Alonso rules out 2018 Indy 500 shot if he stays with McLaren

By Sep 14, 2017, 9:32 AM EDT
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Fernando Alonso will not race in next year’s Indianapolis 500 if he remains in Formula 1 with McLaren due to the date clash with the Monaco Grand Prix.

Alonso’s entry to the 101st Indianapolis 500 earlier this year with McLaren-Honda and Andretti Autosport led to speculation he could move into the series full-time in 2018 should no competitive F1 seat become available.

Alonso is out of contract with the ailing McLaren team at the end of this season, having been one of the most vocal critics about its ongoing struggles with current engine partner Honda.

A split between McLaren and Honda is expected to be announced on Friday in Singapore, the British marque picking up a Renault engine supply from 2018, and Alonso will wait for his team to move before considering his F1 future.

“After they take decisions, I will take mine. I want to stay loyal at least to that,” Alonso said.

“I will not make any decisions without them making any decisions first.

“I’m relaxed, happy, and we’ll see what’s going on in the next few weeks.”

When asked directly if IndyCar was an option next year, Alonso said: “There are options everywhere, and they are all very good. You just need to be patient and wait a couple of weeks.”

Alonso’s appearance at Indianapolis acted as part of his bid to win the Triple Crown of Motorsport, also featuring the Monaco Grand Prix (a race he has won twice) and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The two-time F1 world champion had to miss this year’s race in Monaco in order to enter the ‘500, something only allowed given McLaren’s lack of competitiveness in F1 at the time.

McLaren executive director Zak Brown said recently that Alonso would likely feature in Monaco next year as the team hoped to be fighting further up the field, closing off a return to the Brickyard.

While Alonso agreed another shot at the ‘500 would not be possible, he dropped strong hints that he would look to race at Le Mans, with the endurance classic having no F1 clash in 2018.

“The Triple Crown is clear target for me in the future, and there are three races there. If the Indy 500 is together with Monaco as we know, there is another one still to complete,” Alonso said.

“I agree with the same thing as Zak said. If I remain in Formula 1, it’s because I believe I can win next year. That will ease the decision a lot because I will be in Monaco because I don’t want to lose any points there.

“My priority is Formula 1, as I said before, winning here. The Triple Crown is in the background.

“There are three races, not only Indy. There are many, many possibilities to do a fantastic 2018.”

Ford Mustang GT3 test has Austin Cindric dreaming of Daytona: ‘I want to drive that car’

By Mar 22, 2023, 2:30 PM EDT
Cindric Ford GT3 test
Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
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Austin Cindric wasn’t the “mystery” test driver behind the wheel of the new Ford Mustang GT3 at Sebring International Raceway, but the Team Penske driver desperately wanted to be.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, an amateur sports car driver himself, made the big reveal via a Tuesday tweet that provided the first video evidence of the GT3 Mustang on track.

“I’ve watched the video in question about a million times,” Cindric said Wednesday during a Ford Performance Zoom news conference to promote NASCAR’s first road course weekend of the season at Circuit of the Americas. “Definitely exciting times for sure. I want to drive that car. It suits my experience level and also the relationships that I have.”

Ford will enter the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next season with its GT3 Mustang, entering a two-car factory effort (that will be managed by Multimatic) in GTD Pro and making customer cars available in the GT Daytona category.

That increases the likelihood of seeing more NASCAR drivers crossing over to IMSA. Cindric has been the only full-time Cup driver in the Rolex 24 at Daytona the past two years, but Ford Performance global director Mark Rushbrook has said the GT3 Mustang will provide more opportunities.

Ford has used its GT4 Mustang as a NASCAR driver development tool in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with Harrison Burton and Zane Smith combining to win the season opener at Daytona International Speedway in January.

“We’re excited about the Next Gen car and the new architecture there and the similarities between that car and GT3 and even GT4 cars,” Rushbrook said at the announcement of the Ford GT3 program in January 2022 at Daytona. “We think it’s a great opportunity and to do be able to do that in a 24-hour race and get NASCAR drivers even more time is something we need to consider taking advantage of that opportunity.”

Given his sports car background, Cindric probably still would be in the Rolex 24 regardless. He has eight IMSA starts since the 2017 season opener at Daytona, racing a Lexus RCF GT3 and Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the GT category. The 2022 Daytona 500 winner made his second LMP2 start this year with Rick Ware Racing.

But Cindric’s preference naturally would be in a Ford, particularly with sports car racing enjoying convergence and crossovers in both GT and prototype racing.

“It’s an exciting time in GT racing, just as it is now for prototype racing with a lot of new regulations and manufacturers building new GT3 cars,” he said. “And also the opportunity with WEC (the World Endurance Championship) and Le Mans and how that all lines up for that category of car. It’s definitely an exciting time. I want to be as much of a part of that as possible.”

Though those odds seemingly will increase with multiple Ford entries in the Rolex 24 field next year, Cindric said NASCAR drivers still have to put in the networking to land rides as he has in recent years.

“Now how (the GT3 Mustang) relates to specifically NASCAR drivers and how often they want to be in the Rolex, could it be an influence? Absolutely, as far as the tie-in with the manufacturer,” Cindric said. “But the challenge and the drive and the logistics of getting an opportunity for a race like the Rolex 24 will be just as challenging as it always is to find your one-off ride for the race. At least from my experience, that’s what I still anticipate.”

It turned out the “mystery” test driver wasn’t from NASCAR (Farley revealed the driver to be 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Joey Hand after a fan asked whether it was Joey Logano).

But Cindric believes there could be more Cup drivers — and perhaps himself — behind the wheel of Mustang GT3s in the future.

“There’s definitely more of a pathway than I think there would be before as far as Ford drivers are concerned,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll get the opportunity to drive that thing. It’s obviously a great looking car. That’s the first box you’ve got to check. And it’s cool (to have) a guy like Jim Farley, no doubt he’s a racer just as much as he is steering the ship for Ford. It’s cool to see he’s just as excited as the rest of us about it.”