Alonso, McLaren, and Indycar

[Andres125sx]

Honda...

Best of the race was watching Dixon going out of the car, what a ugly crash!

Congrats to Sato [-o<

And good job Fernando, he did everything perfect

[flexcon]

My first time watching Indy and the commentators on ABC did a great job in explaining the rules over and over again throughout. They actually made it very understandable " Don't worry about Alonso, he shows 7th but is net 2nd so keep your eyes on Fernando" etc. Really fascinating"

I initially thought this could be real boring, but I absolutely loved it. I'm amazed I did. Well done Fernando.

[Sevach]

Honda played the odds here, they built an unreliable rocket and hoped at least one of them reached the end, and it worked.

Castroneves was heroic in that fight at the end imo, in the final lead change Sato had his sidepods to Helio's front wheels going into T1.

[basti313]

And good job Fernando, he did everything perfect

Yes, I agree.

But we have seen the problem of this format: After the last pitstops the field was completely arbitrarily distributed. What happend the 170laps before did not play any role except for crashes. I do not think Alo had any chance to aim for the podium from P10 where he in the meantime ended up with a perfect drive.

[FW17]

And good job Fernando, he did everything perfect

Yes, I agree.

But we have seen the problem of this format: After the last pitstops the field was completely arbitrarily distributed. What happend the 170laps before did not play any role except for crashes. I do not think Alo had any chance to aim for the podium from P10 where he in the meantime ended up with a perfect drive.

Actually what happened in the first 170 laps mattered a lot

A small group of cars which included Chilton and Castronavas went off strategy, which allowed them to be ahead of Alonso. The last segment was 30 laps clear racing, when he needed to be aggressive. He held position at around 9 behind Kannan, saving some fuel and tyres. He could have finished quiet high up along with Sato had the engine held.

[Mattchu]

Thoroughly enjoyed the Indy500, certainly more than that borefest which the Monoco Grand Prix has become! Sure you`re not really sure who`s where at various stages of the race and lady luck can play a huge part in the overall result but that makes the whole thing more enjoyable for me personally.
Honda/Andretti racing knew they had the best car by a fair bit and just needed one to have good fortune and not blow up. Castroneves was brilliant in his Penske, you could see the car was vey good in the draft but once it came alongside if Sato-san put his car in the right spot then it was difficult to get round. Some really ballsy driving out there, lots to applaud especially Fred`s rookie drive =D>

Dual in Detroit next week (a half decent street track), could be a cracker...

[Phil]

I just watched the indy500 race... (first time!)

So let me get this straight:

1.) The challenge of indy500 is the endurance, stressing both driver and the car
2.) strategic element, of various downforce levels that either make for better leading or better at overtaking
3.) fuel strategy - e.g. by following other cars getting tows and thus using less fuel that may come into play by stopping a lap earlier?
4.) Indy500 is probably one of the most dangerous forms of motorsport? (that crash by Dixon )

Even so, the result seems to be a fair bit arbitrary, as the amount of crashes and yellow flags and safety cars meant that some drivers "lucked" into a better strategy than others?

On the other hand, because the race itself is the highlight, not necessarily 'who wins', I suppose there is less hostility among the drivers, compared to say F1 where it's very much a run for the championship. Am I more or less correct or am I way off here?

[Vasconia]

Guys, I dont understand those complains about the race in Monaco. This season the race hasn´t be worse than in the previous(except 2016 due to the always welcome rain) season. Overtaking has always been almost imposible so nothing has changed.

Even the DRS and cars with less drownforce(2014-2016) failed to bring us more overtakes. Monaco is like that..

Its not fair to compare this race to 500 Indi because the track has nothing to do an the cars neither. The race itself had its moments but its boring to see 200 laps on such a simple track.

[FW17]

Guys, I dont understand those complains about the race in Monaco. This season the race hasn´t be worse than in the previous(except 2016 due to the always welcome rain) season. Overtaking has always been almost imposible so nothing has changed.

