Fernando Alonso to compete in 2017 Indy 500

[afx]

Fernando Alonso will make a stunning Indy 500 debut this year in a McLaren entry powered by Honda and run by the Andretti Autosport team, McLaren has confirmed.

The shock announcement was made on Wednesday by McLaren, who will be returning to Indianaoplis for the first time in 38 years. Alonso will drive a Dallara DW12 chassis with an engine limited to IndyCar regulations. As the Indy 500 clashes with the Monaco Grand Prix the two-time world champion will sit out the iconic street race. McLaren will confirm his replacement "in due course", though it is likely to be a call-up for Jenson Button, who moved from a race seat into an ambassadorial role for this season.

The move will see Alonso team up with former Manor driver Alexander Rossi, who won last year's 100th edition as a rookie. Alonso will fly to Indianapolis from Barcelona immediately after the Spanish Grand Prix, where he will spend two weeks practicing with the car before the race.

Clive Mason/Getty Images

The Spaniard said he is already relishing the chance of driving at the event.

"I'm immenselyexcited that I'll be racing in this year's Indy 500, with McLaren, Honda and Andretti Autosport," he said. "The Indy 500 is one of the most famous races on the global motorsport calendar, rivalled only by the Le Mans 24 Hours and the Monaco Grand Prix, and it's of course a regret of mine that I won't be able to race at Monaco this year.

"But Monaco will be the only 2017 Grand Prix I'll be missing, and I'll be back in the cockpit of the McLaren-Honda MCL32 for the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal in early June."

McLaren CEO Zak Brown said: "As an American, albeit one who fell in love with Formula 1 at a very young age, I've always regarded the Indy 500 as a fantastic motor race.

"For that reason I'm particularly delighted to have been able to bring McLaren back to Indianapolis in my very first year as McLaren's Executive Director. Michael [Andretti] is an old friend of mine, and a man I respect enormously, and his Andretti Autosport organisation is one of the best in the business. Michael is a winner - indeed his team won the Indy 500 last year with Alexander Rossi, who will be one of Fernando's team-mates at Indy next month - and I couldn't be happier that Fernando will be making his IndyCar debut in one of Michael's cars."

[afx]

For Fernando's sake I hope Honda's Indy engine is better than it's F1 engine.

[935k3]

This is great news, I wish him the best. I wouldn't be surprised if he does Lemans soon either.

Edited April 12, 2017 by 935k3

[afx]

Don't know why they would put Button back in the F1 car.  Their season is going no where so give a young guy some race experience, maybe you find the next Max Verstappen.

 

Edited April 12, 2017 by afx

[Xingu]

This is a shocking announcement, but one I am glad to see.

[Vince Nemanic]

There have been two Indy car races this year. Honda powered cars won both, so his chances are good.  This also shows that he and the team have given up on this year in F1.

[Jim N]

Alonzo has not hidden his displeasure with Honda's F1 effort for this year.  I believe his contract is up at the end of the year as well.  McLaren may be trying to throw some bones his way to keep him beyond this year, or Alonzo may be auditioning in the event he wants to give up the F1 gig.

[djflyer]

Wow - what an amazing surprise. Calls back to the days of Jimmy Clark, Graham Hill, and other F1 drivers running at Indy. (hmmm...maybe they can get that Rosberg guy too). This is definitely going to sell some tickets, not to mention replicas of Alonzo's car.

 

[DavidChampagne]

Don't know why they would put Button back in the F1 car.  Their season is going no where so give a young guy some race experience, maybe you find the next Max Verstappen.

 

Exactly!

 

[afx]

Exactly!

 

McLaren confirms Button as Alonso's Monaco replacement

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Fernando Alonso is set to follow in some iconic footsteps as he makes the switch from F1 to the Indy 500, but could he actually win it? (2:35)

5:58 AM ET

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  Laurence EdmondsonF1 Editor

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SAKHIR, Bahrain -- McLaren has confirmed Jenson Button will return to Formula One at the Monaco Grand Prix in May, replacing Fernando Alonso who will race at the Indy 500 the same weekend.

Alonso's shock news was announced on Wednesday, but at the time the team said it had not secured a replacement. Button was the obvious choice, not just because he raced for the team last year, but he is also its reserve driver.

"I'm thrilled to be making a one-off return to Formula One racing, and I couldn't think of a better place to make that return than my adopted home Grand Prix: Monaco," he said. "I've won the race before, in 2009, and it's one of my all-time favourite racetracks. It's a tricky street circuit on which a good driver can really make a difference - and, although the McLaren-Honda MCL32 hasn't begun the season well, I think it may be more suited to Monaco than to the faster circuits that Fernando [Alonso] and Stoffel [Vandoorne] have raced it on so far this season.

"OK, I realise we won't have a realistic chance of repeating my 2009 victory, but I think we'll have a opportunity to score world championship points, which will be very valuable to the team in terms of constructors' rankings.

"As for Fernando, I hope he not only fares well at Indy but enjoys it too. It'll be a great experience for him. He's an excellent driver, as we all know, and he's very experienced, so, although super-speedway driving techniques will be all-new to him, I expect him to get to grips with it all pretty quickly. And on Sunday evening, after the Monaco Grand Prix, I'll sit down and watch him do his stuff on TV. I'm looking forward to that too.

"But most of all I'm looking forward to pitting myself against the unique racing challenge that is the Monaco Grand Prix. I'll drive the MCL32 around Monaco in the McLaren sim beforehand, and I reckon I'll be ready for the race after doing that. I'm supremely fit, having done a lot of triathlon training recently, so I have no worries on that score. And it'll be nice to say 'hi' to all my old Formula One mates too, and hopefully to give the fans something to cheer about."

McLaren's racing director Eric Boullier added: "I was truly delighted when Jenson accepted our suggestion that he race at Monaco instead of Fernando, and I know I speak on behalf of everyone at McLaren-Honda, and all our sponsor-partners and fans too, when I say that it's great news for Jenson, for McLaren, for Honda, for our sponsor-partners, for Monaco, and for the sport of Formula One.

"Jenson is a class act. He's a superb driver -- fast, smooth and precise -- and he won't have lost any of his competitive edge over the past few months. After all, he's missed only a handful of Grands Prix since his last outing in Abu Dhabi in late November last year, and he's as fit as a fiddle. Also, he's always been good at Monaco. He'll do a great job for us, I'm sure of that.

"Fernando will be back at the wheel of the McLaren-Honda MCL32 in Montreal, and I hope he'll have some great stories to bring back to us from Indianapolis. You couldn't get two more different racetracks than Monaco and Indy -- one of them a twisty and bumpy street course and the other a mega-high-speed banked super-speedway bowl -- but that's the beauty of our sport. It also reflects the technical versatility of McLaren and Honda. And it underlines the fact that we're racers, above everything else."