Will Veekay enter the Indianapolis 500 after the good example of Verstappen?
The month of May is a great one for motorsport enthusiasts. In America they build up to the Indy 500 all month long. It often falls on the same day as the Monaco Grand Prix. The race and the afterthought have ended coldly as the American classic gets underway. A bottle of milk and eternal fame awaits the winner. Arie knows all about it, he won it twice. But of course we hope that we get a second Dutch winner with Rinus Veekay.
The Dutchman once again starts from a good position, this time in second place. In the previous times, however, things always went wrong due to crashes, bad luck and other unpleasant things. Last year Rinus was out after 39 laps. That is quite fast, because the drivers have to cover 200.
Start
Polesitter Palou takes the lead for our hero Rinus. After a few laps, the Dutchman takes the lead. It’s the usual first shelling. No one necessarily wants to be in charge for very long. After all, saving a little ethanol in the draft can make all the difference in the end.
For Graham Rahal it is immediately wrong. The son of Bobby Rahal (once a winner himself and involved with the Jaguar F1 team) already had a very poor qualification. In fact, he was basically out of the race. But Stefan Wilson’s accident left a seat vacant. Rahal is still engaged for this. But before the start his car refuses to work and Graham immediately loses two laps.
Kablabber
You know they’re coming, you just don’t know how many and when. However, on lap 92 it is Sting Ray Robb (his real name) who crashes into the wall. A little and wide next to Rahal and that was it. The drivers use the yellow flag to look for the pit. But that’s where things go wrong for Veekay. When driving away, Rinus loses the car and taps Alex Palou. The Spaniard loses a lot of time, but Rinus is also guaranteed a penalty for this.
Rinus on the border of a lap behind
After his penalty, Rinus drives just within a lap behind the race leader. This is crucial because with a neutralization you ‘just participate again’. The direction does not pick it up very well, but Rinus balances on the border of just a lap behind and just not a lap behind due to pit stops.
In the end, however, the Dutchman is lucky. Romain Grosjean crashes into the wall. Ericsson was not even close in this case as he is leading the race at the time. Anyway, now everyone can stop again, including Rinus. He is therefore back in the correct sequence and can continue the race from P19. With almost fifty laps to go, everything is suddenly possible again.
Finish
With 31 laps to go, Santino Ferrucci comes into the pits from the lead of the race. The rebel who once expressed his support for Donald Trump with a MAGA livery and was kicked out of F2 by the FIA for fiddling with his phone in his racing car, as well as deliberately hitting his teammate after the finish, blossoms nicely in America. However, the pit stop does not go very well. A wheel rolls away, which normally results in a penalty. Now too, but the punishment is mild: a warning and a fine. Santino can therefore continue with his car dressed in the colors of the American flag.
Most contenders also retire with about 30 laps to go, but some continue. This also includes Pato O’Ward, the McLaren protégé who also once did some F2 races. So it has some newer tires and possibly more fuel. Things are looking good for the Mexican with the Scottish surname.
Big One
But then comes the big one. Felix Rosenqvist, once second in the F3 championship in which Max Verstappen finished third, goes into the wall. Kyle Kirkwood can’t avoid him and flips over. A wheel flies off the car, over the fences and just short of the audience. Instead, a parked car is hit. Racing in America is slightly more dangerous than in Europe, it turns out again. Finally, the red flag comes. Three drivers still have to pit and that means that Veekay is effectively driving around on P9. It’s still possible!!1!
Finish poging 2
The top 10 is as follows. O’Ward leads Ericsson (last year’s winner), Newgarden, former F1 driver and Indy 500 winner Rossi, goalless rebel Ferrucci, the pole-started Palou, Connor Daly, veteran and multiple winner Scott Dixon and then Veekay for Red Bulls The apple of Colton Herta’s eye. So nice company. Unfortunately, the rounds are now ticking down. O’Ward goes too slow and the restart is called off for a lap.
On the restart, Ericsson goes straight past O’Ward, but Newgarden takes both around the outside before the first corner. Then comes the melee. O’Ward goes from hero to zero trying to overtake Ericsson and is out. In the backfield, McLaughlin hits Pagenaud. Canepino becomes a powerless victim and, to make matters worse, crashes rudderless into O’Ward’s wreckage.
Finish poging 3
Before the restart is well underway, things go wrong again in the back of the field. The team owner of Veekay’s team who is also participating is out. There is a touché with Rahal, Lundgard and Pedersen. A red flag is waving, but not before Ericsson has retaken the lead from Newgarden and Ferrucci has moved into P2. Will Ericsson become the first man to win two consecutive Indy 500s since Castroneves in 2001 and 2002?
While O’Ward threatens Ericsson to fly down the track with him next time, Ericsson’s wife gets ready for the finish line. Another wait, another rolling start…will we get another lap of racing? In any case, Newgarden is now promoted back to P2, ahead of Ferrucci. Veekay unfortunately dropped back to P9.
Finish poging 4
Newgarden packs Ericsson and wins it. The two-time champion now also has his hands on an Indy 500. Veekay comes tenth. For him, it’s another race of ‘what could have been’. The penalty for the touché in the pit threw him far back, after which he comes back nicely. However, the laps were over too quickly. Either way, Ericsson’s wife is the real MVP. Whose deed.
Indy 500 2023: the full results
1Josef NewgardenTeam Penske2Marcus EricssonChip Ganassi Racing3Santino FerrucciA.J. Foyt Racing4Alex PalouChip Ganassi Racing5Alexander RossiArrow McLaren6Scott DixonChip Ganassi Racing7Takuma SatoChip Ganassi Racing8Conor DalyEd Carpenter Racing9Colton HertaAndretti Autosport10Rinus VeekayEd Carpenter Racing11Ryan Hunter-ReayDreyer & Reinbold Racing12Callum IlottJuncos Hollinger Racing13Devlin DeFrancescoAndretti Autosport14Scott McLaughlinTeam Penske15Helio CastronevesMeyer Shank Racing16Tony KanaanArrow McLaren17Marco AndrettiAndretti Herta Autosport18Jack HarveyRahal Letterman Lanigan Racing19Christian LundgaardRahal Letterman Lanigan RacingDNFEd CarpenterEd Carpenter RacingDNFBenjamin PedersenA.J. Foyt RacingDNFGraham RahalDreyer & Reinbold RacingDNFWill PowerTeam PenskeDNFPatricio O’WardArrow McLarenDNFAgustin CanapinoJuncos Hollinger RacingDNFSimon PagenaudMeyer Shank RacingDNFKyle KirkwoodAndretti AutosportDNFFelix RosenqvistArrow McLarenDNFDavid MalukasDale Coyne RacingDNFRomain GrosjeanAndretti AutosportDNFSting Ray RobbDale Coyne RacingDNFR.C. EnersonAbel MotorsportsDNFKatherine LeggeRahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
This article Result Indycar: Indianapolis 500 2023 first appeared on Ruetir.
