f I want to be the best driver in the world there are two options. I win eight Formula 1 world championships, one more than Michael [Schumacher], which is very unlikely. The second one is to win different series in different moments of my career and be a driver that can race and win in any car, in any series."
This was the mission statement Fernando Alonso laid out when his first assault on the Indianapolis 500 was announced ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix almost two years ago. Last weekend, he was part of the Wayne Taylor Racing crew that won the Daytona 24 Hours, adding the endurance classic to his 2018 victory in the big one at Le Mans.
The question is, what next?
To take the question literally, obviously it's his second crack at the Indy 500 in May. Victory there is possible, but difficult, and would complete the triple crown he set his sights on back in 2017. But why stop there? What else should be on Alonso's checklist as he bids to be the driver who can race and win in anything?
Before we delve into that, it should be noted that his victory at Daytona proves exactly why Alonso is so adept at this kind of thing. Any professional-level category you try your hand at in motorsport is full of seriously quick drivers, some with long-standing relationships with top teams, who know their trade inside out. No matter how many F1 world championships you've won, that's a formidable yardstick.
What makes Alonso so effective in performing strongly in unfamiliar events is the respect he shows them. He's not averse to self-aggrandising bombast and his confidence is supreme, but his rigour in leaving no stone unturned to shortcut as much of the learning process as possible has been essential.
He thrived at Indy, leading the race and surely on course for a strong result, possibly even victory, had his Honda engine not let him down in 2017, and this was the result not just of a strong team and car but his dedicated approach.
His characteristics as a driver help this.
Alonso can drive anything and isn't afraid to chuck it in and sort it out using his preternatural car control. This is at the heart of his success, allowing him to deal with all sorts of car balance problems and it's no coincidence that he thrived in the wet at Daytona even if he did come close to coming unstuck in the worst of the conditions (along with pretty much everyone else in the field).
So what else should be on the list? As well as the two triple crown races - the Le Mans 24 Hours and the Monaco Grand Prix (yes, we know Graham Hill originally coined it as including the F1 title but let's consider it more logical to go with the race-based version rather than including a championship) - Alonso has also ticked off Daytona.
Plenty of the NASCAR regulars would be very determined for Alonso not to win the Daytona 500
Running with Alonso's mission statement, we can build up something far more ambitious. Let's call it the 'Decimal Crown' of 10 racing events that the ultimate driver should aspire to win. So we need another seven races.
The obvious first step is to add the Sebring 12 Hours, which along with Daytona and Le Mans forms the endurance racing triple. Alonso will race at Sebring in March, but that will be in the shorter World Endurance Championship round that runs on the same bill as the 12 Hours itself, which is part of the IMSA SportsCar Championship that started with Daytona. While some drivers are doing 'double duty' and contesting both, Alonso and team-mate Kamui Kobayashi are not allowed to do so by Toyota. The WEC version of Sebring isn't suitable for the quest because it's just another WEC round.
Sportscar racing lends itself to these big centrepiece races, so it makes sense also to add what is arguably the most significant 24-hour GT race in Europe - Spa - to the list. Its status is arguable because of the existence of the Nurburgring 24 Hours, which has grown from what was once a glorified clubby into something far more globally significant over the years. Every great racing driver should have to master the Nordschleife and Alonso should want to race there.
To win those races, currently Alonso would need to get into a GT3 car. If he does that, it's only a small leap to November's Macau Grand Prix to contest the FIA GT World Cup. Winning any of what is now the big three events in Macau would suffice, although fun and fascinating as it would be, it's difficult to see Alonso taking on the Macau Grand Prix itself in an F3 car.
Alonso has already expressed an interest in another obvious objective: NASCAR's big one, the Daytona 500. This would be a profoundly difficult challenge and would require Alonso to traverse a serious learning curve that, combined with the fact plenty of the regulars would be very determined for him not to win. That might make this race the most fanciful of all on this list for him to win. The days when drivers such as Mario Andretti and AJ Foyt were able to drop in and win this great event have long gone.
