Pre-Race: 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500

FLRacingFan said:
This is hilarious lol. Sounds like a club racing operation.


McLaren's Failed Indy 500 Effort Was A Comedy Of Errors
https://racing.ap.org/postandcourier/article/mclarens-failed-indy-500-effort-was-comedy-errors
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Incredible, Zak Brown should be shown the door as well. He totally had his head in the sand after each error. Unreal. It's criminal McLaren has wasted what's left of Fernando's prime. I'd say I would like to see Fred in a Ganassi car but he burned that bridge with Honda. I'm waiting for him to naplam the bridge with McLaren any day now.
 
Snappy D said:
It's criminal McLaren has wasted what's left of Fernando's prime.
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On the other hand, where would he have gone? He was out of options. He burned his bridge at Ferrari too, Renault was useless and Red Bull had Vettel and Ricciardo. Mercedes was set too, and that right there is the end of teams who could actually afford him.

The only place left that could afford him may have been Torro Rosso, but you can believe he wasn't going to step down to that.

So, in a way, McLaren kind of rescued him and gave him three more year in F1, not that it was productive or anything. McLaren also put together both of Alonso's Indy 500 deals, so without McLaren, the Toyota gig is about all he would have had.

Not excusing McLaren for sucking, but they were about the last team that could actually pay him.

But, you're right that Alonso could go nuclear any minute and throw everyone under the bus, but then what would he have? I guess he could sign on with Toyota who hasn't even committed to racing in the new WEC, or race for pennies in IMSA (where we would love to have him), or bite his tongue and help McLaren pull it's 2020 Indycar program together. Outside of that, anyone who wants him just doesn't have the money.

I'm waiting for him to naplam the bridge with McLaren any day now.
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Or, maybe suck it up with the rest of the team and make it work, which is what a professional driver would do. Of all the drivers who missed the show, Alonso is the only one not saying "We will be back better next year." You're probably right it's as good as done.
 
Doc Austin said:
On the other hand, where would he have gone? He was out of options. He burned his bridge at Ferrari too, Renault was useless and Red Bull had Vettel and Ricciardo. Mercedes was set too, and that right there is the end of teams who could actually afford him.

The only place left that could afford him may have been Torro Rosso, but you can believe he wasn't going to step down to that.

So, in a way, McLaren kind of rescued him and gave him three more year in F1, not that it was productive or anything. McLaren also put together both of Alonso's Indy 500 deals, so without McLaren, the Toyota gig is about all he would have had.
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McLaren was still halfway decent in 2013 and 2014, and both McLaren and Alonso hoped they could get each other back to the top before 2015. With the resources McLaren has, it was probably the best option for him in F1, even after 2015.

Doc Austin said:
But, you're right that Alonso could go nuclear any minute and throw everyone under the bus, but then what would he have? I guess he could sign on with Toyota who hasn't even committed to racing in the new WEC, or race for pennies in IMSA (where we would love to have him), or bite his tongue and help McLaren pull it's 2020 Indycar program together. Outside of that, anyone who wants him just doesn't have the money.
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I hope McLaren goes full-time in 2020. If not, Fernando still has the desire to win the Triple Crown, and since he isn't under contract to run any races after this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans he could probably run a full season in IndyCar in 2020. He could go to Andretti if Penske hires Rossi.
If I was an IndyCar official, I would try everything to get Fernando in the series full-time. The global boost in popularity would be Incredible.


Doc Austin said:
Or, maybe suck it up with the rest of the team and make it work, which is what a professional driver would do. Of all the drivers who missed the show, Alonso is the only one not saying "We will be back better next year."
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That doesn't really mean anything yet. Isn't RedBull wanting to move O'Ward to European racing?
 
To both of the posts above, I dont think he needs McLaren though if he comes to Indy car full time. Why would he? I would think Penske or Andretti ( yes I know Honda, but he's worked with Andretti before so I think that counts for something) would make room for him in an instant if they knew he was gonna run a full season. I would be surprised if Fred is with McLaren in any capacity when hes not contracted to be anymore, and I dont see him going back to F1 any time soon either. The question was asked with who? I have a hard time figuring out who that would be. I think it would be Indy Car or Sports Car racing for Alonso at this point.
 
