Opinion: Why Alonso will NEVER win the Triple Crown

Fernando Alonso, remember him? He’s that Spanish bloke who wants to win motorsport’s triple crown and he’s two thirds of the way there. But the toughest race to win still eludes him and I think that will remain the case for the rest of his days.

You can argue that his one big chance at Indianapolis glory came and went in 2017 when his ultra-competitive Andretti Autosport/McLaren Honda saw him lead many laps before an engine failure which plagued the whole team with ‘Captain America’ Ryan Hunter-Reay also DNF’ing from a top five position.

Since then though bridges haven’t just been burnt, they’ve been well and truly obliterated. The Spaniard’s well documented comments in regards to Honda’s engines in Formula One during the three years he spent under Honda power with McLaren means that the Japanese company simply refuse to run a car for him. Andretti Autosport had an initial deal to field Alonso in their line-up for the 2020 running of the race until Honda vetoed the deal at the 11th hour.

So, that immediately reduces the number of potential Indy 500 drives dramatically with a Chevrolet-powered car the only alternative.

The options narrow further with the all-conquering Team Penske’s 2020 line-up with three-time Indy winner Helio Castroneves taking the fourth seat for the big one.

So now Alonso’s next logical move would be to go with Arrow McLaren SP who switch to Chevrolet engines from 2020, but no. That partnership, which began in 2015, ended recently so the third seat with his old team is also out of the question.

With Ed Carpenter Racing and AJ Foyt Enterprises fully booked for the 500 as well, that leaves just one team for Alonso to go with in 2020… Carlin Racing. Yes, Carlin Racing, the team which Alonso drove for last year in partnership with McLaren when he failed to even qualify and was forced to watch the 103rd running of the 500 from his armchair. Surely, he doesn’t want to go through that again?

But maybe that’s the only way he’ll learn. It’s easy to argue Fernando Alonso will not get a drive capable of winning at Indianapolis this year, maybe ever.

His PR train will often see him back in the headlines. As he tops F1 Racing’s February Edition with an interview suggesting a move back in 2021. Old news surely. Even if it does materialise, Alonso will have been out of the seat for four years, not in a race winning car for seven, and not won a race in eight.

His last F1 victory came at the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix. The result saw him narrow the gap to Sebastian Vettel to 17 points (Kimi Raikkonen’s Lotus was just 4 points behind Vettel). Since then, Vettel won his fourth world title, left Red Bull, took Alonso’s seat at Ferrari and now looks to be usurped by his own youthful teammate having failed to beat the Mercedes for six years straight.

Take a step back, Alonso isn’t exactly a spring chicken anymore. At 38 years of age he may not have too many attempts left at the one he’s been waiting for.

His only hope may be that Castroneves calls it a day in the next year or two and he can have a chance with the big boys at Penske but if that doesn’t materialise, then motorsport’s biggest non-F1 circus will have a very anti-climactic ending.