The Latest: McLaren overhauls car for Alonso’s final run
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Latest on Indianapolis 500 qualifying (all times local):
4 p.m.
McLaren used a lengthy rain delay at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to patch together a car it will desperately try to qualify for the race.
The car Fernando Alonso will make his final qualifying attempt in has gotten assistance from several teams in the garage, and the help includes dampers from Andretti Autosport. Many believe McLaren received advice from Team Penske — McLaren team director Gil de Ferran is an Indy 500 winner for Penske — and Chevrolet assisted with the setup.
The team was roughly 10 minutes late getting on track Sunday morning for a brief morning practice session before the “Last Row Shootout,” and Alonso didn’t get a full lap in before the left rear of his car was dragging and sparking on the track surface.
McLaren had thrown an entirely new setup onto the car and was frantically trying to figure out if it had any speed. Alonso got just five more laps in before the session was called for rain.
The rest of the afternoon was a frenetic hustle as the McLaren engineers worked on Alonso’s car in his bid to claim one of the final three spots in the May 26 race.
