and 2007 wins in Monte Carlo.
His first attempt on the Indy 500 in 2017 ended with an engine failure whilst he was in contention for the victory in the closing laps, and following his grand prix exit, headed back to Indiana in 2019 for a full works McLaren attack on The Brickyard.
It would be a comedy of errors and end with Alonso suffering the ultimate Indy humiliation of being ‘bumped’ from the field in qualifying.
The Indy 500 is limited to 33 starters. More cars can enter qualifying, but in this event, those who place P31 or lower after the first day of qualifying are at risk of being ‘bumped’ from the field.
In 2019, 36 entries were registered, meaning that after bumping, three drivers would be going home.
Alonso’s problems started on the Wednesday before qualifying.
The article continues below.
Alonso’s comedy of errors
The two-time F1 champion crashed his primary car, but because his spare had originally been painted the wrong shade of orange, it was back at the Carlin factory being re-painted.
This meant Alonso lost out on crucial track time in the spare machine, which was then set-up incorrectly after a mistake in converting inches from the imperial system to the metric favoured by British teams.
A further mistake in setting the gear ratios limited Alonso’s car to a 227.9mph, when a theoretical 229mph was possible.
All this came after the opening test of the project at Texas Motor Speedway was delayed as McLaren did not have a steering wheel for Alonso, having decided to build its own but ran out of time, forcing Zak Brown to go to Cosworth to get one.
All this meant that Alonso was on the ropes and with just one driver remaining in bump day qualifying, Alonso was sitting right on the P33 bubble.
If Kyle Kaiser of Juncos Hollinger Racing could set a four-lap average faster than Alonso’s 227.353, he’d be in and Alonso would be out.
This was the two-time F1 world champion, a winner of 32 grands prix, a winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours driving for McLaren – the only team in history to win the Indy 500, the Monaco Grand Prix, and the Le Mans 24 Hours. A team with 12 F1 drivers’ titles and 8 constructors’ crowns versus a part-time outfit with only two sponsors.
Kaiser’s effort was 227.372mph and Alonso found himself suffering the ignominy of being bumped from the field.
