Alonso crashes in Indy 500 practice

Alonso was running directly behind Graham Rahal’s Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing-Honda in Turn 3 when the car pushed wide, glancing off the SAFER barrier at corner exit.

The papaya orange car then bounced over the grass on the inside of the corner, making rear contact with the SAFER barrier on the inside of the short chute before coming to rest at the entry of Turn 4 after tagging the wall for a third time just before the final turn. 

Alonso did not immediately answer the radio call from the McLaren team, but did climb out under his own power. 

He told NBC: “It was just pure understeer on the car. Even if I lifted the throttle on the entry to the corner it was not enough. I lost completely the front aero there. The wall came too close and too quickly.

"Unfortunately, it happened today and we will lose a little bit of running time again. I’m sorry for the team. We’ll learn and come back stronger tomorrow.”

Alonso, who turned 50 laps yesterday before suffering an electrical issue, had already run 46 laps today in the first 90 minutes of Day 2 practice, with a best speed of 225.433mph.  

- Additional reporting by Steve Wittich, Trackside Online