Fernando Alonso Hails 'Special' IndyCar Test, Remains Coy About Future Plans

Fernando Alonso claims it was “special” to test an IndyCar on a road course for the first time — along with the car, he also got a taste of the new aero kit on the 2018 cars. The Spaniard completed his first road course test on an IndyCar at the Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama on Wednesday in an Andretti Motorsport Dw12 Honda.

Alonso got to test the car in wet and dry conditions after a shower in the morning, and revealed after that changing conditions were beneficial to give him an idea of how the car handles when the track is wet or dry.

"Yeah, it was a good day, a fun day. I love to test new cars and to test the IndyCar on a road course is something 'special',” Alonso said, as per Motorsport.com. "I’ve been lucky enough to test it in wet conditions, in intermediate conditions and in dry conditions, so overall I had a good feeling on every type of track."

"The weather was good for us today, a little bit of wind in the afternoon but overall a positive day,” he added.

Alonso has been racing in Formula 1 for the last 17 seasons, where all the races occur on road courses, but the IndyCar Series occurs on road courses and oval’s circuits, making it a unique challenge for the drivers.

The double F1 world champion has now experienced both — a high-speed oval and a road course — having raced at the famed Indy500 race which takes place at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in 2017. Alonso, however, was unwilling to name one as his favorite suggesting that it was “50/50."

"Probably my instinct will tell me road course because it’s what I’ve been used to doing all my life, but the Indy 500 was an amazing experience, so 50/50,” Alonso said. "I think I love the way the car feels on a road course, but I love the way you compete on ovals, timing the tows, traffic and all the overtaking manoeuvres I think are a little bit easy on the ovals, so in terms of track action I loved the Indy 500."

The 37-year-old announced in August that he will leave F1 at the end of the 2018 season, but is yet to reveal his plans for the future. It is no secret that the Spaniard is chasing the Triple Crown.

Alonso has won the Monaco Grand Prix and the LeMans 24-hour race and only the Indy500 remains to be conquered to become only the second driver to complete motorsport’s fabled Triple Crown — the first was Nigel Mansell.

It is rumored that he could move to the IndyCar Series in 2019 with current team McLaren partnering Andretti Motorsport, but he was not willing to give any indications when asked after the test at the Barber Motorsports Park on Wednesday.

"It was something that I was looking for last year already," the Spaniard said. "I had some options to test the car on a road course after the Indy 500. We didn’t find the time, but this year it’s definitely happened now and I’m happy for this.”

"I love being behind a steering wheel, and definitely a new car, a new experience, learning a lot of things from the team, the engineers, everyone, so a happy day," he added.