Alonso to miss Monaco to race Indy 500

[Bagwan]

Button cofirmed as replacement.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/39599645

Bunsen , the safe bet , gets the drive .
Good choice , but they could have stirred things up a little more , and made hay while the sun shines on this idea in the dawn of a pretty dark looking outlook for this season .

They've got all of us F1 guys thinking of watching Indy , and could have had all the Indy fans watching Monaco , for the ultimate crossover viewing for the two sports , had they subbed in one of the Indy guys for Monaco .
From here , it looks like a HUGE missed marketing opportunity .

HUGE , like , really big in a large kind of way .

Bigger than Bunsen , even .

[Koz]

There will be quite a few former-F1 drivers at Indy.

But, realistically how many drivers would take a risk in coming for a one off at Monaco, of all places, with McLaren in its current state?

If it was a great car, sure... But you know, right now it seems like a lose-lose situation, when you're looking at coming last; and it's not great for McLaren to have a "star" driver to come in and be at the tail of the grid or have DNFs either, it might end up hurting everyone's reputation by the end of the weekend.

[Rollo]

But, realistically how many drivers would take a risk in coming for a one off at Monaco, of all places, with McLaren in its current state?

I will.

If McLaren wants me to drive their car, I'll do it

[Koz]

I will.

If McLaren wants me to drive their car, I'll do it

You sure about that?

[Bagwan]

There will be quite a few former-F1 drivers at Indy.

But, realistically how many drivers would take a risk in coming for a one off at Monaco, of all places, with McLaren in its current state?

If it was a great car, sure... But you know, right now it seems like a lose-lose situation, when you're looking at coming last; and it's not great for McLaren to have a "star" driver to come in and be at the tail of the grid or have DNFs either, it might end up hurting everyone's reputation by the end of the weekend.

Putting it another way , though , a lot of those guys dream of the chance , and they wouldn't have much pressure , in a way , with a car seen as far off the pace as it is .
Getting anywhere , even only to the end of the race would surely look like a win to most out there .

Don't forget that those guys from the Indycar series race street tracks regularly , so they shouldn't be in water quite as deep as Fred may be on an oval .

That all said , Jensen shouldn't cost too much in carbon fiber , which could be a factor there .

[steveaki13]

I am really excited to see this. I would like to see Fred have a whole season over there if he does leave F1. I would like him to stay in F1 but it is seemingly difficult to find a decent team for him.

Seeing Jenson in Monaco will be fun. They will hope his experience counts.

[zako85]

It's really boring that they're giving the vacated seat to Button. Button is near the end of his career. Shouldn't McLaren spend more time looking for younger talent? In my humble opinion, one extremely obvious choice is Seb Buemi, who is now basically the hottest commodity in open-wheel sports outside of F1. Let's see the resume:

2014 WEC championship winner for Toyota (with the rest of the team of course)
2014-2015 Inaugural Formula E season championship runner-up
2015-2016 Formula E season champion
2016-2017 Formula E season leader

[Tazio]

That was a crazy race, and all credit to Sato, but Fred had damaged his car on the first lap. That race was a huge cluster f@#k, including a lurid crash by Kubica. All race strategies went out the window. After four safety cars Sato pitted from fifth with 15 laps to go, and cut through the field came back to sixth on fresh rubber after falling to 11th. .Sato also finished ahead of both factory Hondas, and also passed Kimi, and Ralf. With all the problems he had it was a miracle that Fred brought that ride home in the points

[Tazio]

Alright McJPM

“It’s a lot of people out there,” Montoya said. “It is weird because you go out there and you get the announcement then you have a picture and then you’ve got like 15 minutes and then you walk to the car and you get in and you start. It is so many people around you. I think that’s a little bit hard for him from what he is used to in Formula 1 and he has been doing that for a lot of years. We started the same year together when I was there in F1, so he’s been doing it for a long time. It’s just you have your own space and people really respect your space and here no, the fans, the sponsors, everybody are there and everybody wants a picture and you’ve got to please them."

Read more: http://autoweek.com/article/indycar/...#ixzz4f0ZIUPMu

Jaun knows he has been there. Reallllly looking forward to this race!
My home-boy Jimmie Johnson said:

“For me, no, my window has closed,” he answered emphatically.
That doesn’t mean it always was closed for him.
“I was looking into it seriously years ago,” Johnson said. “Then Chani (Johnson’s wife) just kind of worked out a deal.”
The deal was that Johnson could pursue it as long as the married couple did not have kids.
So the Indy 500 window officially closed for Johnson in 2010 when his oldest daughter, Genevieve, was born. Johnson’s second daughter, Lydia, was born in 2013.
“Pre-kids, I couldn’t get it done,” Johnson said. “Until IndyCar decides to put some kind of roof on their cars or protect the driver’s head, it’s just, from our family discussions, it’s out of the question.”
So this year, as in every past year and every year in the foreseeable future, Johnson will simply watch the Indy 500 like any other motorsports fan. He did say that he thinks the addition of Alonso to the field makes it much more interesting.

Risky business it is!

[Bagwan]

You got tickets yet , Taz ?