Alonso has been bidding to become only the second racer in history after Graham Hill to clinch the Triple Crown, which is achieved by winning the Monaco Grand Prix, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Indy 500. For his second Indy 500 attempt in 2019, Alonso's McLaren Racing Chevrolet was eliminated before the race even started after a series of legendary screw-ups on McLaren's part. Fernando Alonso will race for Arrow McLaren SP at this year's Indianapolis 500 where the Spaniard will try to complete motor sport's 'Triple Crown' with a victory, the team announced on Tuesday. A second consecutive crown was confirmation of his brilliance, and with Schumacher retiring, Alonso seemed certain to replace him as the sport’s dominant superstar. 2020 INDYCAR® IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF BRICKYARD TRADEMARKS, INC. / PRIVACY POLICY & TERMS OF USE, Fernando An offer to drive in Formula Nissan, however, proved too much of a temptation and Alonso joined ex-Formula One driver Adrian Campos’s team. Fernando Alonso has ruled out a return to the Indy 500 during his next stint in Formula 1, as he begins practice for this year’s race. 66 Chevrolet. Two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso says he “didn't have one lap of kindness” on his way to finishing a lapped 21st place at the Indianapolis 500. A big crash saw the race finish under yellow flags with the Spaniard a lap behind winner Takuma Sato It was hence no surprise when news came that he would be returning to Renault for 2008. Three days later that season’s worst-kept paddock secret was confirmed - that he would move to Ferrari for 2010 to partner Felipe Massa. He crashed on Lap 145 trying to make his way back to the summit. Ex-Jordan, BAR and Super Aguri driver Takuma Sato is a TWO-TIME #Indy500 winner! A problematic move to F3000 in 2000 was but a brief hiccup, and a Formula One test with Minardi that same year secured him his first F1 race drive with the team. Once more, Alonso' choice of timing for a team move was not fortuitous. That common goal provides the perfect platform for our future as Arrow McLaren SP: the combination of Arrow SPM’s experience and knowledge of modern-day IndyCar racing, strengthened by McLaren Racing’s resources and drive to always move fearlessly forward with Arrow’s technology solutions. Two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso is set to return to the Indy 500 driving for Arrow McLaren SP in the 104th running this May. Alonso: Every day is a new lesson Fernando Alonso says he is learning something new each day he steps into his Indy 500 challenger. 2014 followed the now all-too familiar feeling of frustration. While a rejuvenated Ferrari took the fight to Mercedes, McLaren dropped to the back of the grid, their revived partnership with Honda getting off to a highly difficult start. 66 Chevrolet. Ruoff Mortgage will be primary sponsor of the No. And while our people want to overcome those challenges on the track, we also aim to benefit our partners and the whole sport off it. What ties us together is a racer’s spirit and a fierce determination and will to overcome adversity in pursuit of achievement, typified by Sam’s journey and the example of a young Bruce McLaren. In 2017, he joined Andretti Autosport as a one-off for the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race presented by PennGrade Motor Oil. Ericsson was running strongly inside the top 10 before he lost the rear of the car at Turn 1 on lap 25, while Rossi had been in contention for the race win until a pit-lane penalty demoted him to the very back of the grid. Alonso, who is due to make his second start in the Indy 500 next week, was checked and cleared by medical. A fractious move to McLaren, and subsequent spells with Renault and Ferrari, yielded success in the form of 17 victories and three championship runner-up finishes - but not the one piece of silverware he really desires. Indy 500: Fernando Alonso 26th on grid, top nine set for shootout Watch Fast Nine shootout on Sunday at 6pm on Sky Sports F1 to settle front of grid; Indy 500 … Ferrari’s F14 T proved uncompetitive, and while Alonso’s heroics rescued two podiums, the team failed to win for the first time 1993. Minardi, struggling for money and resources, was far from an ideal debut seat, but after outshining team mates Alex Yoong and Tarso Marques in qualifying, and with a tenth-placed finish in Germany, Alonso was signed by Renault as a test driver for 2002. Eschewing other series, the Spanish teenager was determined to finish his apprenticeship in karting. That, however, was just the beginning. Alonso, who is returning to the Formula 1 grid with Renault for the 2021 and 2022 campaigns, will not be given the same freedom that McLaren gave him as the Spaniard tries to get the Enstone team towards the sharp end of the Formula 1 pecking order. 