Brown unsurprised by Alonso's engine failure

McLaren Executive Director Zak Brown admits that he is not surprised that Alonso's Indy 500 bid ended in smoke. Alonso last weekend competed in his first Indy 500 and was gunning for the victory before his engine blew with 30 laps to go.

"He drove awesome," Brown told ESPN. "The car was great, the team did a great job, Fernando did a great job, and it's just a shame to see it go up in a puff of smoke, which is something we see far too often.

When asked how he felt about the engine failure, he said: "Sad for Fernando, everyone at McLaren, everyone at Andretti. We've had a painful – a very painful – couple of years and this was hopefully intended as part of the programme to give us a good result, to be let down again as we have been is just shocking. But [I'm] not surprised."

Alonso has already confirmed that he will be back to do the Indy 500 in the future, however he is unsure whether or not it will be next year. His new dream is to win the Tiple Crown which is the Indy 500, Monaco Grand Prix and 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Fergal Walsh