Then again, the next option - the Bathurst 1000 - is another steep challenge. Like several of the races on this list, it's not just the race length but the challenge of the track that makes this a must. Mount Panorama is a stunning track, one that only the best can truly master. But it is also a race where irregular drivers have had some success and stands as the most famous tin-top race in the world. Given it's a two-driver race in a Supercars championship focused on individual drivers, that explains the long tradition of irregulars turning up and doing well.
So that gives us the following:
'Decimal Crown'
Monaco Grand Prix (done)
Le Mans 24 Hours (done)
Daytona 24 Hours (done)
Indianapolis 500
Sebring 12 Hours
Spa 24 Hours
Nurburgring 24 Hours
Macau (GT3 World Cup, Grand Prix or Guia race)
Daytona 500
Bathurst 1000
That makes for quite a list and, while it's desperately improbable that Alonso could get anywhere near contesting all of these events, let alone win them, you can see the appeal. But if he were to complete the list he would certainly have proved he could win in everything.
But this is just what might be termed contemporary circuit racing, and there's a whole world beyond that.
Alonso drove a Ferrari 375 at Silverstone in a demo run to mark the 60th anniversary of the marque's first world championship grand prix victory in 2011, and after waving extensively to the crowd, he set about chucking the car around and was quite happy to saw at the wheel to keep it in line. It would be fascinating to see him take on a major historic race, perhaps the RAC TT at the Goodwood Revival in a Ferrari 250 GTO, or maybe compete in the Monaco GP Historique.
Winning championships takes vast dedication, consistency, speed and intelligence but can also be a prison
Beyond circuit racing, there has already been some talk of him taking on the Dakar Rally. He knows Carlos Sainz Sr, winner last year, well and could certainly pick up a few tips to send him on his way to South America. But it would be a dramatically different discipline to undertake.
Perhaps even more difficult would be conventional rallying. Any list of must-win events in motorsport as a whole would have to include the Monte Carlo Rally, and perhaps the ultra fast 1000 Lakes - or as it's now known, Rally Finland. Then there's the Pikes Peak Hillclimb, sealed surface now rather than loose, but still a mighty challenge.
And how about racing on the loose? Perhaps take on the Chili Bowl Nationals midget event, or the Knoxville Nationals for sprint cars? That would be taking on pure-bred specialists in an alien world. If nothing else, he'd have a great time trying to master these disciplines.
What we haven't mentioned is championships. But there's a very good reason for that. Championships have become almost the be-all-and-end-all in motorsport, which is entirely understandable but it shouldn't be a surprise that classic standalone events capture the imagination arguably more than thriving over a season.
Winning championships takes vast dedication, consistency, speed and intelligence. But as Alonso showed from having been stuck in F1 for so long - in his latter years with no chance of gunning for a title - they can also be a prison. That's what makes Alonso's current journey so engaging to watch, even if only the most naive would argue he wouldn't still be racing in F1 and chasing titles were he able to get in the right car to do so.
Alonso said after winning at Daytona that he wanted to do something "unprecedented" in motorsport. Well, pursuing the above list is a good way to do that. In doing so, he also shines a light on the many thriving racing categories that understandably struggle for attention in a very muddled motorsport landscape for all but the most hardcore fan.
What might be termed the 'Fernando Alonso world tour of motorsport' is a sideshow that often upstages the main event, but is that so bad? Motorsport has become so homogenised, with many drivers ghettoised in their area of expertise and justified complaints from many that those in F1 don't take on other racing challenges. Crossover drivers like Alonso have been the Daytona 24 Hours' stock-in-trade in recent years with plenty of NASCAR and IndyCar aces winning there.
Alonso has put his reputation on the line, added a big storyline to races like Daytona, Indy and Le Mans over the past couple of years, and proved beyond any doubt how great a racing driver he is. On top of that, he's drawn the attention of those who only have eyes for F1 to parts of motorsport that otherwise lack visibility in the wider world and who might now recognise the names of Alonso's non-F1 alumni Daytona team-mates Jordan Taylor and Renger van der Zande in the future. Let's hope he keeps doing it.
