Why Alonso's Indy ending doesn't matter

Once again Helio Castroneves came up short in his bid to win a fourth Indianapolis 500, the Penske driver finishing second to Takuma Sato, who gave Andretti Autosport its third victory in five years. Always quick, if sometimes a little too brave for his own good, Sato is popular in IndyCar, as he was in Formula 1, and his win was very well received.

Undoubtedly, though, the story of the weekend - of the event - was Fernando Alonso, who created a huge impression, both on the track and off, in what was for him a totally unfamiliar environment.

Newspapers talked about 'Alonso Mania', and it took hold to the point that race fans were tracking his flights. When Fernando's private jet landed back in Indianapolis, after a race publicity trip to New York on the Tuesday, he found a horde of them waiting at the airport. As Eddie Cheever said, "Suddenly America has a new favourite Formula 1 driver - wait to see the reception he gets at Austin in the fall..."

It was a pity, therefore, that the day before the race, in Monaco, Lewis Hamilton chose to come out with a churlish remark about Alonso and Indianapolis. If, on his first appearance there, Fernando could qualify fifth, Lewis said, "What does that say about Indy?"

Who knows, perhaps there were folk who made similarly graceless remarks about Formula 1 10 years ago, when an English rookie qualified fourth for his first grand prix? Not surprisingly, Hamilton's comment was not well received at the Speedway: as Cheever said, a better question might have been, "What does that say about Alonso?"

For nearly three hours Fernando ran at a speed no Formula 1 car touches even momentarily, but his dream of winning the 500 evaporated with 20 laps to go, when his engine blew. He had, however, led the race several times, for a total of 27 laps, and looked very comfortable doing it.

"Everyone told me that the race was all about the last 20 laps, when suddenly you don't have any friends any more, and I was sad not to be part of it," he said. "I'd been taking care of the front tyres at the beginning of the final stint because I knew the race would be decided in the last six or seven laps - I think I had a little bit in the pocket..."

We'll never know, but certainly his showing deeply impressed the cognoscenti.

"Fernando took to this track so nicely," said Mario Andretti before the race. "He was on it from the very beginning - and you know what really registered with me? The fact that in the turns he was immediately running inside the white line - not everyone does that, and as soon as I saw it, I said, 'He's going to be OK...'

"Of course he's had a lot of help from Gil [de Ferran] and the team, and you don't want information overload, but I said to him, 'The only thing you need to remember is trust yourself - trust your butt. If everything feels good, you're gonna go - if it doesn't, fix it, because at this place you can't drive round a problem.

"We've already seen he's not afraid to stick his nose in there, and you don't go into a corner at 230mph, right on a guy's gearbox, unless you're confident in yourself.

"I'd love to see him win the 500 - after what he's gone though in Formula 1, he deserves to smile - and it'll probably never happen again. If he's got a competitive car, he's not going to miss Monaco, and they always clash."

When I told Alonso I hadn't seen him this happy at a race track for a long time, he said, "Sure, you're right - it's the first time for years I've had a competitive car - a car able to win the race! Also, I really like the atmosphere here - in Formula 1 there's more jealousy, people always trying to introduce polemics when there aren't any, but here they're trying to sell a good image.

"This is a sort of one-off experience for me, and the number of interviews has been intense, but although I've not tired of them, the best moment will be when I finally jump in the car on Sunday.

"At Indy the set-up of the car is everything - and it's so different from what I'm used to. When I first drove it I felt OK - but not in total control of all the things that were happening, because the car doesn't feel natural to drive - you know, like having to turn right on the straight! That sends some weird messages to the brain - you arrive at a corner, and you just release the pressure in your hands, and the car starts to steer to the left.

"That goes against your natural feelings, and took a bit of getting used to. In the same way, on the track you hardly touch the brakes, but when you come into the pits and you brake, it's like there is no retardation - you have to brake very, very, early, and also because the diameter of the tyres is different, right and left, when you brake the car goes massively to the left, so you have to steer more or less 90-degrees to the right to brake straight!

"So much is different at Indianapolis - and maybe the biggest thing is running in traffic. Following another car closely, in dirty air, you need to plan your moves way in advance - if you're going to make a move into Turn 1, maybe you need to start preparing it in Turn 1 the lap before! Big learning experience."

For once Alonso found himself with a Honda engine right on the pace, and if in the end it let him down certainly it had allowed him to leave his mark on the 500.

As the front page of Monday's Indianapolis Star put it, 'Fernando Alonso won everything but the race'.