Indy 500 | Alonso Lands Arrow McLaren SP Ride

[Paul Jeffrey]

Fernando Alonso has finally secured a ride for the 2020 Indy 500 - the Spaniard once again teaming up with his former McLaren team in a third car for the mighty American race.

Following an horrendous attempt to qualify for last seasons Indy 500, McLaren are back again in IndyCar this year with a new team - partnering up with the Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports squad to run a full season in the NTT IndyCar Series with Pato O'Ward and Oliver Askew. Fielding Chevrolet engines alongside the already established Arrow SP team, the new Arrow McLaren SP outfit have now stepped up to confirm a place in the squad for former double Formula One World Champion Fernando Alonso, the 38-year-old 32-time Grand Prix winner partnering up with the team for a third crack at winning the Indianapolis 500, and the 'triple crown' this coming May.

“I am a racer and the Indy 500 is the greatest race in the world,” said Alonso. “I love the incredible fans who make it so special for all of us drivers and make me want to come back. I have maximum respect for this race and everyone who competes in it and all I want to do is race against them and give my best, as always.​

“I am impressed with how the new organization and operation is developing into a strong package with the Chevrolet partnership. The team has experienced, well-qualified people and great resources, and I’m confident we can be competitive.”​

Arrow McLaren SP will run a third car for Alonso this May, with both Askew and O'Ward participating in the 104th running of the Indy 500 in their normal race cars that will participate for the full 2020 IndyCar schedule.

Original Source: Arrow McLaren SP

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[PGSM]

Good news. I hope he does really well.

 

[O Sanchez]

Ánimo Alonso!!

 

[Mr Latte]

Do want to see him do well at this and would be interested to watch it just with him being in it.
It does seem that F1 is not missing Alonso as much as we or even he may of expected.

I know he's an excellent driver but HE needs a BIG win as it appears he is not the easiest driver to work with and things have changed as well as decisions or factors in the past now closing doors/options available.

It also seems Mclaren and credit to them for becoming more open and relaxed as a team this past year or so. And by heck, certainly having one of the most interesting and entertaining pair of drivers on the grid.

 

[michelforest]

Even if I have criticized his attitude, I still want him to do well. It would be really cool to see him win the Indy 500.

 

[BrunoBæ]

It does seem that F1 is not missing Alonso as much as we or even he may of expected.

Hehehe. Good one

 

[paulvanwens]

That man has one of the most impressive careers I've seen... Being succesfull in F1, Le Mans, Dakar (more or less) and now attempting to win the Indy 500... Most drivers can only dream of getting close to one of those achievements, but for Fernando one wasn't enough

 

[birle1]

Two things.
Not all his f1, but in Le mans and Dakar has the best car. If he had not win in le mans... It was easy, there were only two car that could win. And he always want to race with the best car. It is his choice and it is lawful.

And indy. Well, I am still thinking that he should do the all season there, and win if he could next year, with more experience in oval.

And I am not saying he is a bad driver. He won two wdc in f1 and almost all year fight for it.

 

[dbracedesign]

January - Alonso is no longer a McLaren ambassador
February - Arrow McLaren SP give Alonso an Indy 500 drive

Am I the only one confused by the relationship between Alonso and McLaren?

 

[boomn]

Alonso did have one of the best cars in Le Mans, and in Daytona last year. But he also didn't just coast to easy victory in those races.

At Le Mans, his car was two minutes down on the other Toyota when he started his night stint, which everyone expected him to struggle with a bit due to inexperience. Instead he put in an epic drive through traffic at night, going seconds per lap faster than the other car and playing a crucial role in getting that car back to a winning opportunity.

At Daytona, he started one stint in a big rain storm and took the car from 4th place to a 50 second lead. Again, by going seconds per lap faster than the others cars in tricky conditions

Alonso fan-boy or not, those are cool stories!

 

[boomn]

January - Alonso is no longer a McLaren ambassador
February - Arrow McLaren SP give Alonso an Indy 500 drive

Am I the only one confused by the relationship between Alonso and McLaren?

Racer.com put together an article covering some of the timeline here

Bsaically, Alonso had sponsors and everything lined up and ready to go for a car with Andretti. Honda vetoed it at the last moment, but Alonso didn't want to lose the opportunity so he pursued McLaren. Ruoff (the main sponsor for this car) and others are actually Andretti sponsors, but Michael Andretti made a deal with Zak Brown to allow all that to transfer with Alonso for this one race

 

[johnnymat]

Alonso did have one of the best cars in Le Mans, and in Daytona last year. But he also didn't just coast to an easy victory in those races.

At Le Mans, his car was two minutes down on the other Toyota when he started his night stint, which everyone expected him to struggle with a bit due to inexperience. Instead, he put in an epic drive through traffic at night, going seconds per lap faster than the other car and playing a crucial role in getting that car back to a winning opportunity.

At Daytona, he started one stint in a big rainstorm and took the car from 4th place to a 50-second lead. Again, by going seconds per lap faster than the other cars in tricky conditions

Alonso fan-boy or not, those are cool stories!

Let's not forget his years at Ferrari. He had what was, at best, a fifth-place car and he came close to winning the title anyway.

 

[Sman]

 

[Nick Gregory]

I still wish he would just do a full season.

 

[Tim Meuris]

I can only respect his talent but I despise his attitude and arrogance. I hope he gets eliminated by a rookie like the previous time. A win at indy 500 would make him even more full of himself... no thank you.

 

[Ricardo Rey]

I hope he does well. It's an oval...no "chickens" for him to worry about.

 

[farjam]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1232704381063225344

 

[PGSM]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1232704381063225344

So a conference call is dropped and that means nothing goes right for McLaren. In the real world we call that a minor issue. Happens. In the media world, it's changed to 'Literally nothing goes right for McLaren'