Indy 500: Markus Erickson unhappy with race finish

Yesterday in Indianapolis, the 107th Indy 500 race took place, which will go down in motorsport history not only because of Joseph Newgarden’s victory on the last lap, but also because of the controversial ending, which some even quickly compared to the controversial final. of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix of the year.

This is unlikely to overshadow the joy of Newgarden and his Penske team, but the motorsport press will long remember this situation, when just three laps to go the race was again stopped by red flags and all cars returned to the pit lane .

Commentators at that time put forward approximately the following versions of the further course of events: the peloton will most likely finish behind the safety car and Markus Erickson wins for the second year in a row. Although it is of course a pity that the final of the Indy 500 is getting blurry.

But the direction of the race ordered otherwise.

On the previous restart, with five laps to go, Erickson took the lead, but then another accident happened in the tail of the pack and the race had to be neutralized again.

Then, on lap 198, the pack entered the track ahead of a pace car, and the final chord was a single lap sprint, in which Newgarden overtook Erickson at the exit of the 2nd corner of the oval circuit and crossed the finish line. First.

“I don’t agree with the way we spent the end of the race,” said Erickson afterwards, dissatisfied. “I didn’t think it was fair. There weren’t enough laps left before the finish to act like that. It wasn’t safe to leave the pit lane with cold tires and start again, because when the race restarted, half of the peloton didn’t even have time to hit the track.

I don’t think that was the right way to end it. I cannot agree with this. Since there were not enough laps left before the finish, the race had to end under yellow flags.

I’m angry because I think we did everything right. When she was stopped by red flags shortly before the end of the race, I thought it was too late to restart. But as it turned out, so it happened. You have to play with the cards in your hand, and I don’t think we could have done more.

Joseph is a worthy winner, I congratulate him. But it’s hard for me to accept how it ended. However, I am proud of how we performed and what speed we showed.”

Disagreeing with Erickson is Tony Kanaan, an IndyCar veteran who raced for Arrow McLaren last night and finished 16th. But in 2013 he won the Indy 500 under yellow flags.

“We have to think about entertainment,” said the Brazilian. – Most of all complaints always have to do with the fact that the race should not end under yellow flags. At least now only one rider is happy and the rest of the 32nd is offended, but that’s the reality.

Was it possible to announce the finish without a late restart? Yes. We could have done that, but the race ended under green flags, and this is what the fans demand of us. I also won the Indy 500 under the yellow flags, and then everyone really didn’t like it. It’s easier for me to say now, I didn’t claim to win. However, I believe that the right decision has been made.”

The last word, of course, always remains with the organizers of the race. Roger Penske, the current owner of the Indanapolis track and the entire IndyCar series, on the one hand made it clear that he did not make the decision, on the other hand his opinion is quite clear: “Of course I have nothing to do with this , but we want to see a checkered flag, not yellow.”

It is worth adding that the Indy 500 management took no liberties in interpreting the regulations, and formally yesterday’s race ended in full compliance with the regulations. It is therefore inappropriate to draw parallels with Abu Dhabi 2021, after which Michael Masi had to step down as FIA race director.

It makes sense to quote the words of Markus Erickson, who already said today: “Second place in the 2023 Indy 500 – victory was closer than ever. I gave it my all and am proud of myself and the Chip Ganassi Racing team. We come back”.