ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Jack Harvey was taken to a hospital for statement and Helio Castroneves wanted an ice pack and X-rays. A pair of vehicles went airborne, the leaders crashed into one another and your entire Andretti Autosport fleet was eradicated.
Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson, in the meantime, gained the IndyCar season-opening race.
Ericsson outlasted the chaos on the downtown streets of St. Petersburg for a shock victory for Chip Ganassi Racing on a swampy Sunday in Florida. It was the fourth profession IndyCar victory for the Swedish former Method One driver.
“I feel individuals overlook us in some conversations once they discuss concerning the championship,” Ericsson stated. “We’re right here to win. We gained the five hundred. We had been main the championship for a very long time. We’re right here to win.”
It was alleged to be an Andretti automotive in victory lane, no less than primarily based on the pace the workforce confirmed all weekend. Romain Grosjean and Colton Herta began on the entrance row, however issues started to unravel proper initially.
A seven-car accident on the primary lap knocked 5 vehicles out of the race, together with Andretti driver Devlin DeFrancesco, who was despatched airborne when rookie Ben Pedersen slammed immediately into his stopped automotive. Castroneves, a four-time Indianapolis 500 winner, limped away from the accident whereas his Meyer Shank Racing teammate Simon Pagenaud clutched his hand.
Castroneves left IndyCar’s new cell medical care middle with an ice pack on his proper hand, and a clear X-ray taken on his proper knee. Pagenaud stated a finger was bruised, however he was superb.
Harvey wasn’t so fortunate and was transported to a hospital — IndyCar stated it was for an analysis out of “an abundance of warning” — after Kyle Kirkwood turned the second Andretti driver to go airborne and sailed immediately over Harvey’s head. Rinus VeeKay had slid right into a tire barrier, Harvey bumped into the again of VeeKay and Kirkwood launched over each vehicles.
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“It was a fairly disappointing approach for our race to go there,” Harvey stated later by means of his workforce, Rahal Letterman Lanigan. “I actually could not keep away from Rinus after which simply had a little bit little bit of ache in each wrists once I was attempting to get out of the automotive. Bodily, I might say it was a troublesome race however I felt nice.”
When Kirkwood launched, Michael Andretti slammed his hand on the pit stand in disgust.
However there was extra to come back.
Herta was despatched right into a tire barrier by contact from reigning IndyCar champion Will Energy, who obtained an avoidable contact penalty, to depart Grosjean because the final remaining probability for Andretti.
However as Grosjean and defending race winner Scott McLaughlin raced facet by facet for place, the 2 vehicles touched in what gave the impression to be a recreation of rooster headed right into a nook. Neither driver lifted and each vehicles slammed right into a tire barrier.
Grosjean was livid, first throwing his arms up in disgust, after which pounding his first on the stack of tires as he screamed. McLaughlin obtained an avoidable contact penalty. Andretti muttered an expletive and buried his head in his arms.
McLaughlin and Energy each stated they’d search out Grosjean and Herta, respectively, to apologize, and McLaughlin did go to Grosjean’s workforce truck and hugged him. Scott Dixon, in the meantime, apologized repeatedly for contact with Felix Rosenqvist on the opening lap that set in movement the larger crash behind them.
Ericsson, in the meantime, handed Pato O’Ward for the win with three laps remaining when O’Ward suffered a quick lack of energy. O’Ward pounded his fist in disgust as Ericsson sailed previous for the win for Honda.
O’Ward was second in a Chevrolet for McLaren and will barely discover any phrases to talk in his preliminary disappointment.
“Simply very annoying to offer it away like that,” O’Ward stated with a sigh. “The workforce cannot have this occur. We simply obtained 10 factors thrown away. We’ll take a look in any respect the information and be sure that would not occur.”
Ericsson had no drawback successful that approach.
“That is racing,” he stated.
Dixon, the six-time IndyCar champion, was third for Ganassi for his 193rd top-five end, tying him with Mario Andretti for many all-time. Dixon’s top-five share is 52%.
Alexander Rossi was fourth in his debut race with new workforce McLaren.
Callum Ilott completed a career-best fifth for Juncos Hollinger Racing and was adopted by Graham Rahal of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing after which Energy of Staff Penske. Alex Palou of Ganassi was eighth whereas RLL driver Christian Lundgaard and David Malukas rounded out the highest 10.
Marcus Armstrong, a rookie who moved from F2 in Europe to race for Ganassi in IndyCar this season, completed eleventh in his sequence debut to make Chip Ganassi, and never Andretti, the workforce of the day.
UP NEXT: IndyCar subsequent races April 2 at Texas Motor Speedway, the place Josef Newgarden is the defending race winner.