The usual coincidence of each season between the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500 usually brings the no less usual round of statements and comparisons on both sides of the pond. Conversations, opinions, approaches, criticism and praise of the positive, negative, competitive and philosophical aspects that Formula 1 and IndyCar encompass, curiously in two races so different from what the drivers face the rest of the year in their respective disciplines.
has not gone unnoticed the influx of European pilots heading to the United States in the last 5-10 years, which has finally materialized its first great achievement on Sunday night with Marcus Ericsson’s victory at the Indy 500. The Swede was one of the World Championship drivers who chose to prolong his career in single-seaters at the wheel of the Dallara IR18, and the adventures of Fernando Alonso are recent enough that the big names frequently receive the question: would you ever run the 500 miles?
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This question is usually coupled to the concept of the Triple Crown, including the eventual dispute of the 24 hours of Le Mans. For now, Alonso himself has in recent weeks expressed little interest in repeating his 2017-20 adventures, and two of the biggest names in the Formula 1 World Championship have chosen to publicly remove themselves from any future speculation in the Americas. Responding to the hackneyed question after finishing the appointment in Monaco, Both Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez have ruled out that a participation in the Indy 500 is in their future plans.
The refusal has also had interesting allegations in the case of Verstappen, who adds to his maximum concentration in Formula 1 the issue of the risk of injury at almost 400 kilometers per hour: «I do not want to pursue the Triple Crown. At least not the Indy. I appreciate what those pilots do, it’s crazy… I have a lot of respect for what they achieve there, but me, having been in Formula 1 for a long time, I don’t need to risk my life there and potentially injure myself, on the legs or whatever. It’s not worth it anymore, let’s put it that way.
Being a regular in online endurance competitions, Verstappen has indeed expressed an interest in the famous French 24-hour race, but not at the expense of Formula 1: «Maybe I’ll do Le Mans. I like drag racing, so I may do some, hopefully soon. But for me, it doesn’t really matter. Of course I try to be good in Formula 1, and in whatever I do, but that Triple Crown wish or whatever… I’m not interested».
Pérez expressed himself along the same lines, the Mexican being even more exclusive in his statements despite the fact that his almost exit from Formula 1 at the end of 2020 was accompanied by multiple rumors about his next destination. Apparently, the personal order of priorities of the Mexican has changed enough for it: “I have no interest, to be honest. And in the resistance, I don’t know if I’ll ever do it. I don’t think so. I think that, As soon as I’m done with Formula 1, I’ll have to look back and take care of my children. I already have three, so I’ll be pretty busy!”
Indianapolis carries the perpetual stigma of oval racingderived from the death of Dan Wheldon in 2011 and the fortuitous death of Justin Wilson in 2015, as well as the terrible accident that fractured the spinal cord of Robert Wickens in 2018. None of that happened in Indianapolis, where the driving etiquette and the mutual respect has greatly reduced the incidence of serious accidents despite the high speeds. No driver has been killed at the event since 1996, no driver has died on the oval since 2003, and the last serious injury dates back to the crash that fractured Sébastien Bourdais’s pelvis in 2017.
Of course, the positive streak could have ended in 2015 if the action of the medical team had not prevented James Hinchcliffe from bleeding to death after being pierced by an arm of his suspension. Even with everything, the years change a lot things and people’s opinion; Romain Grosjean and Jimmie Johnson know this well, former critics of single-seater oval racing who yesterday disputed their first Indy 500, suffering two accidents. Or to put the opposite example, Kevin Magnussen denying a return to Formula 1 until testing the waters of American resistance in 2021 reopened his World Cup appetite. You never know…
Photos: Red Bull Content Pool