Swede Marcus Ericsson won the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday ahead of Mexican Pato O’Ward after a breathtaking final due to the red flag four laps from the end followed by a fresh start.
This is the second victory for a Swedish driver in the famous American race after Kenny Bräck in 1999.
Ericsson, 31 and a former F1 driver, led the race in the final laps and maintained it after the restart, battling wheel-to-wheel in the final corners of the oval circuit with Pato O’Ward.
I can not believe, Ericsson’s reaction to drinking the winner’s traditional milk. He thanked his team Chip Ganassi, one of the most famous in the IndyCar championship
Thanks to this victory, the Swede leads in Indycar’s provisional overall championship classification, which includes 500 Miles of Indianapolis.
For the record, Marcus Ericsson is a former junior-level goalkeeper in his country, and his childhood idol was … Patrick Roy.
Struggled in good weather, the 106th edition of 500 Miles was plagued, as usual, by numerous incidents, all of which were not serious, especially involving Frenchman Romain Grosjean, who was also a former F1 driver.
Grosjean hit the wall on lap 106, without getting hurt, ending his first participation in the famous American race.
The car spun, I don’t know why. There is no warning sign on this bendexplained the pilot on American television after the accident.
At age 36 and with 179 F1 Grands Prix to his credit, the French driver made his IndyCar debut in 2021 on road circuits. He also decided to dive on the oval circuits this season.
The accident less than five laps from the finish of former NASCAR driver, 46-year-old veteran Jimmie Johnson, resulted in the final sprint.
The race was neutralized (red flag) while Ericsson was in the lead. The Swede retained its advantage when it was revived.
The only Canadian to register in the Indianapolis 500, Torontonian Devlin DeFrancesco, finished 19th.
Source: Radio-Canada
