Kanaan Puts Lewis Hamilton in his Place
Last weekend was the Indy 500, the world's biggest single day sporting event. And if you have been off the internet for the last month or so (maybe you were on safari?), you might not have heard, but two-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso skipped the Monaco Grand Prix and decided to run the Indy 500 instead.
As you'd expect, he did a damn good job. Alonso qualified fifth, led 27 laps in the race, and fell out on lap 180 when his Honda engine failed. It was impressive, exactly what you'd expect from a driver who has been qualifying his dog slow F1 car in the upper half of the field thanks to some truly heroic driving. That performance was enough for him to be awarded Rookie of the Year (though many thought the honor should have gone to third place finisher Ed Jones).
Eternal optimist and all-around fun happy guy Lewis Hamilton saw Alonso's accomplishment quite a bit differently. This is what he told France's L'Equipe:
I took a look at the qualifying results. Fernando, in his first qualifying, came fifth. Does that say something about (the level) of Indy Car? Great drivers, if they can’t succeed in Formula One, look for titles in other races, but to see him come fifth against drivers who do this all year round is... interesting.
Say what you will, but it takes a lot of skill to belittle both a fellow F1 champion and the entire IndyCar field in one quote. Impressive.
Indy veteran Tony Kanaan didn't take all that kindly to what Lewis said, and came back with his own zinger to Brazil's GLOBO:
What can I say? (Hamilton) competed in a two-car world championship last year and was second, so I don't think he can say much. It was a pleasure to have Fernando here. He is humble, not like some of his colleagues who were making comments this month.
That is the absolute perfect response to Hamilton.
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