2012 was to prove a better season, although in the underwhelming F2012 he was made to fight for every point. The young Alonso’s talents knew no bounds and in 1992 he clinched the first of five Spanish karting championships, a tally only overshadowed by a world crown in 1996. Alonso’s early 2013 season was blighted by inconsistency, but fine wins in China and Spain plus seven further podiums meant he finished a clear, albeit distant, second overall to Red Bull's all-conquering Vettel, despite his Ferrari F138 being not even the second-best car. In 2017, McLaren’s F1 prospects were so poor that Alonso was able to skip the Monaco Grand Prix with the team’s blessing in order to take part in the Indy 500 with a McLaren-backed Andretti Autosport entry. Indy 500 date: When is the Indy 500 this year? The iconic race was won by ex-Jordan, BAR and Super Aguri driver Takuma Sato for a second time with Scott Dixon and Graham Rahal rounding off the top three. Pagenaud also won the pole position, the record-extending 18th Indy 500 pole for Team Penske. A second successive title - deservedly won at Schumacher’s expense during the German’s final season - served to bear out Alonso’s position as the vanguard of a new generation. Ruoff Mortgage is returning to the 500 after winning the event with Takuma Sato in 2017. Alonso showed strong early pace during the delayed 'Month of May' event, but a crash on day two of practice slowed his progress considerably. It’s a journey we will embark on with our fans, bringing new ones to the series as we strive to grow not only a racing team but motorsport globally. The race finished under caution for the final five laps after Spencer Pigot crashed into the pit-lane divider. Ending … For our people, our partners, our fans and for our sport. There he made an instant impression, winning on his debut for the Scuderia and quickly establishing authority over his new team mate. Alonso was hopeful of a better race day performance from his Chevrolet-powered Arrow McLaren SP after only managing to qualify on row nine in P26. The decision by Honda also leaves the perennial Indy 500 favorites at Andretti with a coveted seat to fill. The team's MP4-30 machine was painfully slow and unreliable, and in it Alonso scored in just two races, ending the 2015 season with a meagre 11 points. For the second year in a row, Fernando Alonso was the first driver to crash out of Indianapolis 500 practice, and it again took place on the second day of festivities. Season two with Ferrari was to prove yet more frustrating, with the team’s 150° Italia rarely able to match its Red Bull and McLaren opposition. The two-time Formula 1 world champion hit the wall during Day 2 of practice for the 2019 Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Fernando Alonso qualified 26th of 33 drivers for the 2020 Indianapolis 500 but the Spaniard remains confident he can hit the front on Sunday. While the two-time Formula 1 World Champion has ticked the first two boxes, the iconic race at The Brickyard has continued to elude him. We come with ambition and humility in equal measure, fully aware of the strength of our opposition, and with total respect for the test the IndyCar Series provides. Will Power, the winner in 2018, entered the race as the defending champion. Alonso took to racing like the proverbial duck to water. At the heart of Arrow McLaren SP is a shared ambition: to race and to win. Despite that, Alonso took victory at Silverstone and a further nine podiums as he consistently out-drove his machinery en route to fourth in the final driver standings, a solitary point shy of Mark Webber in Red Bull’s title-winning RB7. Fernando Alonso, looking to return to the Indianapolis 500 field after failing to qualify last year, crashed in the final hour of Thursday's practice session. 66 Ruoff Mortgage Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet will be revealed in the near future. It’s no secret that completing the ‘Triple Crown’ is top of Fernando Alonso’s list of things to do and after falling short in 2017 due to reliability issues and failing to qualify in 2019. It’s a blend that we have to have in order to achieve our common goals of wins and titles. Home News Alonso finishes a lowly P21 at Indy 500. Alonso had pitted three times already by Lap 66 of 200 and clutch problems in the latter stages of the race ensured he would remain amongst the backmarkers. Now we enter the next stage of the journey, as Arrow SPM joins forces with McLaren Racing to form Arrow McLaren SP. With typical aplomb he