A few days after reports suggested that F1 and Le Mans champion Fernando Alonso’s 2020 Indy 500 attempt would be Honda-powered, things are looking different. If Alonso wants to make his racing triple crown this year, he’ll have to do it with a Chevy motor behind him.
After not qualifying for the race last year by a scant .02 of a second while driving for McLaren with Chevy power last year, the Spaniard was disappointed but not discouraged from making another effort this year.
Now, with a more or less successful Dakar appearance already behind him this year, Alonso was ready to give Indianapolis another shot. Less than a month ago, Racer spoke to Michael Andretti, who suggested that his team was looking forward to bringing Alonso back in 2020 with Honda power.
The one thing that stood between the driver and another chance at the Triple Crown with Andretti and Honda was the automaker, which has felt repeatedly slighted by Alonso for years since his troubles with the Honda engine in his McLaren F1 car back in 2017. Since then, the failure of his Honda-powered car at Indianapolis that year as well as his tie-up with Toyota for his efforts at Le Mans and Dakar have continued to ruffle feathers with Honda.
It seems all of that came to a head today as Racer reported that Honda had elected to forgo an arrangement with Andretti Autosport and the Spanish driver right before the deal was expected to be announced last week.
Just a few months out from the race, this announcement will shake things up in Indycar as speculation over who will fill the Andretti car’s seat and which team might bring Alonso in. Hopefully, Alonso will be able to find something to drive in May, even if he won’t be doing a full season.
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