Montoya expects Alonso to rise to the Indy 500 challenge

Juan Pablo Montoya and Fernando Alonso stood on a podium together eight times in their Formula One careers.

Next month, they will compete in the same race together for the first time since the 2006 United States Grand Prix.

While Montoya is no longer a full-time driver at Team Penske’s IndyCar team, he will compete for them in this year’s Indianapolis 500.

And, unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few weeks, you’ve probably also heard that Alonso will also be competing in the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 next month.

Montoya was on hand at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee on Saturday where Fitzgerald Glider Kits was announced as his sponsor.

However, when it came time for Montoya to talk to the press, most of the questions centered around what Montoya’s thoughts were on Alonso racing in this year’s Indy 500, and how he felt about racing him again.

“[I’d have thought it] would be an endurance race or something, not in Indy to be honest,” admitted Montoya, when asked if he’d had ever thought he’d ever race Alonso again. “I think it’s great.”

Montoya expects the crowds and the traffic to be the biggest challenges for Alonso, but not so much the track itself.

“[In F1,] you have your own space and people really respect your space and here... no.

“The fans, the sponsors, everybody is there and everybody wants a picture and you’ve got to please them.

“It is weird because you go out there and you get the announcement then you have a picture and then you’ve got like 15 minutes and then you walk to the car and you get in and you start.

“I think that’s a little bit hard for him from what he is used to.

“The biggest challenge is going to be first he has never done a race that is that long, and the traffic. He is going to have to learn and understand the traffic. I think if he is patient enough through the week and builds to it, I think he will be fine. He is a really good driver. He has really good teammates.

“I think the good thing - with a full day of testing - he will get a bit of an idea of what he needs. Just good to have a day with no pressure where you can build up and you understand what it takes. I think he will be fine. He is with a good team and they always run well there as well. It will be interesting.”

Montoya placed heavy emphasis on how working with the right people is key at Indianapolis. And, while he believes that McLaren-Honda and Andretti Autosport will give Alonso a good car and provide good feedback to him, he believes his own Team Penske team could get him his third Indianapolis 500 victory too.

“I know I have a good shot of winning,” said Montoya. “I feel really good. It should be fun.”

The 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 is set for May 28. Alonso’s first test on the track will take place on May 3.

And maybe, just maybe, we could see the two in the top three again for the first time since the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix.