Alonso to miss Monaco GP to race at Indycar!

The hotel I use is a 5-minute walk from my seats in the grandstands by the harbor, so I can easily walk back after the race and watch whatever Indy coverage may have started at that point on the TV in the lobby. Hell, I'm amazed every year that some of my fellow hotel guests don't buy race tickets and instead watch the GP from the lobby!

 

The new face of Indy car.
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They're trying to somehow seduce him into a contract renewal. Either way, as he said, it's great for everyone.

 

You may be right, but perhaps some will decide that having a high-profile F1 driver (and two-time WDC) on the grid with them will give Indy added cache- or at least increase viewership abroad?

 

Alonso having a discussion with his Indy car crew chief.
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McLaren-Honda IS a joke these days.

 

The irony is Alonso will probably the best known driver in the Indy car field.

People know the name "Andretti" but do they know Marco? I doubt it.

I'm into racing but if Marco Andretti walked past me on the sidewalk I could never identify him. 99.999999999% of the USA is the same way.

 

That was the first thing I thought of when Haas signed Gorjean

 

Alonso is coming for the great schools, healthcare and theme parks -- same as anyone!

 

Well it's not like he was going to win any of them, now is it?

 

Does it even matter who they put in his seat for Monaco? The chances of the car even finishing the race are pretty low.

 

Precisely. They have written off the season.

 

Has anybody asked Dallara Automobili just how it is that McLaren figures into this IndyCar entry?

Zak Brown looks a bit silly congratulating Alonso on his Indy ride. I can understand Honda's interest. They are sending their highest paid, most recognizable driver to Indy makes great sense.

 

Jean Girard or Simon Pagenaud

http://cdn-5.motorsport.com/static/img/mgl/6200000/6210000/6212000/6212100/6212105/s8/imsa-daytona-january-testing-2016-simon-pagenaud.jpg

 

Based on social media they all think it's cool. Why would you guess that? There are usually a lot more suspect one off entries into the 500 than any other race.

 

Already the case. Simon Pagenaud.

 

McLaren-Dallara? McLaren will be the entrant but not the constructor. It is no different than Team Penske or Chip Ganassi Racing, the entry will probably be Team McLaren or McLaren Honda.

 

Danica won't do Indy this year ... right?

 

I would say it is still quite different though as Penske and Ganassi engineer their cars. McLaren isn't doing anything except paying Andretti. Andretti has the car setup and all the personnel and expertise. McLaren will just be a sticker on the car.

 

I heard form a reliable source that Indy car series is like a spec series now. Ganassi and others can not do major changes to the Dallara package like in the past?

 

Ferrari in 1952.

 

A worry when alonso starts looking for races outside of f1. I hope he's still in the sport next year

 

They can tweak aero, dampers, do testing, simulations, etc. So there are limits yes, but the big teams still spend a lot more than the small teams. There is still the ability for small teams and excellent drivers to win races though. Andretti tends to have good oval setups. A tiny change in ride height can equal a massive change in downforce as one small example.

 

Would be kinda fun if someone gave Paul Tracy a ride just for giggles. I'd watch the hell out of that.

 

At the end of the day, IndyCar is the big winner in this development.