Fernando Alonso admits his first experience with the fans at the Indy 500 isn’t as bad as feared.
The famous race at the Indianapolis is billed as much of a showcase of the drivers off the track as it is of them on it, with the openness of the event a far cry from the world of Formula 1.
However, coming to the end of his first full week as an Indy 500 driver, running in daily practice sessions, Alonso is coping well with his new environment.
“I think they scared me a little bit too much when I came here!” the Spaniard told RACER in an interview.
“They said that it’s going to be crazy with the fans and the activities around the event, but so far it’s more or less as in Formula 1.
“You get the media events, you get this kind of interviews and you get the fans. They’re a little bit closer – especially in the pit lane, which is quite new – but apart from that, the level of activities remains similar to the F1 weekend. So, not too bad to deal with everything so far.”
What the two-time F1 champion has noticed, however, is just how much buzz he has created at Indianapolis, with the 35-year-old in demand the moment he steps out of the car.
“Obviously sometimes it’s not ideal in the sense that you need to talk to the engineers,” he explained. “It’s the right moment when you’ve got a fresh run in your head, so you want to talk about something.
“You remove the helmet and you would like to talk with the engineer, but you spend 20 seconds there with the fans.
“Also, because I’m new here and it’s this big thing that I came here, if you see all the pit lane and all the garages are quite empty apart from mine!” He added.
“So I think that with time it will get a little bit more relaxed, and people will get a little bit more used to seeing me here, as if you are a normal racer here. I think that’s a very unique thing for me at this event and also for them, so I have a little bit more attention than normal.”
