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Let’s say Fernando Alonso wins the Indianapolis 500. Unlikely, but not impossible. The Fonz would then be two-thirds of the way to completing one of the rarest feats in international sport.
Motor racing’s Triple Crown is an unofficial accolade for winning the world’s three most important races – the Monaco Grand Prix, Indianapolis 500 and Le Mans 24 Hours. Achieving that trifecta is so difficult that it’s only happened once.
It was first coined in motor racing after the late Graham Hill added the 1972 Le Mans 24 Hours to his 1966 Indy 500 victory – in his first and only attempt – and five Monaco GP wins in the 1960s.
Fernando Alonso reveals IndyCar on debut test
Those who’ve won two of the three are the late Jochen Rindt (’65 Le Mans and ’70 Monaco), American legend AJ Foyt (four Indy 500s and ’67 Le Mans), the late Bruce McLaren (’62 Monaco and ’66 Le Mans) and Juan Pablo Montoya (two Indy 500s and 2003 Monaco).
In the modern era, an F1 driver forsaking the prestigious race through the streets of Monte Carlo for the Indy 500 – especially one of Alonso’s stature – is unprecedented. It is also exciting and fascinating.
That possibility also raises the question of why there isn’t an official award for winning motor racing’s three biggest and best known events. It is strange, to say the least, that the FIA hasn’t formalised the accomplishment and offered an incentive – big prize money and a big trophy – for leading drivers to chase the famous treble.
The prestige of the Triple Crown is just waiting to be exploited. Because of the disparate racing disciplines involved, it is even more difficult to achieve than the Grand Slams in tennis and golf, and the equestrian Triple Crown, which need to be completed in a calendar year.
Winning the Monaco GP, Indy 500 and Le Mans 24 Hours in the same season is virtually impossible even in the best circumstances nowadays because of the specialisation required for F1, IndyCar and WEC sports cars. It is physically out of the question right now because, again inexplicably, the Monaco GP and Indy 500 clash.
McLaren’s decision to partner with Michael Andretti’s Honda-powered IndyCar team at the 500 is all about distracting from its F1 woes and keeping Alonso interested in staying on board. He’s up for renewal at the end of the season and McLaren wants to re-sign him, hoping Honda’s unreliable and anaemic power unit will finally come good.
Fernando Alonso to skip Monaco F1 for Indy 500
Despite his evident frustrations, Alonso is still the most complete driver in F1. He is so good that he should adapt quickly and easily to mastering the Speedway, which among IndyCar’s high-speed ‘oval’ tracks (it’s actually rectangular) is a true driver’s circuit.
Alonso has the balls and the finesse to cope with lap speeds of 370 km/h and manic slipstream racing, while Andretti Autosport knows how to keep him in contention strategy-wise. They guided F1 reject and oval racing newbie Alex Rossi to victory last year at his first attempt, so giving a driver of The Fonz’s quality a shot on debut is far from out of the question. It could happen.
If the sardonic Spaniard does well, there will be renewed interest among the world’s best drivers to showcase their versatility in the three biggest events – which is a good outcome.
