[jfxavier]

McLaren's entry into the Indy 500 with Alonso has attracted so much attention that they are no longer just a struggling team in F1. They've suddenly become 'bigger' than F1. Imagine if they announced a LeMans entry in the near future?

The Andretti's sure do look happy with the Alonso/McLaren adventure.

To me it seems like many F1 fans are so used to hearing terms like "pinnacle of motorsport", "best drivers in the world" etc repeated so often - they don't appreciate other series and disciplines in racing.

Alonso looks mature enough to accept that passing and getting passed is the norm at the ovals and that some level of co-operation is actually required for such fast and close racing, otherwise it might end up with people getting killed. with F1-style-driving you can drive expecting others to lift and avoid collision with you (some drivers do that all the time). Moreover, even if you crash in F1 you can be pretty sure that you won't get killed.

Probably half the grid of F1 wont be able to tone down their ego-levels enough to actually avoid collisions over an Indy500 race distance.

[deetjohn]

Alonso was 4th during the day 3 practice - a 219.533 mph lap.

Only 14 of the 25 cars turned meaningful laps though as it was very windy.

[asr245]

Originally Posted by jfxavier

McLaren's entry into the Indy 500 with Alonso has attracted so much attention that they are no longer just a struggling team in F1. They've suddenly become 'bigger' than F1. Imagine if they announced a LeMans entry in the near future?

Mclaren is still a gigantic F1 team struggling in F1. The interest in Indy 500 is more because of Alonso than Mclaren. Do you think it would have been the same if it was Vandoorne instead of Alonso? I am following Indy 500 for the first time only because of Alonso. Alonso is in Indy car because of a poor Mclaren.

Originally Posted by jfxavier

The Andretti's sure do look happy with the Alonso/McLaren adventure.

Why shouldn't they be? Alonso is bringing the team (& Indy 500) so much more new audience & exposure. There earnings depend on that.

Originally Posted by jfxavier

To me it seems like many F1 fans are so used to hearing terms like "pinnacle of motorsport", "best drivers in the world" etc repeated so often - they don't appreciate other series and disciplines in racing.

Well, an F1 season takes you to almost all the continents in the world. Live telecast is available in most countries (though Bernie ensured that it went behind a paywall). I don't even know if I can see Indy 500 or series or NASCAR live here. Also the timing for us in India wouldn't help. And it's usually the Americans who boast world championship events for games which the rest of the world hardly plays (baseball, american football come to mind).

That is not to say that other series are not challenging enough, though the concept of racing in circles is difficult for me to grasp. Maybe Alonso would change my mind.

Originally Posted by jfxavier

Alonso looks mature enough to accept that passing and getting passed is the norm at the ovals and that some level of co-operation is actually required for such fast and close racing, otherwise it might end up with people getting killed. with F1-style-driving you can drive expecting others to lift and avoid collision with you (some drivers do that all the time). Moreover, even if you crash in F1 you can be pretty sure that you won't get killed.

Didn't we lose Jules Bianchi not too long ago? Didn't Alonso have to miss couple of races last season due to crash induced injuries? It is still open wheel racing at high speeds and because overtaking is much more difficult, drivers jump at half chances. A driver who doesn't is berated for not doing so, and a driver who can't defend is also berated for being a wimp.

Originally Posted by jfxavier

Probably half the grid of F1 wont be able to tone down their ego-levels enough to actually avoid collisions over an Indy500 race distance.

AFAIK, many F1 drivers have raced in Indy (after their F1 careers) and done reasonably OK. Isn't Sato, who was berated for his kamikaze driving in F1, still running in that series? Montoya, Sebastian Bourdais are still there. Alex Rossi won last year. Hulkenberg won Le mans on debut. Webber used to race there. So I think, most F1 drivers are smart enough to run competitively in any series. (Maldonado could crash in any series)

[jfxavier]

Originally Posted by asr245

Mclaren is still a gigantic F1 team struggling in F1. The interest in Indy 500 is more because of Alonso than Mclaren. Do you think it would have been the same if it was Vandoorne instead of Alonso? I am following Indy 500 for the first time only because of Alonso. Alonso is in Indy car because of a poor Mclaren.




Why shouldn't they be? Alonso is bringing the team (& Indy 500) so much more new audience & exposure. There earnings depend on that.



Well, an F1 season takes you to almost all the continents in the world. Live telecast is available in most countries (though Bernie ensured that it went behind a paywall). I don't even know if I can see Indy 500 or series or NASCAR live here. Also the timing for us in India wouldn't help. And it's usually the Americans who boast world championship events for games which the rest of the world hardly plays (baseball, american football come to mind).

That is not to say that other series are not challenging enough, though the concept of racing in circles is difficult for me to grasp. Maybe Alonso would change my mind.



Didn't we lose Jules Bianchi not too long ago? Didn't Alonso have to miss couple of races last season due to crash induced injuries? It is still open wheel racing at high speeds and because overtaking is much more difficult, drivers jump at half chances. A driver who doesn't is berated for not doing so, and a driver who can't defend is also berated for being a wimp.



