IndyCar: Could Fernando Alonso struggle to secure an Indy 500 starting spot?

By Asher Fair | May 13, 2019

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 26: Fernando Alonso of Spain, driver of the #29 Chandon Honda (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

Fernando Alonso is set to attempt to make his second career IndyCar start in this year’s Indy 500. Could he struggle to secure a starting position on the grid?

Two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso made his IndyCar debut driving the #29 Honda in the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 back in 2017. His car was fielded via a partnership involving Andretti Autosport and McLaren, the team for which he drove in Formula 1 at the time.

Alonso did not struggle to get up to speed at the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in Speedway, Indiana despite the fact that the 2017 Indy 500 was his first ever oval race. But a lot of this stemmed from the fact that Andretti Autosport were by far the top team at the track two years ago.

Alonso qualified in fifth place for the race, resulting in criticism about the IndyCar field as a whole from now five-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton, and he went on to lead 27 laps before an engine failure with 21 of the race’s 200 laps remaining relegated him to a 24th place finish.

More from IndyCar

But this year, Alonso’s entry in the Indy 500 is different — in fact, it is much, much different.

While McLaren formed a technical alliance with Carlin for this race, Carlin are nowhere near as strong as Andretti Autosport were two years ago, and the #66 McLaren Chevrolet is set to be far more of a McLaren-based entry than their entry in the race was two years ago when they had the luxury of having a partnership with the powerhouse Andretti Autosport team.

With 36 drivers (35 confirmed thus far) set to attempt to qualify for this year’s Indy 500, three drivers will end up being bumped from the field and not being able to compete.

As crazy as it may seem to ask, could the 37-year-old Spaniard end up being one of the drivers who ends up on the bubble and potentially doesn’t qualify for the race?

What a story that would be.

Based on the open test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Wednesday, April 24, it appears as though McLaren and Alonso could struggle to get up to speed this month and perhaps even when it comes to just qualifying for the 103rd running of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” itself.

Of course, it was only testing, but what we saw in testing was alarming to say the very least, or about as alarming as an open test can be.

As Alonso prepared to make his return to the Brickyard after nearly two years, an electrical issue plagued his #66 Chevrolet — on his installation lap. Fans were left wondering if McLaren realized that this was IndyCar now, not Formula 1, where they have been plagued by reliability issues for the last several seasons.

A total of 29 drivers ended up recording at least one lap in this open test, and 28 of these drivers completed at least one up-to-speed lap. Alonso was one of these 28 drivers. He completed 29 laps.

Alonso’s top lap time of this open test was 41.1542 seconds (218.690 miles per hour), the slowest top lap time of any of the 28 drivers who completed at least one up-to-speed lap.

The next slowest top lap time was that of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s J.R. Hildebrand, who was a late addition to the entry list for this open test. His top lap time was fairly significantly quicker than Alonso’s at 40.8669 seconds (220.227 miles per hour) in his #48 Chevrolet.

Next. Top 10 Indianapolis 500 drivers of all-time. dark

When qualifying for the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500 rolls around on Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19, will McLaren have what it takes to give Fernando Alonso the best possible chance to secure a starting position for what would be the second race of his IndyCar career? Will the two-time Formula 1 champion have what it takes to secure this starting position?