This weekend, Fernando Alonso is making his third attempt to win the Indianapolis 500. During his first two attempts, the McLaren team allowed him to participate, even though he was active in the F1 Championship. In fact, the team even brought back Jenson Button for the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix.
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Unfortunately, the Spaniard will not be afforded the same luxury when he races for the Renault F1 team next season. Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul firmly insisted that Alonso will not compete outside F1 once he returns to F1.
The bad news for the F1 double world champion is that his quest got off to a bad start, with a crash in practice. As it turned out, he lost control and hit the Turn 4 wall, before sliding backwards into the pit lane. Luckily, he escaped injury and was declared fit to race for the rest of the weekend.
Speaking to the F1 website, Cyril Abiteboul said, “The very straightforward answer is that I’m hardly breathing until next weekend actually, when he is stepping out of his racing car from Indianapolis. But I can be very clear that once he is with us, that is for good, and for a while, so no distractions.”
Fernando Alonso may get some support
The good news is that Fernando Alonso may find himself a supporter in his triple crown quest. Apparently, Renault’s new CEO Luca de Meo is quite “passionate… about motor racing”, according to Abiteboul.
“The great news is that we have in Luca de Meo a CEO that is really passionate and enthusiastic about cars. About sports cars and about motor racing. Clearly that’s something that’s going to be a gamechanger for all of us in Renault,” said Abiteboul.
The new CEO is aware of the team’s goals and current situation. In spite of that, he is here for the long haul and appreciates the team’s efforts. This is largely because he understands the sport and it could play into Renault’s hands.