AFAIK, many F1 drivers have raced in Indy (after their F1 careers) and done reasonably OK. Isn't Sato, who was berated for his kamikaze driving in F1, still running in that series? Montoya, Sebastian Bourdais are still there. Alex Rossi won last year. Hulkenberg won Le mans on debut. Webber used to race there. So I think, most F1 drivers are smart enough to run competitively in any series. (Maldonado could crash in any series)

A few points.
1. JPM raced in Indy series before going to F1. Probably was never at the happiest while there.
2. McLaren may not make any money out of this adventure. But definitely keeping Alonso happy is a priority for them. Atleast for Zak it looks like.
3. Jules Bianchi did not die in a racing incident. As to why that race was held at that weather conditions and why it was not red flagged earlier is something that many have wondered about.
4. A lot of drivers are berated for their harsh driving style in F1. Many say that F1 drivers are an overprotected lot. But this year after Liberty Media takeover that is changing. The stewards would already have had many field days if 2017 was under the previous regime.

Here's what Fernando thinks about it.
https://www.theplayerstribune.com/fe...onda-andretti/

[ecenandu]

Man, that is a big crash.

https://twitter.com/atodaf1/status/866045743609630720

Sébastien Bourdais had flying two laps and was the fastest of 18 drivers before the crash.

[deetjohn]

Alonso has qualified 5th for the race. Looks like F1 drivers are having a field day at Indy.


And would you believe it? The Honda engine hit trouble in Alonso' car and the team had to change it ahead of qualifying.

source

[ecenandu]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

And would you believe it? The Honda engine hit trouble in Alonso' car and the team had to change it ahead of qualifying.

I believe that was a precautionary change, anyway all good as of now. I was following the qualification live, Alonso hit the revlimiter and lost a bit of momentum in the first lap, so he had a realistic shot at the front row. The pole, maybe not.

It doesn't matter anyway, it's a long race anything can happen in those 200 odd laps. The Sebastian's crash was really scary, I'm more worried about the possibility of Alonso getting injured than anything else.

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by ecenandu

I was following the qualification live, Alonso hit the revlimiter and lost a bit of momentum in the first lap, so he had a realistic shot at the front row. The pole, maybe not.

Yes, not the pole for sure. All of Dixon' 4 laps were noticeably faster than Alonso.

But yeah, Alonso could have been on the front row. He had an overboost issue as well. But the grid position doesn't matter as you pointed out. The race ain't Monaco.

Originally Posted by ecenandu

The Sebastian's crash was really scary, I'm more worried about the possibility of Alonso getting injured than anything else.

I don't know! Based on what we have seen in the recent past, it looks like these champs need to be careful when on holiday fun rides. The track and racing looks much safer in comparison. A sad truth! :(

[deetjohn]

I am watching the race live on YouTube on my mobile. So easy, when will we start to get F1 like this? Liberty Media, please take note.

Currently, the race is reflagged after a nasty accident. The two drivers involved are okay, but Dixon's car took a lot of air after the impact, was a really bad crash.

And Alonso is making it look easy. He is leading an F1 pack now. Rossi at 2 and Sato at 3. Let's see how it goes.

Its a bit boring though eventhough the commentators are trying their best to hype it up.

[SunnyBoi]

Alonso's engine blows, he's out of the race.

Excellent day for motorsports. 24H Nurburgring since the morning, Monaco GP and then Indy 500

EDIT : Huge crash! Oh well, gotta stay awake a bit more now.

[scuderiamania]

Honda's engine blows again! Unbelievable! But hats off to the guy. Its his first time out there and up until the point of the crash, he had the fastest average speed of any driver.

[Porcupine]

Takuma Sato takes the win! Take a bow Mr. Sato!

Huge crash, glad everyone is safe. That was a real nasty one.

It was great to see Alonso perform the way he did, having the fastest average speed and making that amazing pass into sixth was really impressive especially considering its his first run around the oval. Shame to have a Honda engine failure even at Indianapolis. Looks like Honda's woes are neverending.

[McLaren Rulez]

Jesus, if Alonso buys a Civic, I bet that'll blow up too.

The driving itself was amazing though - give him one or two more chances and he'll take Indy 500 easily.

[deetjohn]

That was some irony. Honda blew it - both literally and figuratively.

I didn't watch the full race. It went into a boring pattern with constant restarts and I slept off.

Some pointers from the first Indy I have watched:

1. One cannot stay in the lead for long. You will run out of fuel as the leading car needs to use the tow from time to time. That's where the team mates come for help. At one point Alonso and Rossi has quite a gap to everyone else.
2. But then the lead cars couldn't pull away due to frequent cautions and restarts. A rolling restart will bunch up the cars together and then the order will change with cars overtaking each other. Give it a while and the usual suspects will come on top again. This was happening way too often and it was a boring pattern.
3. And the relative position of a car on track isn't an issue at all as there are so many laps. At 15th position? You still have a big chance to win it.
4. If not for these constant restarts, the leading drivers can catch the back markers and use their slipstream to save fuel and put a gap to the rest of the pack.
5. F1 drivers were the class of the field. No wonder when you look at the strong showing from guys like Rossi, Sato, Chilton and a very chubby Montoya. Take a current top driver from F1 like Alonso and the difference in class is quite evident. More on that below.
6. Alonso was having it easy. Inside line, outside, or through the middle, he was looking totally comfortable in the car.
7. And he was also overtaking others with ease. Actually its not a big deal at Indy as you get a gigantic tow and just need to place your car correctly behind the one in front.
8. The knack is to call off a move much before the racing line gets tricky. Else, there is a good chance for the car to be either on the wall or the grass. And Alonso was doing it with total command. The commentators were very impressed by the amateur veteran.

Too bad Honda couldn't hold it together for that win. It would have been one amazing story. But Alonso can be very happy and proud, he did all that was expected of him.