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Alonso to drive Indianapolis 500 for Andretti/McLaren (OT)
I'm surprised to read this. Can't remember who the last active full time F1 driver to race there would be. Car is apparently going to be painted McLaren orange and carry sponsorship from the team's F1 sponsors. I'd guess Honda is the driving force behind this deal.
http://www.mclaren.com/formula1/insi...tti-autosport/ |
#2
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#3
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Quote:
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Old'n'Slow |
#4
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Looks like Alonso has a good shot at the pole based on Friday's practice, in which he was 4th fastest. Will be interesting to see if the Penskes were sandbagging but the Hondas appear to be strong. 22 cars turned laps of at least 230 mph on Friday. Only 5 of those were Chevrolets, headed up by JPM who was fifth fastest. Gotta like Bourdais topping the list for Dale Coyne, a full mph faster than Hunter-Reay. Would love to see S. B. on pole.
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#5
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Hope Alonso doesn't get hurt. As Mario Andretti said to Nigel Mansell, if it starts to rotate you cant catch it just let go, but alas he learned a painful lesson.
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chasing waddy |
#6
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Teo Fabi, 1984.
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"I am just a blacksmith" - Dario Pegoretti
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#7
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chasing waddy |
#8
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I went and saw practice on Tuesday. It was really fun. Track is amazing. Saw Alonso and Juan Pablo Montoya. I am excited for the race.
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please don't take anything I say personally, I am an idiot. |
#9
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Last active F1 driver to win? I'll say Graham Hill, without Googling the answer.
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It's not a new bike, it's another bike. |
#10
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Not sure he qualifies as full time as he was splitting the #2 Brabham seat with his brother that year. He did end up concentrating on F1, and skipped the rest of the CART season after Cleveland (July 8) before being dropped by Brabham in favor of Manfred Winklehock for the last F1 race in Portugal. He did run 10 of the 16 F1 events in 1984.
Teo was great in the March CanAm car and should have won the CART title in 1983. He had four wins that year (2x anyone else) and took the pole at Indy with 2 mph in hand over the field. He led easily until the refueling coupling failed on a pit stop. I remember watching this race from a motel room somewhere out west. We were on the way to the Sears Point TransAm race and got a room so we could watch the race. My favorites Rahal and Fabi both dropped out but the finish was exciting - with Al Jr. blocking Sneva in a futile attempt to keep his dad in front for the win. |
#11
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I'm excited to see this happening. Alonso's McLaren has been lousy this year. He may have a better chance in Indy but it's a pretty different car than what he's used to driving. Still, he's got a lot of talent. Button replacing him for Monaco is a bit weird. While Button has won Monaco he's been doing triathlons for the last couple years and he is just been driving the simulator-very different than getting out on the track.
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Life is short-enjoy every day. |
#12
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Glad to hear that you visited and had a good time. It is truly an amazing place, even more so on race day with all the people.
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#13
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Pretty sure he was the last full time F1 driver to win. Mario did 3 F1 races for Lotus in 1969, the year he won the 500 but split his racing among so many series in those years that I doubt he was full time in any of them.
Last edited by oliver1850; 05-20-2017 at 12:58 PM. |
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Been there at turn 2 during the race. They are all a little loco!
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chasing waddy |
#15
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Quote:
Again, without googling, I think Mario did Sprint cars (dirt and asphalt), NASCAR, Indy Cars, and Fi that year. Whatever, maybe not in the same year, but, the man was the most versatile driver of his time. The only man, to this day, to win the F1 championship (let alone one race), Indy 500, and the Daytona 500. His great regret is not winning LeMans, which he almost did in a Ford GT40, but he brain faded and crashed on fresh brakes after a late night driver change. He tried for the last time at age 60, but, couldn't get near the top cars. And, barely got injured in one of the most lethal periods in motor racing. One lucky man. (Which he famously called Danny Sullivan after Mario lost the 500 to him after Danny did a 360 in front of him in turn 1-2.)
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It's not a new bike, it's another bike. |
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