F1 drivers have more restrictive contracts, especially after Kubica's crash. Mansell had the benefit of extensive pre-season testing, Alonso is jetting back and forth and probably only getting 1 test day before practice (granted, there is a lot of practice even with the 2-week Indy 500 schedule).
I suppose compared with F1 that is a lot of testing. They even have time to run good drivers that are not under contract yet: Felix Rosenqvist, Robin Frijns, Dean Stoneman, Robert Wickens just to name a few recent examples.
It's commonplace for drivers in North America to race multiple car types. There were a few Gold Coast 600s with Indycar drivers, they have raced at all the big sportscar events (Sebring, Le Mans, Daytona, etc), and some part-timers have taken it further still (Brabham in Stadium Trucks, Formula E, a late model stock car). Spencer Pigot raced Porsche Cup and the Daytona 24 before he even got to Indycar.
|