Renault will not allow Alonso to compete in the Indy 500 in 2021 and 2022
F1 News
- GPblog.com
With a victory in Monaco and a Le Mans win in his pocket, Fernando Alonso only has to win the Indy 500 and then he has the Triple Crown. An ambition he has been striving towards for years and a few years back he came very close, until his car broke just before the end. This year the Spaniard will try again, but after that, the adventure stops for a while.
Not for the next two years with the Indy 500
Starting in 2021, Fernando Alonso will return to Formula 1 and drive for Renault until the end of 2022. This means that he will have new obligations and Renault will not necessarily allow him to make the trip. Journalist Adam Cooper quotes Renault's team boss: "No distractions."
And Alonso says at Race Fans: "I will approach the race knowing the next two years it is going to be impossible to come. I will have to miss the qualifying weekend if I wanted to do so," indicating that qualifying for the Indy 500 falls exactly into a Formula 1 race weekend.
When he drove for McLaren, Zak Brown allowed him to skip the Monaco Grand Prix in 2017, because the McLaren wasn't competitive enough at the time. However, the situation is different now, says Alonso: "I will not be any more with McLaren next year in F1. That will not work either. I know at least for two years I will not be here [at the Indy 500]."
Offer from McLaren
"This is the way it is at the moment. I’m here ready to enjoy the event, ready to give my best, and help the team as much as I can."
However, a future collaboration with his former employer is not excluded. "Let’s see in the future what are the possibilities. If you eventually win one day the race, maybe that opens the possibility for different things."