On with the next step of the 'Decimal Crown'.
f I want to be the best driver in the world there are two options. I win eight Formula 1 world championships, one more than Michael [Schumacher], which is very unlikely. The second one is to win different series in different moments of my career and be a driver that can race and win in any car, in any series."
This was the mission statement Fernando Alonso laid out when his first assault on the Indianapolis 500 was announced ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix almost two years ago. Last weekend, he was part of the Wayne Taylor Racing crew that won the Daytona 24 Hours, adding the endurance classic to his 2018 victory in the big one at Le Mans.
The question is, what next?
To take the question literally, obviously it's his second crack at the Indy 500 in May. Victory there is possible, but difficult, and would complete the triple crown he set his sights on back in 2017. But why stop there? What else should be on Alonso's checklist as he bids to be the driver who can race and win in anything?
Before we delve into that, it should be noted that his victory at Daytona proves exactly why Alonso is so adept at this kind of thing. Any professional-level category you try your hand at in motorsport is full of seriously quick drivers, some with long-standing relationships with top teams, who know their trade inside out. No matter how many F1 world championships you've won, that's a formidable yardstick.
What makes Alonso so effective in performing strongly in unfamiliar events is the respect he shows them. He's not averse to self-aggrandising bombast and his confidence is supreme, but his rigour in leaving no stone unturned to shortcut as much of the learning process as possible has been essential.
He thrived at Indy, leading the race and surely on course for a strong result, possibly even victory, had his Honda engine not let him down in 2017, and this was the result not just of a strong team and car but his dedicated approach.
His characteristics as a driver help this.
Alonso can drive anything and isn't afraid to chuck it in and sort it out using his preternatural car control. This is at the heart of his success, allowing him to deal with all sorts of car balance problems and it's no coincidence that he thrived in the wet at Daytona even if he did come close to coming unstuck in the worst of the conditions (along with pretty much everyone else in the field).
So what else should be on the list? As well as the two triple crown races - the Le Mans 24 Hours and the Monaco Grand Prix (yes, we know Graham Hill originally coined it as including the F1 title but let's consider it more logical to go with the race-based version rather than including a championship) - Alonso has also ticked off Daytona.
Plenty of the NASCAR regulars would be very determined for Alonso not to win the Daytona 500
Running with Alonso's mission statement, we can build up something far more ambitious. Let's call it the 'Decimal Crown' of 10 racing events that the ultimate driver should aspire to win. So we need another seven races.
The obvious first step is to add the Sebring 12 Hours, which along with Daytona and Le Mans forms the endurance racing triple. Alonso will race at Sebring in March, but that will be in the shorter World Endurance Championship round that runs on the same bill as the 12 Hours itself, which is part of the IMSA SportsCar Championship that started with Daytona. While some drivers are doing 'double duty' and contesting both, Alonso and team-mate Kamui Kobayashi are not allowed to do so by Toyota. The WEC version of Sebring isn't suitable for the quest because it's just another WEC round.
Sportscar racing lends itself to these big centrepiece races, so it makes sense also to add what is arguably the most significant 24-hour GT race in Europe - Spa - to the list. Its status is arguable because of the existence of the Nurburgring 24 Hours, which has grown from what was once a glorified clubby into something far more globally significant over the years. Every great racing driver should have to master the Nordschleife and Alonso should want to race there.
To win those races, currently Alonso would need to get into a GT3 car. If he does that, it's only a small leap to November's Macau Grand Prix to contest the FIA GT World Cup. Winning any of what is now the big three events in Macau would suffice, although fun and fascinating as it would be, it's difficult to see Alonso taking on the Macau Grand Prix itself in an F3 car.
Alonso has already expressed an interest in another obvious objective: NASCAR's big one, the Daytona 500. This would be a profoundly difficult challenge and would require Alonso to traverse a serious learning curve that, combined with the fact plenty of the regulars would be very determined for him not to win. That might make this race the most fanciful of all on this list for him to win. The days when drivers such as Mario Andretti and AJ Foyt were able to drop in and win this great event have long gone.
