Alonso: the champion that has to chase for a seat
Today’s rumors spread by Racer.com about Honda denying Alonso an Indycar seat, represents just another consequence of the Spaniard’s edgy behavior. What can Fernando do now?
Two time world champion Fernando Alonso is widely recognised as one of the fastest drivers in the history of motorsport. Beside his Formula 1 successes, the Spaniard managed to win the both the Daytona and the Le Mans 24h, and to have a very convincing debut in the off-road world, at the 2020 Dakar.
Since he left the Circus at the end of 2018, Alonso always stated to be chasing for the triple crown, symbolic trophy awarded to those who manage to win the Le Mans, the Indy 500, and the Monaco GP (or, otherwise, the Formula 1 world championship). Two of the three jewels are already in his bag (or, the better, on his crown) but the Indy 500 is still missing.
On his debut at the infamous Brickyard back in 2017, Alonso put himself straight-away up among the race contenders, only for his efforts to be sunk by an engine failure with few laps to go. The same Honda he constantly raged against during his last years in F1 forced him out of the 500 as well. Fernando didn’t appreciate such an inconvenience.
So now, with Alonso willing to give a third go at Indianapolis, the japanese supplier determined that was enough and apparently decided for a last-minute veto on his seat: no Honda-powered team will be allowed to hire the Spaniard.
This comes as a surprise for most part of the community, since Alonso’s drive for competitive Andretti Autosport was expected to be announced in only a matter of days.
It’s the same story repeated over and over again: Fernando’s edgy personality made him go scorched earth way too many times throughout his career: frequent fights with team-mates, rivals and even his own team isolated the #14 from any valuable contact.
Also when he claims for a possible ‘return to F1 for 2021’, one wonders what team would hire him. Fernando would only accept a drive from a team capable of achieving decent results, but with time he possibly burned his chances with Ferrari, McLaren and Honda (meaning Red Bull). And Mercedes, after the headaches provided by the Hamilton-Rosberg pairing, will think twice before putting again two big dogs in their line-up.
End of the story, the “GP2 Engine” team radio may have once again echoed in Honda’s headquarters, forcing such a driving legend to –again, once again- wander for a different seat.
This time Chevrolet may be his wonderwall, but what about his overall future?
https://www.motorlat.com/notas/f1/14478/alonso-apologizes-for-blunt-criticism-over-honda-power-unit