won the title, showing he was more than capable of making the switch to racing with gears. James Hinchcliffe led an Andretti Autosport resurgence as practice for the 104th Indianapolis 500 opene... Chevrolet-powered lineup includes Pato O'Ward, rookie Oliver Askew and Fernando Alonso. Sam Tomlinson. It would prove to be a baptism of fire. He was eventually overhauled by a rampant Sebastian Vettel with three races to go, but had he not been taken out on lap one in both Belgium and Japan it might well have been him, and not the German, taking a third world title. He qualified 5th two years ago on his debut, so what's changed? Fernando Alonso has pinpointed a clutch failure as crushing his chances of securing Indy 500 glory on Sunday. Pagenaud delivered the 18th Indianapolis 500 victory for team owner Roger Penske. Following the arrival of Ric Peterson as co-owner in 2013, our development continued at IndyCar level, with seven victories and a further 28 podiums registered since then. The unexpected reversal with Alonso, where a full complement of sponsors had been arranged by the team, should lead to a stampede of interested drivers seeking to claim the entry. But poor pit-stop strategy in Abu Dhabi halted his charge up the table and he ultimately finished second by just four points to new world champion Sebastian Vettel. A two-time Formula 1 champion with wins in the Monaco Grand Prix and 24 Hours of Le Mans, Alonso needs only victory in the Indy 500 to complete his quest for racing’s Triple Crown. “I am a racer and the Indy 500 is the greatest race in the world,” said Alonso, whose other Indy events were in association with McLaren. He took it to back-to-back victories late in the season, first at the inaugural Formula One night race in Singapore, and then in Japan. Sam Schmidt set up a race team just 14 months after suffering serious injuries in a testing accident. Alonso to Run Indy 500 With Andretti. Perhaps ironically, it has been in inferior machinery that Alonso has come to be regarded as one of the finest drivers not just on the current grid, but in history.  Alonso. It was a disappointing end to a frustrating year for Alonso, whose relationship with McLaren grew increasingly strained, particularly after his evidence helped condemn the team in the Ferrari ‘spy scandal’ affair. There were no shortcuts to success but step-by-step we achieved multiple victories and seven titles at the Indy Lights level. For 2007 he moved to McLaren, giving him the chance to become the first man since Juan Manuel Fangio to score successive championships with different teams. The Indianapolis 500, also formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, or simply the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis.The event is traditionally held over Memorial Day weekend, usually the last weekend of May. As it was, Alonso missed out by three points. Whether Alonso wins the 2020 Indy 500 or retires on the first lap, he will undoubtedly be on the grid come the first F1 race of 2021. Alonso, Arrow McLaren SP commit to Indy 500 Ruoff Mortgage will be primary sponsor of the No. That ambition is shared and supported by title partner, Arrow Electronics. Alonso’s first shot at the Indy 500 in 2017 was inspired by McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown, who had a vision of getting the famous brand back in the historic race. Juncos denying McLaren a spot in the 500 was a moment that will be remembered for years. Fernando Alonso will return to the Indianapolis 500 this year after securing an agreement with Arrow McLaren SP to fill the team’s third car for the iconic event. Claiming the drivers’ crown with two races left to run, Alonso - then the youngest title holder in F1 history - instantly became Michael Schumacher’s heir apparent. Fernando Alonso has failed in his latest attempt to win the Triple Crown, finishing P21 at the Indianapolis 500. From track action to concerts, May in Indianapolis means excitement at the Indy 500. Agonisingly, no titles have followed in the intervening years. Alonso's 227.353mph four-lap average was pipped by American Kyle Kaiser by just 0.019mph with the last run. The name Arrow McLaren SP marks a new chapter as two determined racing entities – McLaren Racing and Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports – join forces with the combined goal to challenge for INDYCAR championships and race wins. After four years spent ‘playing’ with the homemade kart, local and then national competitions swiftly followed. What were the reasons why Fernando Alonso failed to qualify for this year's Indy 500? Alexander Rossi, Marcus Ericsson and Max Chilton were the other drivers with Formula 1 backgrounds taking