Fernando Alonso can win the Indy 500, says rival Max Chilton, but that might spell bad news for Formula One

Exclusive: Alonso bids to add part two of the Triple Crown, but he will also open the eyes of F1 fans to some of the best racing on the planet that may attract a new wave of fans

Fernando Alonso will attempt to win the Indy 500 on Sunday at the first attempt (Getty)

Fernando Alonso’s decision to try and secure part two of his attempted Triple Crown could well be bad news for Formula One, according to one man who knows what it takes to make the crossover to the Indianapolis 500.

Britain’s Max Chilton found out first hand just how big the Indy 500 was last year when he took part in his first attempt at the Brickyard, coming home in a solid 15th after starting 22nd. Given that just five rookies have won the 500 at the first attempt, Chilton can be pleased with what he achieved and is ready to build on that this time around.

But the problem is that 2017 sees a rookie arrive who will not be satisfied for a second if he comes home anywhere else than first. The two-time F1 world champion, Alonso, is missing the Monaco Grand Prix this weekend after his team, McLaren, allowed him to take part in the Indy 500 in a McLaren-Honda ran by Andretti Autosports. Having already won at Monaco, Alonso now wants to tick off Indianapolis before he mounts the inevitable Le Mans 24 Hours challenge, but former Manor F1 driver Chilton believes that the shock of the Spaniard arriving this year stems from the fact that time is not on his side when Indy is concerned.

“I think it was a shock to everyone because it wasn’t really in the pipeline,” Chilton tells The Independent. “It wasn’t a shock to me that he was going to do the 500, because I’ve known for a while that he’s been wanting to do it, I’ve read articles and comments that he made at the end of last year when he wanted to do it, and I though he’s having a bad time really in Formula One at the moment, this is a good time to do it.

“I wouldn’t have put money down to say he’d do it this year, but I had an inkling he wanted to do it and I think he knows that he wants to do the Triple Crown. Le Mans is the one he can do...nothing’s easy but I think he knows he can do it as long as he gets in the right car which he will because he’s a two-time world champion.

“He knows the Indy 500 is the hardest part of the Triple Crown that he’s got left as he’s already done the world championship in Formula One, and he knows that this one can take quite a few years, so that’s why he’s cracking on with it now because he wants to land the Triple Crown.”

The fact that Alonso is able to jet in straight from the Spanish Grand Prix and begin the mammoth race build-up that the three-week event enjoys has not put any of the IndyCar regulars out at all. In contrast, Chilton believes his arrival is great for the sport, for the drivers and for Alonso himself, yet it might actually spell bad news for Formula One.

Max Chilton will start 15th and believes he has the car beneath him to challenge for victory (AP)

“I’m a huge fan of Fernando and always have been and I would say that he’s arguably the best driver on the Formula One grid, he just hasn’t had the machinery over the last 20 years,” Chilton adds.

“You can really see it in him, he’s got a new energy here, he’s really happy, he’s always smiling, which we haven’t really seen from him for a while because he’s been working hard but not having the result whereas here he’s already had a good result, he’s qualified on the second-row in his rookie year.

“He’s in a good car, he could win it, and I think that’s why he’s finding it exciting. But it’s a win for everyone. It’s a win for him because he’s having a good time, it’s a win for IndyCar because he’s brought over a fan base from Formula One which if they switch over they might find out racing better than Formula One, so that’s good. I think the only loser potentially is Formula One, if they lose the fan base if we get people to watch over here and think ‘well actually that’s decent racing’.”

Alonso has the car to win the Indy 500, according to Chilton (AP)

Chilton speaks the truth, too. Watch the 500 this Sunday and you’ll see a form of racing that simply cannot be seen on the F1 circuit. Its critics complain that watching 200 laps around the same 2.5-mile oval is boring and repetitive, but it is far from it.

Cars regularly maintain speeds at more than 230mph and have, at times, ran five cars side-by-side on the straights with inches separating them from potential catastrophe.

“We don’t really go much faster than Formula One now but we do that at continuous speed,” Chilton explains. “Formula One’s do probably 230mph in Mexico, but then they break as soon as they get to that speed down to an 80mph corner. We race three-wide and do that for 500 miles, so there is a difference, and we go through corners at that speed as well.”