Formula 1: Fernando Alonso unsure when he will attempt Indy 500

By Asher Fair | Jun 22, 2018

LE CASTELLET, FRANCE - JUNE 21: Fernando Alonso of Spain and McLaren F1 (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) /

Two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso is unsure about when he will return to IndyCar to drive in the Indy 500 for the second time.

Coming off of his first career victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans driving for Toyota Gazoo Racing along with teammates Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima, two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso does not know when he will attempt to become the second driver to ever win each of the three races of auto racing’s Triple Crown by attempting the Indianapolis 500 again.

Alonso’s victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans gives him at least one victory in two of the three races of auto racing’s Triple Crown. These three races are the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500. The only driver to ever win all three of these races is Graham Hill.

Alonso, 36, won the Monaco Grand Prix back in 2006 and 2007 when he drove for Renault and McLaren, respectively. He currently drives full-time in Formula 1 for McLaren, as he is in his second stint driving for the team, but there is speculation that he will not be doing so next year.

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In fact, there is speculation that Alonso will not only attempt the Indy 500 next season but drive full-time in IndyCar as well, and there is speculation that he will do so driving for McLaren, as they appear more and more likely to field a full-time entry in the series in 2019 seemingly every day.

The Indy 500 is the only one of the three races that make up auto racing’s Triple Crown that Alonso has not yet won. He has only made one attempt in that race, and he made that attempt last year driving the #29 Honda for McLaren in a partnership with Andretti Autosport that ended McLaren’s 38-year absence from the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”.

Alonso qualified in fifth place and led 27 laps of the race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in Speedway, Indiana before he was forced to retire with just 21 of the race’s 200 laps remaining due to an engine failure. He finished in 24th.

However, while there is a lot of speculation that Alonso will return to IndyCar to at least attempt the Indy 500 next year and Alonso himself has stated that attempting the Indy 500 again is high on his list of priorities, he is unsure of when, exactly, this will end up happening.

Here is what the Spaniard had to say about the matter, according to USA Today.

"“I am still digesting a little bit the Le Mans win and…not taking too much into account (for) next year’s project. As I said last year when I entered the Indy 500, (it) was a very attractive target to achieve the Triple Crown. Obviously the Le Mans victory puts a little bit closer that target, but I will think and I will see what I do next year.”"

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When will Fernando Alonso attempt the Indy 500 for the second time in an attempt to become just the second driver along with Graham Hill to win all three races of auto racing’s Triple Crown? Will he do so next year, and if so, will he do so as a full-time IndyCar driver?

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