Alonso at Indy (to Miss Monaco)...

[Paradise City]

It's great to see this. And it'll be a little PR boost for such a dismal time for Honda in F1.

Monaco is an atypical race where he has won before anyway. So he's not going to learn there nor develop the car there really. So if you're going to miss a race from a developmental point of view, Monaco is the one to miss.

[Paradise City]

Originally Posted by Graz

It's an admission by McLaren they're crap and will still be crap by Monaco because it's unthinkable otherwise.

Don't waste your time sticking Button in, he was on the beach well before last year finished and he's done. Give Giovinazzi another shot. He's race fit and quick. Prone to errors as we've seen but quick - you can teach somebody not to crash but can't teach someone to be quick and all that.

I dunno if you should put Giovinazzi in at Monaco. Elsewhere maybe but not Monaco.

I don't think Button will get the nod. That said, he does know the place.

[Mike Harte]

Don't forget that Alonso's wages are being paid by Honda, not McLaren. So there is a strong possibility that his also on contract to Honda and therefore this could have been a deal that Alonso did with them that McLaren couldn't refuse.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

Don't forget that Alonso's wages are being paid by Honda, not McLaren. So there is a strong possibility that his also on contract to Honda and therefore this could have been a deal that Alonso did with them that McLaren couldn't refuse.

The Indy entry is under the McLaren-Honda-Andretti name.

I think the American influence within McLaren now has helped to make this happen. As previously hinted - a nod to Liberty that McLaren can operate outside of F1?

Zak Brown: 'I’m particularly delighted to have been able to bring McLaren back to Indianapolis in my very first year as McLaren’s Executive Director'
Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa: 'McLaren is more than merely a Formula 1 team'

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Sodemo

McLaren to enter Indy 500?

It will be a McLaren entry run by Andretti Autosport, which is fitting considering Michael Andretti drove for McLaren in 1993.

[S griffin]

When I saw the headline, I thought it was a bit late for April's fools. It just seemed too good to be true. Not only competing in the Indy 500, but missing the Monaco GP to do it. I know Jim Clark did it, but that was back in 1965!

But now it's happening, this is the best news motorsport has had for a long time. I wonder if it's any coincidence that now Bernie's gone this is happening. Who knows? After all, Bernie wasn't happy the Hulk competed in LM24...

And he's shown he's a real racer by saying he's gonna aim for the Triple Crown, like Graham Hill did. Although Montoya's got the best chance at the moment, all he needs to do is win LM24

Also this is a big boost to Indycars and will raise the profile worldwide of it. Suddenly my faith in motorsport has been raised again

[Mr Pink]

Originally Posted by Greem

All the politics in the world couldn't stop me saying YEAH! when I read the news.

Brilliant.

Exactly how I felt!

[bjohnsonsmith]

With Alonso driving in the 500 this year, I think it's time to stop both races clashing.

[NaBUru38]

This is absolutely insane!!!

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

It will be a McLaren entry run by Andretti Autosport, which is fitting considering Michael Andretti drove for McLaren in 1993.

Let's hope that Andretti gives him a better car setup than McLaren did then.

[J Jay]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

With Alonso driving in the 500 this year, I think it's time to stop both races clashing.

With Liberty Media at the helm (who will surely want to see growth in F1 stateside), that is a distinct possibility. I wouldn't be surprised if they spoke to Alonso/McLaren/Honda in private to help find this solution with no apparent losers.

[chillibowl]

interesting times these are!

JV came pretty close but i dont see him getting another shot at it. as mentioned earlier, JPM has a chance but is LeMans something he wants to do?

i guess more interesting for me is if this is what this means for the future of Mclaren...can they feasibly do both series or is this just a one off?

with a little over a month until the Indy 500 this idea seems like a really late idea in terms of preparation at least...surely if he is serious about the 'triple crown' he should run an oval race once or twice before Indy no?

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

With Alonso driving in the 500 this year, I think it's time to stop both races clashing.

Perhaps, but with different disciplines being so specialized, this an anomaly. If McLeran were where Ferrari or Mercedes are right now, no chance this happens.

Besides, I like waking up and watching Monaco, then the 500 and top it off with a 600 miler on an American holiday weekend. Greatest single day in motor racing, outside another "day" in June

Originally Posted by chillibowl

with a little over a month until the Indy 500 this idea seems like a really late idea in terms of preparation at least...surely if he is serious about the 'triple crown' he should run an oval race once or twice before Indy no?

That was my first thought and the closest I can get to a comparison is Nigel being a rookie and nearly winning the 500, finishing third. He raced at Surfers and crashed at PIR, according to his wiki page. Is this correct? If so, that's not much prep at all before the month of May.

