Fernando Alonso's Indianapolis 500 dream goes up in the smoke of a blown engine that ends a brilliant Brickyard debut by the Formula One star.

Formula One misfit Takuma Sato is the toast of Japan after becoming the first driver from his country to win the storied Indianapolis 500.

Fernando Alonso shrugged off searing temperatures to post the fastest rookie time during practice for the Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday.