Wot no Alonso

[IanD]

No comments ?
Would never have predicted Alonso not racing at Monaco, surely a sign of the beginning of the end or Alonso stating talk to me about a deal anywhere better than McLaren.

Maybe good for jenson to get a drive although unless mixed weather and a chance to look good, should/would he ?

[C7Steve]

I am surprised that Alonso is not contracted for all the F1 races


Steve.

[Lazydonkey]

I am surprised that Alonso is not contracted for all the F1 races


Steve.

I suspect he is but the contract is full of clauses about car performance. Seems a sensible move to keep him onside until / if they ever get the car working

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[BigD]

Let's face it mclaren don't need a top driver in that car at the moment. They're more of a back of the grid team currently.

[Shug]

Clever move by McLaren, frankly. Notoriously divisive driver getting increasingly tetchy in public as their engine partner drops the ball time after time. Great way to use Honda's reach to turn the PR around "look guys, we know we've ballsed up, but here's our olive branch to the driver we know deserves better"

Gets F1 talked about in US racing, gets Alonso some positive publicity (until the pack of very experienced Indy drivers eat the newbie for breakfast) gets McLaren a sales tool for US car sales, keeps Alonso dedicated (and they will want his talent that they've been paying through the nose for, when/if the performance comes) loads of positives.

Even better, would never have happened if Ron or Bernie were still around - so shows F1 is increasing its flexibility. Plus, shows Alonso is still an enthusiast at heart - still going for that triple crown that's so much tougher to get the chance to do than when the likes of Hill did it.

Great move all round, I think.

Can Alonso win? No, I don't think so. Great piece by Dario Franchitti on Motorsport magazine's site. Basically saying he will, of course, have the skill to go fast and find the limits of the car. But oval racing with a full grid north of 220mph with all the weird aerodynamic effects of that grid rushing about an enclosed oval, plus racecraft in the draft. You don't learn that in a few months. And the grid is full of talented guys, some with decades of experience of this very particular form of racing.

[BigD]

Read the piece by Dario too, really interesting.

[Corranga]

Great post by Shug above says it all, it's a real win, win for McLaren - and those are few and far between for them at the moment!

No point in Alonso racing at Monaco in a car that isn't capable of winning, even if you look at Monaco, and the possibility of a wet Monaco being McLaren's best chance. Hopefully he'll do well, top 10 or so as otherwise the promotion may well backfire!!

[p4ilip]

I'd think he had a good chance at a win, Mansell was pretty close when he raced at Indianapolis.

[p4ilip]

imagine Button coming back and winning at Monaco.

[campbell]

All this.

Plus delighted to watch JB at Monaco and his candid interview about 20 laps in when the car packs up

[tut]

I watched Graham Hill win Indy.

tut

[kerryxeg]

I think this will have been in a pipeline for a while.

McLaren are certainly very focused on the US car market and are trying hard to build the brand. Lots of unique events being organised by them in the US, just competing in the indy500 would gain them a lot of respect and Alonso would attract a lot of attention.

[IanD]

Read a couple of the motorsport magazine articles which were useful and provided good further info.
No one doubts Alonso skills or racecraft i wondered if lack of oval experience being amongst other drivers would hurt him but seems there is a lot of practice time and his team mates can be used to upskill him.

Will be interesting to see what the outcome is, certainly generated a load of publicity for a team you only hear bad stuff about at moment.