Fernando Alonso probably won’t be the next driver to win motorsport’s Triple Crown, 2019 Indianapolis 500 winner Simon Pagenaud claims.
As his hopes of a third Formula 1 title disappeared, the Spaniard switched focus to matching the achievement only done by Graham Hill of winning the Monaco GP, the Indy 500 and the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Alonso has two legs of that trifecta with double successes in Monte Carlo and at Le Sarthe but his two attempts at Indianapolis have so far ended in disappointment, including a failure to qualify this year.
The 38-year-old isn’t alone in chasing the Triple Crown dream, however, Juan Pablo Montoya already has victories in Monaco and at Indy and this year did his first attempt at Le Mans in the lesser LMP2 category.
Given it took Pagenaud eight tries to finally win at the Brickyard this year, he believes the odds are in the Colombian’s favour.
“Montoya is probably more likely to win the triple crown before Alonso because Juan Pablo is doing sportscar racing full-time there and he is very good at it,” the Frenchman told RaceFans.
“Juan Pablo is just as good as he ever was, quite frankly. Put him in any car, he can step in and be competitive right away. He knows the kind of racing that is so he doesn’t have to learn much, he just needs to be in the right situation. And I assure you he would win it. If I was to put him in the right situation I know he could do it, he will get it done.
“Fernando has so much more to learn. So much more he needs to be investing, he needs to have the best engine that year, he needs to have the best teammates to help him out, there’s a lot to do so it’s a lot more complicated.”
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Another bid at the 500 is expected in 2020 for Alonso, but right now his focus is on an entirely different challenge as he looks to compete in next year’s Dakar Rally.
And last week, he completed his second test with Toyota later admitting there was still a lot of progress to be made.
“It has been a very interesting experience to climb the big dunes here in Namibia for the first time,” he was quoted by F1i.com.
“They were probably a bit shocking at the beginning and had to be approached with a lot of respect.
“They require a refined technique that I don’t yet have, and we were having to get out of some trouble that I was getting into from time to time.
“The feelings are good because everything we have done so far has been always very controlled tests, following a roadmap that’s marked well thanks to the experience also of the team, who knows at all times what we should be facing,” he added.
“I’m trying to walk before I run and I’m making little by little progress and gaining confidence. So far, so good.
“Thanks to the team, to Giniel, to my teammate, to everybody, because we’re trying to make progress as quickly as possible and to hopefully have fewer scares with each next run.”