[Gingers4Justice]

Originally Posted by chunterer

Incredible development!!

Something going on as why would team/manufacturer want to lose their best chance of a strong result in Monaco?!

Yeah - the Indy 500!

[gert]

Originally Posted by chillibowl

JPM has a chance but is LeMans something he wants to do?

You never know.

He did of course do a test in a Porsche LMP1 car at Bahrain last year (or the year before that)

[JeremySmith]

This is why I love the USA 🇺🇸
Brilliant news well done to all concerned the viewing audience is going to be massive, they might ask Alex Rossi to drive his F1 ride ?
😊😊😊

[Tobse998]

Very interesting news indeed!

But there are still some questions that need answers.

Is it already confirmed that Button will drive in Monaco? Until now I read some rumors about that, but afaik there is no official confirmation yet.
Could a different driver step in? Is there anyone except Button on McLarens radar?

And the second question is: Does it really make sense to miss the Monaco weekend? It might be the best opportunity for McLaren to get some decent points and Alonso racing somewhere else might hurt them badly at the end of the season in the constructors championship.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Tobse998

Is it already confirmed that Button will drive in Monaco? Until now I read some rumors about that, but afaik there is no official confirmation yet.

[Jonerz]

Originally Posted by chillibowl

interesting times these are!

JV came pretty close but i dont see him getting another shot at it. as mentioned earlier, JPM has a chance but is LeMans something he wants to do?

i guess more interesting for me is if this is what this means for the future of Mclaren...can they feasibly do both series or is this just a one off?

with a little over a month until the Indy 500 this idea seems like a really late idea in terms of preparation at least...surely if he is serious about the 'triple crown' he should run an oval race once or twice before Indy no?

Chris

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

Perhaps, but with different disciplines being so specialized, this an anomaly. If McLeran were where Ferrari or Mercedes are right now, no chance this happens.

Besides, I like waking up and watching Monaco, then the 500 and top it off with a 600 miler on an American holiday weekend. Greatest single day in motor racing, outside another "day" in June .

I like watching both races of a Sunday too but I think it's good for motorsport if drivers from one series can compete in an other. It was good to see Hulkenberg win at Le Mans in 2015, with Porsche and a shame he wasn't able to defend that win in 2016 because the Azerbaijan European Grand Prix clashed. Someone has seen some sense and no GPs will clash with Le Mans this year.

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

I like watching both races of a Sunday too but I think it's good for motorsport if drivers from one series can compete in an other. It was good to see Hulkenberg win at Le Mans in 2015, with Porsche and a shame he wasn't able to defend that win in 2016 because the Azerbaijan European Grand Prix clashed. Someone has seen some sense and no GPs will clash with Le Mans this year.

I believe the lack of clash is actually an accident. The original schedule was a clash, but when the German GP was removed from the calender, the Azerbaijan round was moved to even out the gap between races.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

I like watching both races of a Sunday too but I think it's good for motorsport if drivers from one series can compete in an other. It was good to see Hulkenberg win at Le Mans in 2015, with Porsche and a shame he wasn't able to defend that win in 2016 because the Azerbaijan European Grand Prix clashed. Someone has seen some sense and no GPs will clash with Le Mans this year.

"The month of May" now starts on the 15th, so Alonso can hit his home GP and then concentrate the rest of the month on Indy, so there's the possibility this can be scheduled out in the future, but it's up to F1 to move the Monaco date. The 500 won't move my lifetime and there'd have to be a large enough gap in the calendar to make this reasonably possible.

What are the chances of Monaco moving the date and F1 having a long enough void in the calendar? Not disagreeing with you; just asking questions....

[chunterer]

There doesn't have to be a clash. F1 drivers could still get plenty of Indy practice in through May if the Monaco GP moved back a weekend or 2 surely? Then they could still enter both like the good old days.

Monaco wasn't always at the end of May...

[gert]

Originally Posted by chunterer

There doesn't have to be a clash. F1 drivers could still get plenty of Indy practice in through May if the Monaco GP moved back a weekend or 2 surely? Then they could still enter both like the good old days.

Monaco wasn't always at the end of May...

If they move it (the Monaco GP), they'll probably put it on the Le Mans weekend

Other than that, a very brave decision by Alonso -- and McLaren.

[Livery]

Hello Vonage....Hello Gulf...could you please contact Mclaren Honda Andretti and make this car look good??!!

[wolfhound]

Monaco is traditionally held on the Sunday following Ascension Thursday although that does not alway hold true in recent years.
I seem to remember Mario Andretti criss crossing the Atlantic to do both Indy and the Monaco GP in the 70's.