by H. Mayor – photo: indycar.com
Nothing like a change of scenery for the hopeless and those who have forgotten how to smile. We hadn’t seen Fernando Alonso so relaxed and carefree for a very long time, freed from the nightmarish situation which is making him miserable. It is not easy to transit from F1 to IndyCar; the vehicles and track conditions are substantially different and it requires a period of adjustment. As for the Spanish driver he needed just 20 days from touchdown to becoming one of the new sensations of the sport: He will start fifth next Sunday from the inside of Row 2 at the 500 miles of Indianapolis. A magical result.
And there is more. If only for a short few minutes, he managed to take his car over the 372 km/h, marking the pole position before a thrilled audience. Then came Dixon (with a supernatural flight, the best pole since 1996) and Carpenter followed by the two well known F1 drivers Rossi and Takuma Sato who ended pushing Alonso to fifth position, but the elation remained. Alonso sent everyone a message about learning and having fun; pure therapy. And it all happened before the legend Tony Kanaan, who witnessed in disbelief how he was being outdone by the rookie from the barrier .
Next Sunday’s challenge will be a further step up. He counts on an extra week of training and that great starting position from second row opening up the possibility of an actual triumph. It must also be a great boost for Alonso to finally command a reliable and competitive car, something he had not felt for too long. It will be very different once he is actually there beside his rivals on the tarmac and with the prospect of some strenuous 200 laps ahead; just the kind of the therapeutic challenge for a twice world champion. Meanwhile, on the other side of the ocean, McLaren is likely to struggle to get some of his drivers through the finish line in Monaco.
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