WOKING, England: Two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso will race for McLaren at the Indianapolis 500 on May 28 in a surprise switch that will see the Spanish driver miss the Monaco Grand Prix on the same day.
It will be Alonso’s first drive in the biggest car race in the US as he steps up his bid to win what he regards as the “Triple Crown” of motor sport: the Monaco GP, the Indianapolis 500 and the Le Mans 24 Hours race.
“It’s a tough challenge,” said Alonso, who has twice won in Monaco, “but I’m up for it.”
McLaren made the announcement on Wednesday, saying the Monaco GP will be the only Formula One race that Alonso will miss. The British-based team has not announced who will replace Alonso for the most glitzy race on the F1 calendar.
McLaren will be racing in the Indianapolis 500 for the first time in 38 years. Its entry will be a Dallara DW12 chassis, run by the Andretti Autosport team headed by Michael Andretti — a former IndyCar champion who raced in Formula One for McLaren in 1993.
Alonso will fly to Indianapolis immediately after the Spanish Grand Prix on May 14 to get in two weeks of IndyCar practice.
“I’ve never raced an IndyCar car before, and neither have I ever driven on a super-speedway, but I’m confident that I’ll get to grips with it fast,” he said.
“I’ve watched a lot of IndyCar action on TV and online, and it’s clear that great precision is required to race in close proximity with other cars on the far side of 220 mph (354 kph). I realize I’ll be on a steep learning curve.”
Andretti will have six cars in the Indianapolis 500, including Alexander Rossi, the former F1 test driver who was the surprise winner of last year’s 100th running of the classic.
The Andretti team has shown much improvement from last year, when Honda was dominated all season by Chevrolet. But Honda drivers have won the first two races of the season, and the Andretti cars have been competitive.
There had been rumblings in the paddock in Long Beach that IndyCar officials were trying to bring in a “showstopper” for this year’s race, but nothing could be confirmed. Alonso was one of the names being floated, and the pairing makes sense now that McLaren is run by Zak Brown.
Brown ran an Indianapolis-based marketing firm for years before his gradual move into Formula One. He’s often been consulted by IndyCar management on a variety of issues, and was even in talks for an official role with the series.
“Could Fernando win this year’s Indy 500?” Brown said. “Well, I wouldn’t be so silly as to make any such rash prediction, but I expect him to be in the mix.”
Alonso has not won a point after two races of the Formula One season.
Fernando Alonso to miss Monaco GP to race at Indy 500
Fernando Alonso to miss Monaco GP to race at Indy 500
Guardiola hails Man City’s ‘massive’ win over Newcastle
- Guardiola’s second-placed side closed the gap on leaders Arsenal to just two points with their tense victory at the Etihad Stadium
MANCHESTER, United Kingdom: Pep Guardiola labelled Manchester City’s 2-1 win over Newcastle on Saturday as a “massive” moment in the Premier League title race.
Guardiola’s second-placed side closed the gap on leaders Arsenal to just two points with their tense victory at the Etihad Stadium.
Nico O’Reilly put City ahead in the first half and restored the lead before half-time after Lewis Hall had equalized.
City weren’t at their best in the second half, but they held on to pile pressure on spluttering Arsenal, who travel to Tottenham for the north London derby on Sunday.
Guardiola knew it was essential to make Arsenal sweat.
“Massive. Newcastle is an incredible team, awesome in physicality and speed they have up front. Physicality in the middle. Really tough but the team was unbelievable,” he said.
“It’s coming in best part of the season. Every single game will be similar to today.”
After finishing without a trophy last season, City are back in the hunt for the seventh English title of Guardiola’s reign.
They will have a game in hand on Arsenal after this weekend and are guaranteed to win the title if they win their last 11 league matches.
Guardiola has embarked on an expensive overhaul of City’s squad in the last 12 months, shedding aging stars like Kevin De Bruyne, Ederson and Kyle Walker and bringing in the likes of Marc Guehi, Antoine Semenyo and Rayan Cherki.
The Spaniard is well aware that his new generation largely lacks the experience of winning under the pressure of a title race, which made their gritty success against Newcastle even more meaningful.
“70 percent of the players have never been in that situation, and I don’t play. So we have to live it, they know that every game will be like this,” he said.
“Especially at home, with five home games left. Today was the best crowd of the year, it was unbelievable with our people, really proud to be manager of these incredible people and fans.
“Of course in terms of points it’s important, but we have to improve to have chance to compete until the end. Now we deserve three more days off. Then another battle in Leeds.”
Guardiola singled out O’Reilly for praise after the young England midfielder’s pair of clinical finishes showed he won’t be affected by the strain of chasing Arsenal.
“Nico give us in the middle that physicality that we need. He now plays in his position,” he said.
“He has always played that, he is so complete and so young. I am really pleased the academy produced these incredible players, Nico, Phil (Foden), Rico (Lewis).”