Doc Austin said:
On the other hand, where would he have gone? He was out of options. He burned his bridge at Ferrari too, Renault was useless and Red Bull had Vettel and Ricciardo. Mercedes was set too, and that right there is the end of teams who could actually afford him.

The only place left that could afford him may have been Torro Rosso, but you can believe he wasn't going to step down to that.

So, in a way, McLaren kind of rescued him and gave him three more year in F1, not that it was productive or anything. McLaren also put together both of Alonso's Indy 500 deals, so without McLaren, the Toyota gig is about all he would have had.

Not excusing McLaren for sucking, but they were about the last team that could actually pay him.

But, you're right that Alonso could go nuclear any minute and throw everyone under the bus, but then what would he have? I guess he could sign on with Toyota who hasn't even committed to racing in the new WEC, or race for pennies in IMSA (where we would love to have him), or bite his tongue and help McLaren pull it's 2020 Indycar program together. Outside of that, anyone who wants him just doesn't have the money.



Or, maybe suck it up with the rest of the team and make it work, which is what a professional driver would do. Of all the drivers who missed the show, Alonso is the only one not saying "We will be back better next year." You're probably right it's as good as done.
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I agree with everything you pretty much said but I dont know I wouldnt call McLaren rescuing Alonso, he wanted to stay in F1 at that point and they were really the only ones who could afford him. He didnt need to be rescued in that he would have found some other series to race, but to be fair if McLaren was McLaren would we even be debating this? There'd be no way he'd be in Indianapolis right now, he'd be getting ready for Monaco I'd imagine. I believe if he made it known w/o McLaren's help he wanted to run the Indy 500 he would have found a program, he didnt need them for that in my estimation. Either way I am just a tad bit less excited for Sunday's race knowing there's no Alonso plying his craft at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
 
donthaveanickname said:
If I was an IndyCar official, I would try everything to get Fernando in the series full-time. The global boost in popularity would be Incredible.
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Remember the interest it created when Mansel came here? It was beserko.

That doesn't really mean anything yet. Isn't RedBull wanting to move O'Ward to European racing?
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Yeah, but who knows where? There are a lot of Red Bull juniors ahead of him.

Red Bull generally likes to promote from within and they like to start with drivers as young as they can get them. Alonso doesn't fit that mold, which is kind of where I was going with that reference. I don't think Alonso had any decent offers. Red Bull simply would not want him, he didn't fit the Torro Rosso template, Merc was full, he burned his ridge at Ferrari and Renault sucked. Going back to McLaren was his best bet, and I am sure they paid him just fine.

So, Alonso's best bet to drive something competitive would be Indycars, but no one is going to pay him what he is used to, except maybe McLaren. He could continue with Toyota, but who even knows if they will be in the WEC next year? Hell, will there even be a WEC next year at all? That, and he's won Lemans and is very close to clinching the WEC driver's title. No reason to stay because mission accomplished. All Alonso cares about is winning as many different disciplines as possible. It's all about the legacy now.

Right now it looks like McLaren is the only one that can pay him enough to drive Indycars, so I suspect they will pull their thumbs out and try to put a decent Indycar team together with experienced personnel. That seems like the only option for both of them. I also don't believe they could not mend their fence with Honda.

.
 
Snappy D said:
Either way I am just a tad bit less excited for Sunday's race knowing there's no Alonso plying his craft at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
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Part of what makes the race so great are the guys who didn't make it. When people like Alonso miss the race, it shows you just how tough it really is.

You couldn't believe the buzz in 1995 after Penske didn't make the show. It was a great race too, so even the loss of the 500s most successful team didn't diminish the race.
 
Doc Austin said:
Part of what makes the race so great are the guys who didn't make it. When people like Alonso miss the race, it shows you just how tough it really is.

You couldn't believe the buzz in 1995 after Penske didn't make the show. It was a great race too, so even the loss of the 500s most successful team didn't diminish the race.
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I can appreciate your view point on how hard it is to make it, but I want to see the Best of the Best race each other. I wanted Alonso vs Defending Series Champion Scott Dixon and so on so forth. But I'll be watching for sure, Sunday is a Racing Holiday for me. Grill starts at 11am.
 
Doc Austin said:
Remember the interest it created when Mansel came here? It was beserko.



Yeah, but who knows where? There are a lot of Red Bull juniors ahead of him.

