Is Alesi fast enough to even qualify for the Indy 500?

Are F1 drivers overrated? Many have come to Indy only to fail, and judging by the speed of Jean Alesi in rookie practice yesterday, the former Ferrari driver appears set to embarrass himself in 2012. He only turned 18 laps on Thursday but was too slow to even pass phase 1 of the test where you must run between 200 and 205 MPH around the flat 2.5 mile oval.

The first Lotus got on the track Thursday, reaching a top speed of only 186.387 mph. For Jean Alesi, who last drove a Formula One car in 2001, the 18 laps were his first on an oval track.

Alesi avoided a late-afternoon media interview, but a spokesman for his team, Fan Force United, said the 47-year-old Frenchman was too busy to talk. Hopefully he did not scare himself silly out there and soil his underwear.

Results

Rank	Car Driver Name	C/E/T	Time	Speed	Diff	Gap	Best Lap	Total Laps
1	19 Jakes, James (R)	D/H/F	00:41.2338	218.268	–.—-	–.—-	65	77
2	39 Clauson, Bryan (R)	D/H/F	00:41.4659	217.046	0.2321	0.2321	42	54
3	67 Newgarden, Josef (R)	D/H/F	00:41.5564	216.573	0.3226	0.0905	39	47
4	8 Barrichello, Rubens (R)	D/C/F	00:42.0397	214.083	0.8059	0.4833	81	83
5	77 Pagenaud, Simon (R)	D/H/F	00:42.0452	214.055	0.8114	0.0055	89	93
6	30 Jourdain, Michel	D/H/F	00:42.1284	213.633	0.8946	0.0832	71	73
7	41 Cunningham, Wade (R)	D/H/F	00:42.7923	210.318	1.5585	0.6639	45	57
8	64 Alesi, Jean (R)	D/L/F	00:48.2866	186.387	7.0528	5.4943	18	18