Even the DRS and cars with less drownforce(2014-2016) failed to bring us more overtakes. Monaco is like that..

Its not fair to compare this race to 500 Indi because the track has nothing to do an the cars neither. The race itself had its moments but its boring to see 200 laps on such a simple track.

You need to see it in the context of the excitement. Monaco is the the marque event in the F1 calendar.

When compared with the 24h Le Mans and Indy 500, Monaco is very predictable/less exciting.

[Vasconia]

You need to see it in the context of the excitement. Monaco is the the marque event in the F1 calendar.

When compared with the 24h Le Mans and Indy 500, Monaco is very predictable/less exciting.

Indeed, the uncertainbility makes those races more exciting even though at times to races can be dull too.

[Fulcrum]

I hadn't watched much Indy up to this point and, as a relative newcomer, I was pleasantly surprised by the spectacle.

I have to add that the constant barrage of advertising is enough in itself to make watching it live painful in the long term.

Indy reminds me of cycling, where the peloton holds an advantage over the leader who is exposed to the full effects of air resistance. It's also very strategic - much like cycling again - in that setting up a passing move takes several corners, during which time other driver's passing strategies might intersect with yours.

As for the complaint of randomness of the result - results appear more random when equipment is largely standardised. Over time, the better drivers will reveal themselves. For a single event, it does mean that anyone is in with a chance - which is great considering the prestige of the 500. How does that compare with Formula 1, where the only completely 'unlikely' wins I can think of offhand are Maldonado, Panis and Brambrilla.

The constant cautions do frustrate at times, they also induce endless waves of advertisements, but there isn't much to be done about that given the nature of the layout and modern safety standards.

[Andres125sx]

Guys, I dont understand those complains about the race in Monaco. This season the race hasn´t be worse than in the previous(except 2016 due to the always welcome rain) season. Overtaking has always been almost imposible so nothing has changed.

As our opinion about how boring are Monaco GPs, nothing has changed indeed

But I´m not saying Indy was better, IMHO that´s more of a show than a real competition, wich is exactly what many of us don´t like about F1 lately

It was fun to see american way to make a show tough, I specially liked drivers presentation at the pre-race . If F1 owners want to follow that route they should keep an eye on them, as they´re the best making shows by a fair margin IMHO

[basti313]

And good job Fernando, he did everything perfect

Yes, I agree.

But we have seen the problem of this format: After the last pitstops the field was completely arbitrarily distributed. What happend the 170laps before did not play any role except for crashes. I do not think Alo had any chance to aim for the podium from P10 where he in the meantime ended up with a perfect drive.

Actually what happened in the first 170 laps mattered a lot

A small group of cars which included Chilton and Castronavas went off strategy, which allowed them to be ahead of Alonso.

Well, without the last (two) cautions they would not have made it to the end and they were not going off strategy by driving, they just gambled in yellows sacrificing pace and positions....I am not sure if I call this "matter", but ok...

The last segment was 30 laps clear racing, when he needed to be aggressive. He held position at around 9 behind Kannan, saving some fuel and tyres. He could have finished quiet high up along with Sato had the engine held.

Alo and Rossi were controlling the race with magnificent, similar pace. Can you see where Rossi ended up? I do not see a reason why Alo should have been much further ahead.

[FW17]

I was surprised that 4 wheel mechanics changed the tyres in and refuelled for 30 laps in 7 seconds in a congested pit lane.

Is it really worth all those guys in f1 to do it in 3 seconds?

[the EDGE]

I was surprised that 4 wheel mechanics changed the tyres in and refuelled for 30 laps in 7 seconds in a congested pit lane.

Is it really worth all those guys in f1 to do it in 3 seconds?

why not? they don't hire special pit crew, all the crew have other jobs, so if you reduced the number who can work on the car during a stop, they'd just be sitting in the garage instead