Formula 1: 5 drivers who should attempt the Indianapolis 500

Lewis Hamilton

It seems that whenever talk of four-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton competing in the Indy 500 comes up, it is shot down with what is almost a guarantee of him never competing in the race. But then when everyone starts to rule out him potentially doing so, something else happens that makes it a legitimate possibility again.

At this current point in time, consensus is that Hamilton, 33, will never compete in the Indy 500. But that is subject to change, as it should be for the driver who sits in second place on the all-time Formula 1 wins list with 63 victories, a third place tie on the all-time Formula 1 championships list with four titles, and first on the all-time Formula 1 poles list with 73 poles.

When Fernando Alonso attempted the Indy 500 last year, Hamilton, who drives full-time in Formula 1 for Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, was critical in his assessment of the field as a whole after Alonso qualified in fifth place. Here is what he had to say about the matter, according to USA Today.

"“I took a look at the qualifying results. Fernando, in his first qualifying, came fifth. Does that say something about [the level] of IndyCar? Great drivers, if they can’t succeed in Formula One, look for titles in other races, but to see him come fifth against drivers who do this all year round is…interesting.”"

These comments were met with tons of criticism from IndyCar drivers.

Here is what Graham Rahal had to say.

"“I can’t imagine the feeling of going to each and every race weekend and knowing that all I got to do is beat my teammate and I’m going to win, but it doesn’t happen here…Truth, I put Scott Dixon in a Mercedes all day long, and Lewis is going to have more than he really wants to deal with, I can guarantee you that. Maybe not me, but Scott Dixon.”"

Here is what Tony Kanaan had to say, according to Jalopnik.

"“What can I say? [Lewis Hamilton] competed in a two-car world championship last year and was second, so I don’t think he can say much. It was a pleasure to have Fernando [Alonso] here. He is humble, not like some of his colleagues who were making comments this month.”"

Here is what James Hinchcliffe had to say, according to Jalopnik.

"“It’s funny hearing criticism about the depth of our field from someone who has to race three other cars, when we have seven winners in the first seven races. It shows how competitive this series is, the parity between the manufacturers, between teams, just how difficult it is to win one of these races.”"

However, later last year in October after Hamilton won the Japanese Grand Prix and was greeted by 2017 Indy 500 champion Takuma Sato on the podium, here is what he had to say about Sato’s Indy 500 ring, according to WTF1.

"“Wow, you’ve got some bling, where did this come from?! I love that, I need that ring! Can I try this ring? Can I see if it’s worth me doing it one day? It looks pretty good!”"

Hamilton has since stated the following about Sato’s Indy 500 ring and the Indy 500 in general, according to NBC Sports.

"“Honestly it hasn’t inspired me to do the Indy 500. I’ve always respected it and appreciated it. I got to watch part of it when Fernando [Alonso] did it which I thought was super exciting. I love the idea of drivers being able to do more than one series. “Just the other day I got to drive an F1 car on an oval circuit which was interesting. I have a huge amount of respect for those drivers as it is quite scary approaching those banks at the speeds that they do. I personally don’t have a desire to drive it. Maybe one day I will go out and have some fun. I have a lot of opportunities to do those kinds of things, but no real plans to do anything serious.”"

However, as previously stated, this is obviously subject to change, as it certainly has changed a few times already. Plus, if Hamilton wants to prove to the world that his comments  about the lack of depth of IndyCar’s field hold any water whatsoever, he should take the responses from those IndyCar drivers as a challenge and race in the Indy 500 one day, even if he waits until after his Formula 1 career comes to an end.