INDIANAPOLIS – McLaren has dismissed the team’s IndyCar boss after Fernando Alonso failed to qualify for the 103rd Indianapolis 500.
Robert Fernley, who previously worked as the deputy team principal of the Force India Formula One team, was named as the president of McLaren’s IndyCar program late last year.
His contract reportedly only ran through the 2019 Indianapolis 500 and with the team failing to qualify on Sunday, Fernley has been dismissed from the team according to reports from the Associated Press and Autosport.com.
Alonso and McLaren struggled from the moment the team arrived at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to begin preparing for the Indianapolis 500. Alonso crashed his primary car during practice last week, forcing the team to an unprepared backup car.
The team struggled to get the backup car up to speed, ultimately failing to qualify during Saturday’s first day of qualifications. That forced to the team to attempt one last qualifying run during the Last Row Shootout Sunday, but Alonso was bumped by Kyle Kaiser and Juncos Racing in the last run of the day.