Alonso: No plans or expectations

Fernando Alonso insists he doesn’t have any “clear expectations” ahead of his Indianapolis 500 debut but won’t be playing it safe at the start.

This Sunday the double Formula 1 World Champion will bid to win his first Indianapolis 500, starting fifth on the grid.

Alonso has opted to skip F1’s Monaco GP to instead race in IndyCars, for now at least a one-off, as he tries to secure the second part of motor racing’s Triple Crown.

He has already won Monaco with the Le Mans 24 Hours making up the triple-header.

As for his plans for Sunday’s race around the Brickyard, the McLaren driver says he won’t be adopting a cautious approach at the start as that will just cost him positions.

“I don’t have a plan for the beginning of the race,” he said.

“n Formula 1, we are used to playing all of our cards in the first couple of corners because the positions are defined after that, but here it is very different.

“But I cannot say that I will play it safe at the beginning of the race because everyone else will take advantage of that.

“So I need to keep very open to what is going to happen and if I can run in a comfortable group, I will be happy.

“If I am falling behind, I will be calm and later on in the race be competitive. And if I am competitive at the beginning, I will not slow down to lose places.

“The race will put you in the position you deserve, so let’s see what happens.”

But whatever happens this Sunday, Alonso says the main goal is to enjoy the moment no matter the result.

“I think enjoy the race, enjoy the moment, leave that moment.

“It’s a race you cannot plan, so I don’t have any plans or clear expectations.

“So far we’ve been quite competitive, even fighting for the first row of the grid in qualifying so I would like to remain that competitive in the race.

“But I don’t know, maybe I am falling behind after 100 laps or whatever!

“But I cannot be frustrated at the end of the race, I cannot be sad at the end of the race because the whole event has been a fantastic experience.

“Enjoy the moment – that’s the target.”