Fernando Alonso — the two-time F1 world champion — wanted to and still wants to win motor racing’s Triple Crown. That means victories in the Monaco Grand Prix, the Le Mans 24 Hours and the Indianapolis 500. Graham Hill is the only driver to win the trio.
The Spaniard already had the Monaco win in 2006 driving for Renault and driving for Toyota he won at Le Mans in 2018 and 2019 with teammates Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima.
Success at Indy, however, eluded Alonso.
Now he is committed to F-1 and Renault/Alpine for at least two years.
Jacques Villeneuve, who won the Indy 500 in 1995 and the F-1 world championship in 1997, says that Alonso has no chance of winning at Indy unless he commits to a full IndyCar season.
But Alonso brushed those comments aside.
“What others say about your own goals and dreams will not affect your thinking or way to do things,” Alonso said. “If I do it again it’s going to be for a dream of the triple crown, or try to achieve the win, it’s not that you do that type of race just for fun, I don’t know if I will do it again or not.
“If I don’t do it again it’s not because someone else said that I will not be able to win it, if I don’t do it again it’s because I don’t feel the motivation to do it.”
The earliest Alonso could return to Indianapolis would be 2023. He turns 40 on July 29, so he would be almost 42 at the 2023 Indy 500.