Fernando Alonso not qualified for Indy 500

That Indy 500 Bump Day can be cruel. After James Hinchcliffe last year, it's the turn of Fernando Alonso not to make the cut. Bogged down by technical problems during collective testing, then victim of contact with the wall during free practice, Fernando Alonso failed today in qualifying.

There were six of them, the six slowest in yesterday's qualifying, competing for the last row of the starting grid. Half therefore had to go by the wayside. Started after James Hinchcliffe (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports) and Max Chilton (Carlin) the double world champion F1 inserted himself between the two men.

But after Sage Karam (DRR) did better, faces tensed within the Mclaren racing. Pat O'Ward (Carlin), will not be able to beat the last winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, unlike Kyle Kaiser, who yesterday was the victim of a violent exit from the track, and author of an exploit which deserves to be saluted.

The ax has therefore fallen, to the great dismay of Fernando Alonso's many fans, who see a chance to win the last jewel of this Triple Crown that obsesses him so much. A setback for him, but perhaps even more so for his employer, who underestimated the scale of the task.

If it didn't count the hours in the wind tunnel at Woking, McLaren Racing should have known that nothing can replace the field, even more so at the Indianapolis 500, a totally unique event of its kind. It would certainly have been better to partner with an established team that knows the location, like two years ago with Andretti Autosport.

Decision was made to do otherwise. The snub will be difficult to digest…