Fernando Alonso is sure there’ll be no repeat of the problems he and McLaren had during last year’s Indianapolis 500 in 2020.
Last week, it was confirmed the Spaniard would attempt the race for a third time in four years as it remains the missing piece of the puzzle in Alonso’s quest to join Graham Hill in winning motorsport’s Triple Crown.
But after operational issues and crash ultimately meant the two-time Formula 1 champion failed to qualify last year, there’s one big difference as he teams up with McLaren’s new IndyCar outfit Arrow McLaren SP this year.
“I think being a one-car team was a big penalty for us last year,” he explained to Motorsport.
“We had a couple of issues. We had not the real ability that we wanted in the first couple of tests, and obviously we didn’t have much information.
“This year with three cars, even if you have a bad day, you’re still learning a lot of things from the other two cars.
“So I think that will be a good advantage, plus the team is not new, [Arrow Schmidt Peterson] has been racing for many, many years in IndyCar, and the background and all the knowledge I think is going to be very beneficial with the things that McLaren can add to that project.
“It was a project that was already existing. So that’s the second thing.”
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Alonso’s decision to rejoin McLaren came after a deal with Andretti Autosport failed to materialise, reportedly due to a block from engine supplier Honda.
But Fernando insists there was another key reason for choosing his former F1 team.
“The final decision was not easy because I think between Andretti and McLaren, maybe people think that Andretti can be more competitive, maybe other people will think that it could be McLaren,” he said.
“That’s something that is difficult to know in advance before the race happens.
“But you know, I think and I trust this project a little bit more, and I have this sense of loyalty, as well, to McLaren and to our fans that last year had high hopes – as we had – and we didn’t show up on the race on the big weekend.
“I think we have this kind of… not obligation, but this kind of feeling that we need to give something back, and this year we will go for it.
“The loyalty that I have for McLaren, when you need to make a decision like this one that I made is the same as the loyalty that I have for Toyota over the last two years.
“McLaren gave me so much over the last five years, that I think to land in McLaren and share it, a lot goes into it from my side.”
And given Alonso has not competed in a circuit event since last year’s Le Mans 24 Hours, he has raised the prospect of other IndyCar outings to regain his sharpness.
“That was part of the conversations I had with both teams – what they were thinking about that – and it’s still an open point to develop,” he said.
“Someone thinks that later in the year it can be a possibility to experience a normal IndyCar race, just to see how it feels and add some more experience.
“I have the thought that maybe that would be before the Indy 500 because it gives me a little bit of preparation. This year I’m not doing F1 and I’m not doing the World Endurance Championship so my last race was the Dakar Rally which is completely opposite style!
“So maybe one race before or an extra test would be a help also for me, even if it’s not an oval race.
“So there are things that are under negotiations and something that took a role in the final decision [to join Arrow McLaren] as well,” he concluded.