McLaren have made in previous IndyCar champion Gil de Ferran as a coach for Fernando Alonso as the Spaniard offers to win the Indianapolis 500 this year. Alonso said De Ferran, victor of the Indy 500 in 2003 and a two-time IndyCar champion, would “mentor” him.
Formula 1 champion said: “I’m sure it will be very useful for all these new things I need to learn.”
De Ferran told BBC Sport: “I will try to mentor him through his introduction to the speedway and its nuances.”
Indianapolis is an altogether different test from a F1 thousand prix. The race is 200 laps of a 2.5-mile “superspeedway” with four remaining turns and a normal lap speed of around 230mph.
Alonso, who will race at the Indy 500 on 28 May for the Andretti Autosport-Honda team, said he knew about the troubles of adjusting to racing on a fast oval, for example, Indianapolis. Alonso said: “I think it’s quite different. It’s challenging… the level of downforce, the feeling with the car, running with a car that is not symmetric on the straights, on braking. Traffic I think is a big thing.”
The 49-year-old Brazilian experienced childhood in European street racing, winning the 1992 British Formula Three title, before moving to race in the States. De Ferran is the holder of the world shut course speed record, with his 241.428mph shaft lap record at the Fontana oval in California in 2000.
Alonso, who has not won a race in F1 for a long time as a result of uncompetitive hardware from Ferrari and McLaren, has set his sights on winning the ‘triple crown’ of the Monaco Grand Prix, Indy 500 and Le Mans 24 Hours before he resigns.
Be that as it may, he has additionally made it clear his need remains F1, where despite everything he would like to win a third world title.
“If I want to to be the most complete driver in the world or the best driver in the world, then I want to experience all the different cars and different driving techniques, and I need to adapt and grow up as a driver,” Alonso said.
“And if I want to do that, I need to win it and if it’s not this year then we need to plan it for the next event.”
He said: “Some of the F1 drivers that jump into the Le Mans car, they have no difficulties in terms of adapting.
“The 24 Hours is a little different [from Indianapolis]. It’s a more relaxed race, you can do it at an older age.”