part, but Rossi and Ericsson both crashed out. Despite a crash in practice for the second consecutive year, Fernando Alonso is again enjoying his Ind... NTT INDYCAR SERIES points leader Scott Dixon topped Thursday's practice for the Indianapolis 500. ALONSO first took part in the Indy 500 back in 2017 when he raced for Honda. As Sam Schmidt Motorsports, the team started out in 2001 with the aim of fighting for wins and championships. With his raw speed and fierce commitment much in evidence, the test seat became a race drive for 2003. The livery of the No. Fernando Alonso will start next weekend’s Indianapolis 500 from 26th on the grid after Saturday’s qualifying at the famous Brickyard.. Fernando Alonso comes up short in Indy 500 as Triple Crown escapes him once again. But while the car was quick, so was his team mate Lewis Hamilton, and an intense rivalry saw the pair finish level on points, beaten to the crown by a single point by outsider Kimi Raikkonen. It forced him to sit out the following round, but he went on make the very most of his somewhat improved McLaren machinery, with some feisty drives - including a superb fifth place in Monaco - earning him 54 points, more than twice that of team mate Jenson Button. The move proved a masterstroke for team and driver alike. Renault’s ’08 machine was no championship contender, but that didn’t stop Alonso showing his class. Alonso had joined for the Indy 500 alone to drive a third car alongside team regulars Pato O'Ward and Oliver Askew. Alonso finishes a lowly P21 at Indy 500 Date published: August 23 2020 Fernando Alonso has failed in his latest attempt to win the Triple Crown, finishing P21 at the Indianapolis 500. 🧡👏 pic.twitter.com/wVnvpSyFoR. 🙌 #F1 pic.twitter.com/njuLYDbact. Renault were off the pace in 2004, but the following year Alonso pushed the French team’s ever-improving machine to its limits, drawing on his natural consistency and flair for improvising in even the most challenging circumstances. The 104th #Indy500 comes to a close at @IMS. Sadly that form did not continue into 2010 and the R29's lack of pace saw Alonso on the podium just once, in Singapore. Given his calibre, his relentless hunger and determination, there is still much to achieve... Born on July 29, 1981, in the Spanish city of Oviedo, Fernando Alonso’s racing career started when he was just three years-old, when he was the lucky recipient of a kart made by his father, originally for a less than enthusiastic older sister. His 2016 campaign started in spectacular fashion as he walked away from a huge crash at Melbourne’s Albert Park. Alonso surpassed his promise with ease and, at the age of 22, made Formula One history, becoming the youngest-ever pole sitter in Malaysia and then the youngest Grand Prix winner with a maiden victory in Hungary. Indy 500 EXCLUSIVE: Max Chilton gears up for 'odd' race Alonso won the Monaco Grand Prix in 2006 … During the Last Row Shootout on May 19, former Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso, attempting his second Indy 500, was bumped from the field, and failed to qualify. Takuma Sato wins Indy 500 as Fernando Alonso's triple crown bid falls short This article is more than 2 months old Sato edges out Scott Dixon as race finishes under caution In the 1960s, the young New Zealander fearlessly moved from his humble home surroundings to Europe in search of racing success, and duly became the youngest grand prix winner at age 22. It is a bitter blow for Alonso, who left F1 to focus on winning Indy. The name Arrow McLaren SP marks a new chapter as two determined racing entities – McLaren Racing and Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports – join forces with the combined goal to challenge for INDYCAR championships and race wins. Stellar results, such as his against-the-odds win in the rain at the Malaysian Grand Prix and victory in front of an adoring home crowd in Valencia, put Alonso at the head of the drivers’ standings for much of the year. That ambition is shared and supported by title partner, Arrow Electronics. 🏁🇺🇸@PatricioOWard ➡️ P6@alo_oficial ➡️ P21@Oliver_Askew ➡️ P30, Thanks to all those who gave the @ArrowMcLarenSP team their support tonight. Alonso has said next week’s Indianapolis 500 will be his last attempt to complete his triple crown, as he will be returning to F1. The double F1 World Champion is chasing motor racing’s unofficial triple crown, comprising victory at the Monaco Grand Prix, Le Mans 24 Hours and Indy 500. Alonso … Alonso’s first shot at the Indy 500 in 2017, and his love for the race, was inspired largely by McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown, who had a vision of getting the famous brand back in the historic race.