Then again, the next option - the Bathurst 1000 - is another steep challenge. Like several of the races on this list, it's not just the race length but the challenge of the track that makes this a must. Mount Panorama is a stunning track, one that only the best can truly master. But it is also a race where irregular drivers have had some success and stands as the most famous tin-top race in the world. Given it's a two-driver race in a Supercars championship focused on individual drivers, that explains the long tradition of irregulars turning up and doing well.
So that gives us the following:
'Decimal Crown'
Monaco Grand Prix (done)
Le Mans 24 Hours (done)
Daytona 24 Hours (done)
Indianapolis 500
Sebring 12 Hours
Spa 24 Hours
Nurburgring 24 Hours
Macau (GT3 World Cup, Grand Prix or Guia race)
Daytona 500
Bathurst 1000
That makes for quite a list and, while it's desperately improbable that Alonso could get anywhere near contesting all of these events, let alone win them, you can see the appeal. But if he were to complete the list he would certainly have proved he could win in everything.
But this is just what might be termed contemporary circuit racing, and there's a whole world beyond that.
Alonso drove a Ferrari 375 at Silverstone in a demo run to mark the 60th anniversary of the marque's first world championship grand prix victory in 2011, and after waving extensively to the crowd, he set about chucking the car around and was quite happy to saw at the wheel to keep it in line. It would be fascinating to see him take on a major historic race, perhaps the RAC TT at the Goodwood Revival in a Ferrari 250 GTO, or maybe compete in the Monaco GP Historique.
Winning championships takes vast dedication, consistency, speed and intelligence but can also be a prison
Beyond circuit racing, there has already been some talk of him taking on the Dakar Rally. He knows Carlos Sainz Sr, winner last year, well and could certainly pick up a few tips to send him on his way to South America. But it would be a dramatically different discipline to undertake.
Perhaps even more difficult would be conventional rallying. Any list of must-win events in motorsport as a whole would have to include the Monte Carlo Rally, and perhaps the ultra fast 1000 Lakes - or as it's now known, Rally Finland. Then there's the Pikes Peak Hillclimb, sealed surface now rather than loose, but still a mighty challenge.
And how about racing on the loose? Perhaps take on the Chili Bowl Nationals midget event, or the Knoxville Nationals for sprint cars? That would be taking on pure-bred specialists in an alien world. If nothing else, he'd have a great time trying to master these disciplines.
What we haven't mentioned is championships. But there's a very good reason for that. Championships have become almost the be-all-and-end-all in motorsport, which is entirely understandable but it shouldn't be a surprise that classic standalone events capture the imagination arguably more than thriving over a season.
Winning championships takes vast dedication, consistency, speed and intelligence. But as Alonso showed from having been stuck in F1 for so long - in his latter years with no chance of gunning for a title - they can also be a prison. That's what makes Alonso's current journey so engaging to watch, even if only the most naive would argue he wouldn't still be racing in F1 and chasing titles were he able to get in the right car to do so.
Alonso said after winning at Daytona that he wanted to do something "unprecedented" in motorsport. Well, pursuing the above list is a good way to do that. In doing so, he also shines a light on the many thriving racing categories that understandably struggle for attention in a very muddled motorsport landscape for all but the most hardcore fan.
What might be termed the 'Fernando Alonso world tour of motorsport' is a sideshow that often upstages the main event, but is that so bad? Motorsport has become so homogenised, with many drivers ghettoised in their area of expertise and justified complaints from many that those in F1 don't take on other racing challenges. Crossover drivers like Alonso have been the Daytona 24 Hours' stock-in-trade in recent years with plenty of NASCAR and IndyCar aces winning there.
Alonso has put his reputation on the line, added a big storyline to races like Daytona, Indy and Le Mans over the past couple of years, and proved beyond any doubt how great a racing driver he is. On top of that, he's drawn the attention of those who only have eyes for F1 to parts of motorsport that otherwise lack visibility in the wider world and who might now recognise the names of Alonso's non-F1 alumni Daytona team-mates Jordan Taylor and Renger van der Zande in the future. Let's hope he keeps doing it.
On with the next step of the 'Decimal Crown'.
