Fernando Alonso isn't concerned by Chevrolet's deficit to Honda as shown in qualifying for the Indy 500 last weekend, the Spaniard believing he'll have "a good mix" on race day.
Honda-powered cars occupied eight of the top-nine in last Sunday's 'Fast Nine' shootout at the Speedway, with Ed Carpenter's Rinus Veekay the odd Chevy man out among the group led by Andretti Autosport's Marco Andretti.
Alonso will line up 26th on Sunday's grid onboard his Arrow McLaren SP entry, but the future Renault F1 driver does not believe there will be much difference between Chevy and Honda runners come race day.
©IndyCar
"It’s difficult to judge from the outside, how different engine power outputs really are," Alonso told Autoweek.
"It seems that at Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday’s practice, there’s a mix of cars [with both Honda and Chevrolet power] and there’s not a big difference in race pace. And, the last two years, Chevy won.
"I think we should be okay. There are no concerns.
"This year, [the engines could use] higher boost for qualifying, maybe there were a few things missing, but it’s difficult to know from the outside.
"We only know the qualifying results, just like you. Maybe it was majority Honda up front, but you never know from the outside. The important thing is the race. And it looks like we’ll have a good mix."
©IndyCar
Alonso admits the shortened schedule at the Brickyard this year due to the coronavirus pandemic partly reduced his preparation for Sunday's Indy 500, the second in his career after his maiden experience in 2017.
"It’s affected everyone, as there’s less time to prepare than I wanted or thought I’d have," he explained.
"I originally thought I could have a race to prepare, maybe the Indy GP, I could have run with the team and have setup the car with the engineers and mechanics.
"And more time to drive. The last time I drove a racecar was in the Dakar Rally. And this is a completely different animal. We thought we'd have a prep race and a couple days in the simulator and arrive to the 500 as best prepared as we could.
"With COVID-19 and all of the problems, I think we missed some of that preparation.
"Also, the event itself is shorter. We started Wednesday with two free practices and next week there is only one carb day on Friday.
"So we have 12 fewer hours of running than in a normal 500. That affects everybody, for sure.
"But I think it’s more painful for us because we are not driving every weekend. We missed a lot of hours behind the wheel of the car.
"The price to pay is a little higher for the drivers just doing the 500."
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