Fernando Alonso misses the Indy 500 'Fast Nine': qualifies P26

Indy 500

Alonso misses the Indy 500 'Fast Nine': qualifies P26

Alonso will start the Indianapolis 500 from P26

Sam Hall

Saturday 15 August 2020 23:16

Fernando Alonso will start the Indianapolis 500 from 26th position out of 33 drivers as the Spaniard misses out on the 'Fast Nine'.

The 2020 running of the Indy 500 is Alonso's final attempt to secure the triple crown for some time after announcing his Formula 1 return with Renault in 2021.

With only 33 cars registered, the usual 'Bump Day' did not take place this time around, which meant that, unlike 2019, Alonso was guaranteed to qualify for the race.

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Former Jordan and Honda F1 driver Takuma Sato, a driver who won the Indy 500 in 2017, scraped into Sunday's 'Fast Nine' in ninth place, setting an average speed of 230.792 miles per hour across four laps of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Marcus Ericsson has found a new home in the NTT IndyCar Series and will start 11th after missing out on the Sunday session by just over one tenth of a mile per hour.

At the front Marco Andretti, the grandson of former F1 champion Mario Andretti, set the fastest four lap average speed with an effort of 231.351mph. Until a late effort from Scott Dixon, who also makes the 'Fast Nine' after setting the fifth fastest average, Andretti was alone in registering a single lap speed of over 232mph.

IndyCar veterans Ryan Hunter-Reay, Alexander Rossi, James Hinchcliffe, Scott Dixon and Graham Rahal also made the cut for the Sunday shoot-out, as did Indy 500 rookies Rinus Veekay and Alex Palou.

The race itself takes place on Sunday August 23, with the green flag being shown at 18:00 BST. Coverage of the race will be shown live on Sky Sports F1.

The 'Fast Nine' will also be broadcast live from 18:00 on Sunday August 15, following the Spanish Grand Prix.