Since 2015, Alonso and McLaren have not seen victory lane nor scored a podium finish to date. The engines have proven to be unreliable and the 35-year-old has been very public about the embarrassing display of speed the marque has shown the last couple of seasons.

All of this history leads us to the present and the argument at hand.

For starters, point the finger at the fact that Alonso hasn’t scored points nor finished a race this season as to reasons why he’s looking elsewhere to race, if only for a weekend. I would argue as well that Honda has little clue what their direction is in F1, proving exactly why they left the sport in the first place after 2008.

Sure, Honda supplies engines for Andretti-Autosport, but the difference between the IndyCar program and the F1 program is that the IndyCar Honda program comes from Honda Performance Development (HPD) in the U.S., while Honda Japan supplies engines to the F1 team.

While Honda might be the name on both side pods, it is in fact two separate engine builders for two separate series.

It seems unfair for Jenna to gauge the reception of an announcement like this by the response of her 13 year old as well, doesn’t it? While of no real fault to her daughter, Formula One is on at insanely late times of the night here in America (with maybe the Bahrain, Canadian, United States and Mexican Grand Prixs as the possible exceptions) and it wouldn’t surprise me that the late start times are a possible reason why she might not be familiar with Alonso.

The other issue is that Formula One is really only dominated by one or two drivers at the moment, with not a large-enough emphasis on the other battles on the track on a grand prix broadcast. This stigmatism often turns away many young or casual viewers, simply due to the television perception of the race.

If a third argument is about Alonso not “appealing to kids,” then this might be exactly what open wheel racing needs. Alonso could be that gateway for the younger generation to start watching F1 and and understanding more about other forms of international motorsport.

For me, I look at the impact that Marcos Ambrose had when he transitioned from V8 Supercars to NASCAR, and how both the American and Australian race fans wanted to know more about the other sport.

Also, why are we so picky about the fact he is running the event? When did American open wheel racing become a “members only” club? Shouldn’t drivers WANT to try and win one of the greatest races in the world? Isn’t that what the Indy 500 is all about?

Kurt Busch, who had zero open wheel experience before his run at the 500 in 2014, split time between a bulky 3,400 pound stock car and the light weight Indy cars and nobody batted an eye. If Alonso is missing the biggest Formula One race of the season, skipping the Monaco Grand Prix to run at Indianapolis, that has to mean something about the product the Verizon IndyCar Series has been putting on, no?

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