Fernando Alonso's Indy 500 debut ends with engine failure

Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso made his Indianapolis 500 debut this weekend, which was held along the same week as the Monaco Grand Prix. Alonso made a strong impression on his first ever outing by leading 27 laps, and was a strong contender for victory if not for him suffering the same curse as his Formula 1 challenger. Despite consistently shuffling places, the Spaniard was in the top six throughout most of the 150 opening laps.

The concerns of a failure occurring, despite being expected by most, had been raised earlier in the race when his team mate, Ryan Hunter-Reay’s engine, gave up on lap 140. This was then followed by another Honda-powered driver Charlie Kimball’s engine giving up in a cloud of smoke on lap 166. Unfortunately, the Spaniard’s Honda powered challenger let go on lap 179 with only 21 laps to go, costing him the race. Alonso was running eighth at the time he retired.

Despite the disappointment in his retirement, Alonso says that the race was a “great experience” and does mention that he will be returning to Indy 500. He mentions that going back to Indy 500 the next time would make it easier for him as he now knows how things work as compared to Formula 1, according to an interview with Motorsports.com

With his Indy 500 bout complete, Alonso will once again be heading to the Formula 1 paddock in preparation for the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix. That said, hopefully we can expect the Spaniard to once again be returning to the Indy 500 next year with intentions of winning the next time around.