They say there are two types of drivers at Indianapolis, those who have hit the wall and those who will hit the wall. Fernando Alonso now belongs to the former group.

The McLaren driver, who was deprived of running on Tuesday because of an electrical issue, was hoping to make up some lost ground in practice today.

Unfortunately, the Spaniard lost grip on the entry to Turn 3 while he was running directly behind Rahal Letterman Lanigan's Graham Rahal.

The papaya McLaren hit the outside SAFER barrier and then took off and hit the inside wall before crossing across once again for a third impact.

Alonso was thus the first driver to crash this week at Indy, but fortunately the 37-year-old emerged unscathed form his heavily damaged car.

"Mistake from my side underestimating the grip in T3 today," Alonso said in apost on Instagram.

"I’m sorry for the team and the guys that have to work a lot now. 💙 Lesson learned. 🙏 . We will be back stronger later today or tomorrow."

Michael Delaney

Recent Posts

Norris: Monaco qualifying ‘a reality check’ for struggling McLaren

Lando Norris concluded his Saturday in Monaco with a visibly hardened outlook on McLaren’s current…

1 hour ago

Antonelli hails Monaco pole as ‘one of those magic laps’

Once again, a sensational Kimi Antonelli delivered when it mattered in Saturday’s Monaco Grand Prix…

2 hours ago

Leclerc rues ‘extremely inconsistent’ Ferrari after Monaco setback

Charles Leclerc cut a dejected figure after qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix, with the…

3 hours ago

Hamilton stripped of ‘confidence’ amid Monaco Ferrari mystery

Lewis Hamilton admitted that a sudden and unexplained change in Ferrari’s behaviour between Friday and…

4 hours ago

Russell on pace deficit to Antonelli: ‘I have no answer’

George Russell struggled to explain his underperformance relative to Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli after a…

5 hours ago

Monaco GP: Saturday's action in pictures

Saturday's qualifying at the Monaco GP will go down as one of the most tense…

5 hours ago