As title

Can he – well yes, of course. Will he – well who knows but he must have a chance?

You appear to have answered your own question /thread

Can Alonso create a Cycling Team ?

Genuinely don’t see why not.

He’s been quietly impressing everyone in his team and other drivers with his approach to and speed in every practice and session he’s run in.
The cars are near-identical so there’s no tech disparity for him to worry about.
It’s a long, long race where tactics and mental strength will come into play, one of his strongest skills.

It really boils down to him getting the rub of the luck with mechanicals, yellow flags and cutting through traffic. The only thing he hasn’t done yet is get introduced to the wall at some point, it’s usually a right of passage on ovals.

The major advantage he’ll have is that he is an unknown quantity for his fellow racers, they won’t know how he’s going to overtake, when he’ll push or how he’ll react to most situations. The same as when Mansell went to Indycar in ’93, his overtaking skills and line choices caught them all out. Admittedly there’s less scope for that on an oval compared to a road circuit, but it’s still there.

Does anyone think Alonso is becoming an easier person to like? Similar to how Schumacher was when he came back from retirement. His lack of throwing out the bathwater (toys have been thrown, admittedly!) with the Honda engine and this Indy attempt has put him in a different light. It’s for that reason I want him to win it, maybe not this time but eventually. Then it’s on to Le Mans.

Part of an article I read yesterday said some of the other competitors didn’t like how close he was gettting to their cars.
I’d have thought they’d be used to close combat on ovals.

I think he’s got a decent chance, his rate of improvement from never driven an Indy Car to top 9 shoot off was staggering and he is, even by the heights of F1 drivers, exceptional.

Hopefully he can use this to get a decent car for next year, but exposure was never the problem, they know he’s great, but he can’t seem to get a break with the right car.

If he’s in the fastest car then yes he can, if he’s in the slowest, no chance.

All motor racing is a bit like that

I reckon he can.

He will be able to use his existing skills to look for opportunity’s the others don’t see.

FunkyDunc – Member

If he’s in the fastest car then yes he can, if he’s in the slowest, no chance.

All motor racing is a bit like that

US racing is a bit different. They, quite rightly, see Motorsport as entertainment for the fans rather than some noble pursuit for speed and domination. The cars are very similar, there’s only 2 engine manufactures who put out very similar engines, a single chassis and a single aero package with some adjustment – so they can’t make a car that’s unfollowable because of the messy air they throw out the back of it and no ones wading into battle with 250Bhp less than the front runners, you can probably imagine why Alonso is keen to give it a go!

In the past Indy has tried to bring in more room for modification and the teams said no, they’d rather keep costs down, have a full grid and put on a show. F1 could learn a lot from IndyCar.

F1 could learn a lot from IndyCar.

One cornering direction?

I really think he can, yes.

It’s a long race and so long as he can learn from all around him about the tactics involved in racing pretty much flat out and only turning left for that sort of distance, he’ll definitely be in with a shout.

American professional racers won’t want some fancy-pants F1 driver turning up and beating them at their own game so he’ll have his work cut out IMO.

American professional racers won’t want some fancy-pants F1 driver turning up and beating them at their own game so he’ll have his work cut out IMO.

Where as what? They are each happy to be beaten by other Americans? They may want him to win less than they might want American drivers/regulars to win, but ultimately it won’t manifest itself in being ore of a challenge for him imho.

Yes he can win it, a rookie won it last year in Rossi, who also has an F1 background. It’s all going to be about how it unfolds on the day, he has the ability to, but so do the rest of his opponents. But that’s why you watch it, the uncertainty of it.

He’s just behind 2 ex-GP drivers, who weren’t all that good. So yes in theory he can win as he is clearly a better driver than most on that grid. However, like all motorsport the thing has to keep running and you have to be lucky to avoid any crashes.

I’d like him to do it, while it is hard to feel sorry for a multimillionaire, the dross that Mclaren/Honda have provided him with over the last few years is enough to make me want him to have a decent result for a weekend. Would be nice for Button to get a decent run out at Monaco as well, fingers crossed it could all work out.

Chest_Rockwell – Member

American professional racers won’t want some fancy-pants F1 driver turning up and beating them at their own game so he’ll have his work cut out IMO.

