By alley - May 19, 2017, 4:19 PM ET

Alonso's Indy attempt good for F1 - de Ferran

Fernando Alonso's attempt at the Indy 500 is good for F1 because of the exposure he is getting to the North American market, according to his driver coach Gil de Ferran.

In order to race in the 500, Alonso is skipping next weekend's Monaco Grand Prix and will be replaced by Jenson Button in the McLaren-Honda. While Alonso's arrival in the U.S. has obvious benefits to IndyCar and the race at the Brickyard, de Ferran – who won the 500 in 2003 before a spell as BAR Honda sporting director – believes it is a positive move for F1 and McLaren, too.

"I really think that what they did to bring Fernando over here is fantastic for motorsports," de Ferran said. "It's clearly fantastic for IndyCar, that's easy for everyone to see, but I think it's also great for Fernando and great for Formula 1 because he's already making new fans here in North America and these people will follow him wherever he goes. The same goes for McLaren; having them back at the Speedway I think is a great reminder of the heritage of the team."

Alonso told RACER during an exclusive interview

that he has been warned by de Ferran about how difficult qualifying will be on Saturday and Sunday, but after some initial Fast Friday running with low downforce the Brazilian is confident his driver is well prepared.

"To be honest everything – knock on wood – has been going quite smoothly. We had a couple of small issues that delayed us earlier in the week, but honestly I can't point out anything that really set us back a huge amount. So far all the preparations are going well. Obviously tomorrow is going to be a new challenge, it really depends on what the weather does as to how difficult or easy those laps are going to be.

"Nevertheless, qualifying here is always a challenge because the car is right on the edge. That's how you get the most speed out of it, by reducing downforce and therefore drag with it, but still maintaining enough grip and balance to be able to do four laps. So necessarily the car feels very, very edgy. But everything that we could do to prepare for that situation that will come over the weekend has gone well.

"It's hard for me to judge [if he can challenge for pole]. Everything is going well, today we had another good hour and whatever it was and I think we're prepared as we're going to be."