The 'significant setback' hampering Fernando Alonso's Triple Crown bid at Indy 500

Fernando Alonso

The 'significant setback' hampering Alonso's Triple Crown bid at Indy 500

His preparations have been put back.

Matthew Scott

Friday 17 May 2019 13:07

Fernando Alonso's crash in testing ahead of the Indianapolis 500 has lumbered the double world champion with a "significant setback" in his attempts to secure the 'Triple Crown' in this weekend's race. Alonso wrecked his #66 McLaren on Wednesday, and was unable to get on-track throughout the following day as repairs were carried out.

Alonso has placed huge stock in his attempt to match Graham Hill's unique feat by winning at the Brickyard, as well as the Le Mans 24 Hours and Monaco GP.

Having impressed in his ultimately unsuccessful Indy debut two years ago, all eyes will be on the Spaniard once again, but he has been impacted by the wreck on Wednesday.

"It's definitely slow going," said McLaren CEO Zak Brown.

"It's been a lot of work. We're just trying to get it done right, put some extra TLC in it and make sure it is ready to go.

"I've seen lots of drama here before, and I don't want any drama."

It is expected that Alonso will be back in action for 'Fast Friday' – the final practice before qualifying that sees teams open up the performance of their cars, however Gil De Ferran admitted that the crash had hampered their preparation significantly.

Article continues under video

Here’s the moment @alo_oficial hit the wall during #Indy500 practice 😮

Fernando Alonso was checked, cleared and released from the @IMS infield medical center.#INDYCAR // #ThisIsMay pic.twitter.com/BPJX1c3ckk
— NTT IndyCar Series (@IndyCar) May 15, 2019

De Ferran said: "While we have a number of experienced individuals in the team, we are still relatively new as a crew.

"Because of this and the fact that we have deep respect for Indianapolis, we are being careful and measured in our approach and want to ensure we're sending the best possible car out on track.

"Not running today was a serious setback to our Indy 500 program, but all is not lost. We should have a full day of practice and preparations for qualifying [on Friday] and our goal will be to have a nice, clean day."