Craig Hampson, the signing that convinced Alonso to return to Indianpolis: “You can make a difference”

The engineer, with more than two decades of experience and numerous successes with Bourdais, is Brown's new strongman and

• Third American adventure.
  

  Why again with McLaren?
  

The ruinous management of Bob Fernley in 2019 at the head of the McLaren project in Indianpolis resulted in an immediate dismissal by Zak Brown, the chief of the Woking squire. A few weeks after that grotesque chain of errors, Brown began the search for a warranty replacement, convinced at the end that in the 500 Miles there is not a single option for those who do not have truly qualified personnel. And in December he hired Craig Hampson like his new right hand in the Brickyard.

“His signing was one of the reasons for my decision,” he admitted Monday Fernando Alonso during an interview with the NBC network. “Everyone tells me that Craig is the man with whom you must work,” added the double winner at Le Mans, who doesn't usually give such high praise regularly.

Since January, Hampson has worked hard to develop the three cars of the Arrow McLaren SP team and on May 24 will be Alonso's career engineer in the legendary valuation of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“You can learn a lot”

“He has made a difference in so many races and championships in the last two decades at IndyCar …”, Alonso said about Hampson's two decades of experience, four times with Sebastien Bourdais in the Champs Car (2004-2007). “Working with these types of people can make a difference. As a pilot you can learn a lot from the team and the engineers,” added the double Formula 1 world champion.

Hampson, who in the last three years also collaborated with Bourdais in the Dale Coyne Racing, will lead a large team, where they also stand out Gil de Ferran, sports director, and Nick Snyder, performance director. Under the orders of both, numerous personnel incorporated by the Woking squad.