It's national anthem time!

Of the 33 drivers entered into the Indy 500 only one of them is female.

Britain's Pippa Mann made her Indy 500 debut in 2011 and has finished 20th, 30th, 24th, 22nd and 18th in the event.

The 33-year-old starts 28th on the grid today.

Image source, get

Image source, .

From the opulence of Monaco to the grittiness of Indianapolis. There could hardly be a bigger contrast between two races and venues on the same day.

We're a touch under way 20 minutes away from the green flag falling to signal the start of the Indy 500.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, .

Former F1 driver Sebastien Bourdais was involved in a massive, massive crash during qualifying. Just eight days later he is back at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Amazing.

Jonathan Quirk: I think F1 drivers should be allowed to do more disciplines, so we can see how good they are behind the wheel of different vehicles.

Fernando Alonso on his first experience of driving at Indianapolis: "It feels strange. The wind makes a huge change. Corner one is different to corner two, three and four so you always need to keep an eye on the flags.

"You are dealing with a skateboard on water. It's a different experience.

"It's going to be fun. Every lap there will be two or three movements and that is great for a racing driver."

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BBC Sport's Jamie Strickland: The Indy 500 has no delusions of grandeur and presents itself for what it is: a place of pilgrimage for race fans who want to come and watch fast cars and eat even faster food. Burgers and hot dogs are sold in heart-fluttering quantities, and we have it on good authority that around 2,100 litres of ketchup is served up on race-day alone. To put that into some context, an average eight-minute shower uses 62 litres of water, so based on 2,100 litres, you'd have enough for roughly 33 lavish and lengthy ketchup showers. You wouldn't be very clean afterwards, of course. And then there's the beer. Around 63,500 litres of the stuff is consumed on race day at IMS. Continuing our dubious analogy, that'd sort you for 1,024 beery showers. Cheers!

With Indy 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix, I've seen more pictures of celebrities in one day than I had all year.

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

It's going to be a whole new world for Fernando Alonso. He hasn't raced on an oval circuit before and has not experienced a rolling start for 20 years.

Alonso said: "My last rolling start was the 1997 Go-Kart World Championship!

“I don’t think I have a plan for the beginning of the race. In Formula 1, we’re used to playing all of our cards in the first couple of corners because positions are defined after that. But here it is very different.

"I cannot say I will play it safe at the beginning of the race because everyone else will take advantage of that. I need to be very open about what is going to happen.

If I can be running in a comfortable group, I will be happy. If I’m trailing behind the group, I will be calm.”

Image source, Getty Images

Lewis Hamilton on Alonso: "IndyCar is crazy speed, but for me it's not the same as it used to be when Nigel Mansell did it years ago.

"But I understand Fernando's position - it's more than money for him.

"Those guys have a lot of experience on the circuit but Fernando is no doubt the best driver out there."

Well, let's be honest, he didn't miss much by skipping the Monaco Grand Prix so why not?

The reason Fernando Alonso is racing in the Indy 500 is because he is aiming to win motorsport's famed Triple Crown. That's winning the Monaco GP, the Indy 500 and the 24 hours of Le Mans.

He already bagged the Monaco title so a win today will leave him one race away from joining Graham Hill as the only driver to achieve the feat.

Image source, Getty Images

Do you fancy Fernando Alonso to win on his Indy 500 debut? While he's not the first F1 driver to give it a go, he is certainly the most high profile of recent times. Would you like to see more current drivers head over to give it a go?

Let us know via #bbcf1

Image source, USA Today

This chap's wearing a badge that says 'Super Fan'. Given what he is wearing it's hard to argue with that.

Jack of All Trades: Provided the usual entertainment, or lack of it. Looking forward to seeing @alo_oficial, external at #Indy500, external should be good

There's no champagne for the winners of the Indy 500 - at least on the podium - instead it is milk they drink.

It's a strange tradition that started back in 1936 when Louis Meyer, who was partial to a bit of buttermilk, drank some after winning the Indy 500.

Here's the 32 drivers' choices should they win: