Indy 500: Honda reject Andretti Autosport, Fernando Alonso deal

By Asher Fair | Feb 2, 2020

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 28: Fernando Alonso of Spain, driver of the #29 McLaren-Honda-Andretti Honda, waves during driver introductions alongside Takuma Sato of Japan, driver of the #26 Andretti Autosport Honda, ahead of the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on May 28, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

At the last minute, Honda have rejected the deal that would have sent Fernando Alonso to Andretti Autosport for this year’s Indy 500.

Despite all the talk about two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso not being able to compete in a Honda-powered race car following his and McLaren’s tainted three-year stint with the japanese manufacturer in Formula 1 from 2015 to 2017, he was lined up to return to Andretti Autosport for this year’s running of the Indianapolis 500.

It was revealed that Alonso, like he did in his IndyCar and Indy 500 debut back in 2017, would drive the #29 Honda in this 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in Speedway, Indiana.

Now, at the last minute, Honda have rejected that deal after all.

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This deal, which was slated to be confirmed at some point in the last week, ultimately fell through after Honda Performance Development could not get final clearance from Honda headquarters in Tokyo, according to RACER.

This also would have been a deal for Alonso to compete in multiple road course races with Andretti Autosport following the Indy 500, as was also speculated given the fact that Alonso no longer has any full-time racing commitments.

This means that any possible deal for Alonso to compete in this year’s Indy 500 will have to be completed with a Chevrolet team, just like last year when McLaren formed a technical alliance with Carlin and Alonso ultimately failed to qualify for the race behind the wheel of the #66 Chevrolet.

RACER, however, also reported that there are ongoing talks to try to salvage this Andretti Autosport deal in the meantime, but they are unlikely to end up producing anything more than the same result.

The eight Chevrolet IndyCar teams slated to compete in some capacity in 2020 are A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Arrow McLaren SP, Carlin, DragonSpeed, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, Ed Carpenter Racing, Juncos Racing and Team Penske, but many of them are already full.

McLaren officially cut ties with Alonso less than two weeks ago.

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

A victory for Fernando Alonso in the Indy 500 would make him just the second driver to win all three races of the “Triple Crown of Motorsport”: the Indy 500, the Monaco Grand Prix and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He is a two-time winner of both of the other events.