08/23/2020 - 13:22
- Clarín.com
- sports
In a special setting due to the coronavirus pandemic, one of the most traditional races in motor racing started this Sunday: the Indianapolis 500. With a special attraction: the Spanish Fernando Alonso will seek to win the Triple Crown. For that, he must first succeed in the Indy 500 , something that does not seem remotely easy.
The 104th edition of this mythical test does not have 300,000 people in the stands due to the health context. The Andretti Autosport team had four cars in the first four starting positions and Marco Andretti, Michael's son and Mario's grandson, had taken pole.
Alonso will face the challenge of achieving theTriple Crown. So far, the Indianapolis 500 is the only motorsport event that remains elusive to the two-time Formula 1 champion, who already has two Monaco Grand Prix (2006 and 2007) and two editions of the 24 Hours Le Mans (2018 and 2019).
A new era at @IMS with Roger Penske.
DRIVERS, START YOUR ENGINES! # Indy500 pic.twitter.com/EMkmz5sQGG
Although he knows that to achieve this he will have to have "a perfect race" , mainly because he started from position number 26.
The Spaniard hopes that this year his team, the Chevrolet-powered Arrow McLaren SP, will be "competitive enough to fight for victory."
For Alonso, and with history on his part, strategy is just as important as pace , so that the test is decided in the final laps. "Like almost all the 500 Miles, they will be decided in the last 50, 30, 60 laps. At that time, you are in the top 10 or 15 by pace, you have been climbing, or you are by alternative strategy to the leaders. The first 150 laps will be at a relaxed pace and to see how the race goes, "he said.
500 miles to glory!
The # Indy500 is GREEN on @NBC: https://t.co/B6M3MXYpFe pic.twitter.com/4mbHRWKEri
After the unsuccessful attempts in 2017, in which he abandoned with 21 laps to go due to a failure in the Honda engine when he occupied the top positions, and in 2019, when he failed to qualify for the race -33 cars participate-, Alonso dreams of being the second driver in history to win the Triple Crown, adding the Indy 500 to Le Mans and the Monaco GP.
Graham Hill, the only one
The British Graham Hill is so far the only one to achieve the feat: he won the Monaco Grand Prix five times (1963, 1964, 1965, 1968 and 1969) and the Formula 1 World Championship in two (1962 and 1968), the The Indianapolis 500 in 1966, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1972.
Without having achieved the Triple Crown, among the F1 champions who did win the Indy 500 there are five: the aforementioned Hill, Jim Clark, Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi and Jacques Villeneuve.