Red Bull generally likes to promote from within and they like to start with drivers as young as they can get them. Alonso doesn't fit that mold, which is kind of where I was going with that reference. I don't think Alonso had any decent offers. Red Bull simply would not want him, he didn't fit the Torro Rosso template, Merc was full, he burned his ridge at Ferrari and Renault sucked. Going back to McLaren was his best bet, and I am sure they paid him just fine.

So, Alonso's best bet to drive something competitive would be Indycars, but no one is going to pay him what he is used to, except maybe McLaren. He could continue with Toyota, but who even knows if they will be in the WEC next year? Hell, will there even be a WEC next year at all? That, and he's won Lemans and is very close to clinching the WEC driver's title. No reason to stay because mission accomplished. All Alonso cares about is winning as many different disciplines as possible. It's all about the legacy now.

Right now it looks like McLaren is the only one that can pay him enough to drive Indycars, so I suspect they will pull their thumbs out and try to put a decent Indycar team together with experienced personnel. That seems like the only option for both of them. I also don't believe they could not mend their fence with Honda.

.
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I would salivate at the fact of Alonso driving a Penske car. Good god would he do some damage. I kind of remember Nigel coming here to CART, I think its about time I watch some old CART races on YouTube.
 
Zak's saving grace will be that the F1 team is trending upwards and his marketing background has helped him secure a lot of sponsorships the past couple of years. That was a problem before he got there. This project was a disaster but as long as F1 is looking better he should be safe.

I wouldn't be surprised if in 2020 Fernando just does Dakar, the Indy 500, and the Bathurst 1000. There's nothing else that he really needs to prove and seemingly nothing else that stands out to him - yet, at least.
 
Snappy D said:
I want to see the Best of the Best race each other.
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To be the best of the best you have to be at least 33rd quickest! I wanted Alonso in the race too, but not at the expense of anyone who went faster.

I'm sure he will be back next year with a competitive program and I'm sure he gave it a hell of a ride. He gave this years entry a hell of a ride too, except the car and team sucked. As unprofessional as it sounds like things went, Alonso is better off missing this year's race.

I wanted Alonso vs Defending Series Champion Scott Dixon and so on so forth.
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I think Alonso would bring the best out of Scott Dixon.
 
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Another wreck like that really makes me think IMS will have to move the seats back sooner rather than later like Daytona did. Not nearly as much room to build backwards though.
 
Underpowered aero racing is definitely not my thing. But it is somewhat interesting how the lines change here with these cars.
 
He got high enough to get his head into the fence nut was lucky he hit with the bottom of the car. As much as I hate the looks of the new aeroscreen, I'll be glad when they get them installed.
 
Lol at that being ‘only’ the fourth-closest Freedom 100 ever.

I think from start to finish it was the craziest one I’ve seen. The Megennis save was incredible.
 
All of those years of doing standing starts pays off for Marcus Ericsson. Someone besides Ganassi or Penske finally wins the pit stop challenge for the first time in 15 years.
 
Well, I'm sitting here on my deck. Got everything packed up and ready to go. It's about 140 miles from my house to my parking spot in Lot#2 at Indy.

I'll leave here about 2:00. Hit the McDonald's on Crawfordsville Road about 4:00 for a big breakfast. Head down to Hortons for a newspaper and then make my way down to the gate- probably won't open until 6:30 so I'll wait and be one of the first ones in.

Yesterday, I grilled 2 ribeye steaks. So after the race, I'll break out the Coleman stove, heat up my steaks with some peas and corn. Then I'll sit there and dine while 300,000 drunks fight to get out. (Without much luck.)

Then, after everyone is gone, I'll head back home.

I look for it to rain all day- maybe even be postponed until tomorrow. We'll have to wait and see.

When the cars go into the pits- my seat is directly up from the end of the pit wall (entrance).

When I was down in St. Pete, going down the line during autograph session, like always, I told all the guys that when they go around turn four, to wave to me. Marco said, "Yeah!! Like we'd really do that!!"

No sense of humor at all. Oh well. Catch ya later.

:)
 
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AuzGrams said:
Hot Take: I watched Saturday qualifying and thought Danica actually did a solid job as a commentator for being a former driver, at least she has some past knowledge compared to these pretty face female studio hosts.
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I thought she did a good job too. I like her much better doing this than when she was driving. If she keeps this up, she just might turn me into one of her fans!
 
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