Two out of three
During his long motorsport career, not yet over, Fernando Alonso has won two Formula 1 world titles (2005 and 2006), also managing to stand on the top step of the podium at the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans. Following this achievement, the Spaniard nurtured the dream of achieving another prestigious success: the Triple Crown. Won only by Graham Hill, this consists of winning the Monte Carlo GP in F1 (with Alonso ‘Prince’ in 2006 and 2007), the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Indianapolis 500.
The 2019 disaster
The only trophy missing from Alonso’s cabinet is precisely the 500 Miles, although the Spaniard took part in this famous American race on three occasions: 2017, 2019, and 2020. In the last two editions, during a period when the current Aston Martin driver was not present in F1, Alonso participated in the star-studded weekend behind the wheel of the McLaren, but the results were disastrous: in 2019, in fact, he didn’t even manage to qualify.
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The biggest mistake
A hard blow for the driver as well as for McLaren CEO Zak Brown, who still today remembers that moment as the biggest mistake of his career: “Especially at the beginning there were great obstacles – explained the American manager, who in the last edition of the 500 Miles was a protagonist along with his team of an excellent strategy, despite Pato O’Ward’s final 4th place – I made many mistakes along the way, and I don’t care. I used to tell the team: ‘Mistakes are fine, just don’t repeat them twice,’ because you learn from mistakes. Probably my biggest mistake and in front of everyone’s eyes – there were many – was failing to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 with Fernando Alonso, which at the time, was the worst experience of my life. But I am very proud of it. It sounds strange, but it’s because of how we faced it. We learned from that experience. I took responsibility, it was my fault because I didn’t put together the right parts, the right people. I didn’t trust my instinct. I disappointed myself for everything I preach. I’m almost glad it happened, because I won’t let that mistake happen again – he added – since then, we have finished second twice at the Indianapolis 500 and crashed while we were leading. I remember when we didn’t qualify, some said ‘Is it over for you?’ In racing, when you have an accident, you fix the car, understand why it happened, and get back on track immediately. That’s what you do in racing. So it was definitely a hard blow.”
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