Alonso: “It’s a good thing to be a rookie again”

Fernando Alonso has just returned from his trip to the USA where last weekend he discovered the paddock ofIndyCar with the Alabama GP contested at Barber Motorsports Park (Alabama) and won by Josef Newgarden (Team Penske). The pilot McLaren, who will start the Indy 500 on May 28 with Andretti Autosport, was impressed by the impact of his participation.

“I only half enjoyed my trip to Barber, Alabama last weekend because I spent half the time doing interviews, placed Fernando Alonso in the Sochi paddock. I then went to Indianapolis to have my seat molded, meet the team and work on the simulator for a few hours. It's still far from what I'll experience at the wheel, but I was at least able to take some cues, particularly when cornering. I had difficulty getting to Sochi as my flight was canceled due to bad weather”

“I really didn't know how big of a challenge this could be until the last few days and that just makes the Indy 500 that much bigger for me., underlined Fernando Alonso. I realized how important this ordeal is for Americans because everyone already recognized me at the airport even though I loved spending my vacations there, precisely because I was not recognized there. I would have thought I was in Spain. I didn't think it would have such an impact. The task remains difficult because there are many things to learn with the safety car, the yellow flags… but I am ready to tackle it. »

Alonso the rookie

If Fernando Alonso's dream is to win the Triple Crown (victories at the Monaco GP, the Indy 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans), the McLaren driver remains humble about his ambitions.

“It’s a good thing to find yourself in a position where you rediscover a team, where you become a rookie again, added Fernando Alonso. I was able to chat freely with the engineers. Andretti Autosport has been able to make rookies shine in the past, but there are too many things to take into account to predict anything. We saw drivers win even though they were several laps behind. My goal will be to be competitive, that’s the most important thing. »

“There are big differences between the paddocks of F1 and those of IndyCar. The public can access everything and contacts with the teams are different. I was even invited to the pilots’ briefing.”, said Fernando Alonso.

Fernando Alonso will carry out his first tests at Indianapolis on Wednesday May 3, just three days after the Russian GP played this weekend.