There’s at least 6 former F1 drivers racing IndyCar this year, and that’s just me looking at the lineup and trying to remember them by name.

Most of the others made their way to IndyCar the same way F1 drivers get to F1, by racing Junior Championships in Europe.

But, yeah they’ll all gang up on Alonso because they’re really baddies from a 90s Film – Marco Andretti is basically Shooter McGavin and Alonso is Cole Trickle.

Like Moe said, they’re all hyper competitive racing drivers, that couldn’t give a monkey’s if they’re behind a 2-time World F1 Champion or a complete Rookie, they KNOW they’re better than them and they KNOW they can beat them.

Seeing him qualify fifth in his first crack at Indy is an eye-opener, especially as he casually spoke of an overboost problem which lost him time on one of the corners.

He’s going to be well worth whatever he can ask for his services in 2018…

I don’t think there’s any comparison – Schumacher was still Schumacher, whereas Alonso has never played the game the way Schumacher did. I didn’t like him when he was at McLaren the first time, but it’s not exactly a recent thing that he’s become easy to like. It helps a lot that apart from frustrations with a slow car which keeps breaking he’s clearly enjoying himself and also seems to get on with the other drivers.

He’ll crash

if he is doing well, someone will crash into him..

especially as he casually spoke of an overboost problem which lost him time on one of the corners.

Of course there was lols 😉

I definitely think he has a chance. It would be incredible id he did!! I’d love to be able to watch it! 🙂

Speaking of which, is it viewable online?

pondo – Member

Speaking of which, is it viewable online?

I think Sky F1 has it.

There’s loads on their youtube channel, don’t know if the races are on live but might be worth a look.

Bourdais’ accident looked – uncomfortable.

I thought it was exclusive to BT Sport as they show the whole Indy season.

American professional racers won’t want some fancy-pants F1 driver turning up and beating them at their own game so he’ll have his work cut out IMO.

Who are we talking about? Jim Clark?

POSTED 7 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST
P-Jay – Member

There’s at least 6 former F1 drivers racing IndyCar this year, and that’s just me looking at the lineup and trying to remember them by name.

Yeah, but Fernando is on a busman’s holiday so not quite the same thing IMO.

Not suggesting they’ll form a rolling roadblock, merely suggesting that his full-time opposition aren’t just going to roll over for him. 😀

A realistic appraisal.

From hols2’s link:

“Fernando Alonso has a fantastic feel for where the limit is and being able to go that little bit over the limit in F1 and then bring it back. He’s one of those sorts of drivers. I think it’s mostly in his feel – he’s brilliant in the wet, he’s brilliant when he’s got to carry a car on his back and I just think he knows he’ll take that chance and he’ll deal with it, whereas for a lot of people the car moves a little bit and they’ll back away from it. He just has a feel for the surface.”

I’d say that sums his chances up very well, he has an edge over a lot of drivers doing their first oval race. He will very quickly be up to speed, first 10 or so laps maybe?

I don’t think there’s any comparison – Schumacher was still Schumacher, whereas Alonso has never played the game the way Schumacher did.

Both involved in controversy (SHU – Adelaide ’94, Jerez ’97. ALO – Crashgate, McLarengate ’07) but coming across much better in the twilight of their careers? Pretty good comparison I think! Alonso going for the Triple Crown is similar to Shumacher’s un-retiring too, both looking for a buzz from driving fast cars competitively. Either way, I never liked either driver initially, but I did respect their skills. Now I hold them both in a different light, still just as skilled and brave but I’ve seen their lighter character so they appear more normal as it were.

yetidave – Member
if he is doing well, someone will crash into him..

Rubbin’s Racin’!

I note that neither of your examples for Alonso involves him crashing into another car on the track – my point stands. Schumacher in his comeback when he was no longer the driver he used to be is also no comparison to Alonso now, who appears to be just as fast as ever.

Well he’s just taken the lead.

Now second

RED FLAG

some crash that

Unbelievable Dixon walked away! Hwck of a crash…

car meet wall

Yikes, watching a little delayed but that was one hell of a crash! Now caught up with the red flag!

Missed it due to watching Americas Cup!