A victory at the Indianapolis 500 is now high on Fernando Alonso’s list of priorities after he secured two thirds of motorsport’s triple crown with a race win at Le Mans on Sunday.
Alonso has set his sights on the rare achievement of winning motorsport’s three biggest races: Le Mans, the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indy 500 — a feat that only Graham Hill has achieved in the history of the sport.
In the modern era, calendar clashes and tight contracts tend to prevent F1 drivers from racing in other series, but as Alonso’s F1 team McLaren has struggled he has been able to negotiate his way into a position to race in both IndyCar and at Le Mans.
Last year he missed the Monaco Grand Prix — which he has won twice before — for a one-off appearance at the Indy 500 and this year he has combined his F1 commitments with a drive in the World Endurance Championship for Toyota.
Although the WEC and F1 seasons dovetail nicely, the Indy 500 is expected to remain on the same weekend as the Monaco Grand Prix next year, leading to speculation that Alonso will ditch F1 at the end of this season to focus fulltime on completing the triple crown in IndyCar.
“I will make my mind up after the summer what I will do next year, but after winning Le Mans, Indy comes into play with a high priority,” he said after Toyota’s victory on Sunday. “Let’s see if it is next year or the following year. Let’s see what the future of F1 will be.
“I attempted the Indy 500 last year with that intention and we were leading the race and close to winning but we missed the opportunity. Here we were leading the race and I was worried about missing the opportunity again but here we achieved it. It is definitely a very attractive target to try for the triple crown and see if I can be a better driver, a more complete driver.
After spending over three seasons in F1 without scoring a podium, Alonso said the pursuit of the triple crown had become increasingly appealing.
“Being in Formula One you just follow your team performance and if your team is first you will be first or second and if your team is third you with be fifth or sixth. To be a better driver, a more complete driver, you need to win in every series against the specialists of those series.
“To beat the specialists in oval racing or here in endurance the guys as they know every little trick here so to be able to come here and be at that level is great. It makes it is a very attractive target.”
Alonso confirmed that he still plans to see the 2018/19 WEC Super Season through to the finish, meaning he will also commit to the next running of the Le Mans 24 Hours in June 2019.
“We are leading the championship after the win in Spa and here. To become World Endurance Champion is not a secret that it was one of the targets when I joined the Super Season.
“I didn’t join just for the Le Mans experience, I joined the Super Season because I want to fight for the world championship. Let’s see if we can achieve that as we’ve had a good start to the season so far.”
Alonso’s 2018 season
January 27-28 – Daytona 24 Hours (IMSA) Completed
March 25 – Australian GP (F1) Completed
April 8 – Bahrain GP (F1) Completed
April 15 – Chinese GP (F1) Completed
April 29 – Azerbaijan GP (F1) Completed
May 4 – Six Hours of Spa Francorchamps (WEC) Completed
May 13 – Spanish GP (F1) Completed
May 27 – Monaco GP (F1) Completed
June 10 – Canadian GP (F1) Completed
June 16/17 – 24 Hours of Le Mans (WEC) Completed
June 24 – French GP (F1)
July 1 – Austrian GP (F1)
July 8 – British GP (F1)
July 22 – German GP (F1)
July 29 – Hungarian GP (F1)
August 19 – Six Hours of Silverstone (WEC)
August 26 – Belgian GP (F1)
September 2 – Italian GP (F1)
September 16 – Singapore GP (F1)
September 30 – Russian GP (F1)
October 7 – Japanese GP (F1)
October 14 – Six Hours of Fuji (WEC)
October 21 – U.S. GP (F1)
October 28 – Mexican GP (F1)
November 11 – Brazilian GP (F1)
November 18 – Six Hours of Shanghai (WEC)
November 25 – Abu Dhabi GP (F1)