Having won the F1 championship, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the World Endurance Championship as well, Fernando Alonso stands as one of the most versatile drivers on the current grid. The only blot on an otherwise glorious career remains the lack of success in the Indy 500, where he finished P24 in 2017 and P21 in 2020.
2019 was even worse for the Spaniard, as he failed to even qualify for the race, much to the disappointment of McLaren. Nearly five years later, Zak Brown details how the failure became a “rude awakening” for him.
Speaking to Dale Earnhardt Jr. on his podcast, the McLaren CEO revisited the time Alonso returned to the Indy 500, thinking it wouldn’t be too tough. However, Alonso failed to qualify in the top 30, ending the McLaren challenge for the year.
In 2019, Fernando Alonso and McLaren were knocked OUT of the #Indy500 field.
What drama will qualifying bring this year? pic.twitter.com/HkWG3RJtAT
— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) May 19, 2023
“I got a rude awakening in 2019 when we didn’t qualify with Fernando [Alonso] at Indy.”, Brown said.
Given the same, Brown understood to not underestimate any series just because they were good in another. Thus, the lesson became a rude awakening for him. He stated that just because a team or driver is good in F1, it doesn’t mean they will kill it in NASCAR or IndyCar.
Struggling throughout the practice week, Alonso failed to register an impressive four-lap average speed necessary for qualifying. America’s Kyle Kaiser bumped him out of a top 30 spot by just 0.019 mph, ending the Spaniard’s challenge. Nonetheless, it was still a risk worth taking.
How Brown floated the idea of Alonso racing in the Indy 500
Still in the early days as McLaren CEO, Brown was learning the ropes at the team. Wanting to do something daring, he pitched the idea of sporting Alonso in the Indy 500, as the Spaniard was coveting the triple crown and had raced at the oval in 2017. Everyone, including Brown himself, thought the idea was nuts. But they still found the idea worth doing.
Then, the now 52-year-old threw the idea to Alonso as a joke. At first, the current Aston Martin driver did not seem very interested, with his manager also downplaying the chances of him switching.
However, Alonso approached Brown the next day, asking him all sorts of questions. Eventually, the Spanish driver went to Brown and told him he was ready for the task.
