Alexander Rossi, a former F1 driver who made the switch to the Indycar series when he was unable to land a competitive seat in the pinnacle of Motorsports, is the reigning Indianapolis 500 champion after taking his maiden Indy 500 victory in 2016.
As he has raced in F1 recently and now Indycar, it is only natural that he would be singled out to give his opinion of McLaren Honda driver Fernando Alonso opting to race the 2017 Indy 500 rather than take part in the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix.
So can his experience in making the transition from one series to the other make things easier for Alonso?
Yes and no. I think I can definitely help initially, so I was in the simulator yesterday with him and talking to him about fairly straightforward things that are fundamentally different,” Rossi told Motosport.com's David Masher. “No power-steering in IndyCar, for example, and what steering weight is good. But when it comes to talking about the Speedway and getting into the driving side of it, Ryan [Hunter-Reay] and Marco [Andretti] are way more qualified than I am.”
“I mean, I still rely on them for oval assistance, so I know their advice is good. So I'll help him with any questions, but at the same time, Ryan and Marco and also Bryan [Herta] and Michael [Andretti] are probably better resources than I am. I've been saying all along that Fernando is one of the best drivers in the world and I don't think he'll have any problems in getting up to speed. The only question is one that hangs over all rookies – how comfortable are they in 220mph traffic when the car doesn't feel good, and placing your car just right through turns.”
Rossi only completed in 5 races for Manor in the F1 series back in 2015 before signing up to race Indycar. He was also a reserve driver for Caterham where he took part in a few Friday practice sessions.
