Fernando Alonso still has the conditions to achieve one of the rarest feats in world motorsport. The assessment comes from former Formula 1 driver and 2009 champion in the category, Jenson Button, who believes that the Aston Martin driver remains a strong candidate to win the Indianapolis 500 and complete the so-called ‘Triple Crown’, a goal that remains open in the Spanish driver’s career.
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The achievement would place the Spaniard in an extremely select group in motorsport. Alonso has already won the Monaco GP and also triumphed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with only the victory in the traditional American race missing to complete the challenge.
The two-time Formula 1 champion has already tried to win the Indianapolis 500 on three occasions. His most competitive participation was in 2017, when he surprised right in his debut by fighting for prominent positions and appearing among the candidates for victory, before retiring from the race due to engine problems.
The second attempt came in 2019 and ended much more frustratingly. After a complicated preparation with McLaren, Alonso did not even manage to qualify for the iconic race, prematurely ending his ambitions in that edition.
In 2020, the Spaniard returned to the event seeking a better result. However, he faced another difficult weekend and finished the race outside the top twenty, unable to fight for prominent positions throughout the race.
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Despite these results, Button believes Alonso still has all the credentials necessary to achieve the goal. In his column for Aston Martin, the Briton pointed to the Spaniard as the driver with the best chances of winning the ‘Triple Crown’, precisely because he has already won two of the three races that make up the feat.
The former driver also highlighted that Alonso has already shown enough speed in Indianapolis in the past. For him, the performance shown during his previous participations proves that the veteran driver can become competitive again if he decides to return to the traditional race.
“Fernando probably has the best chance of anyone to achieve the ‘Triple Crown’, because he has already won Monaco and Le Mans, and came close in Indianapolis, having led there. If he wants to try again, he absolutely has a chance,” Button said, showing confidence that the Spaniard can still write another remarkable chapter in his motorsport career.
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