INDIANAPOLIS – Marcus Ericsson’s challenging month of May ended on Sunday the same way it began – with an accident.
It was a precursor of what was to come for Andretti Global at this year’s Indianapolis 500.
Ericsson, Indianapolis 500 champion in 2022 and runner-up in 2023, was unable to complete a lap when rookie Tom Blomqvist’s car went too low on the track as it passed through the first corner, spun across the track and collided with the No. 28 Honda by Ericsson. Before the end of the day, two of Ericsson’s teammates, Colton Herta and Marco Andretti, also hit the wall, while a third, Kyle Kirkwood, saw his hopes ended with a penalty for avoidable pit row contact.
“I can’t believe it, it’s unbelievable,” said the Swedish driver. “It’s so frustrating. We were fighting last weekend. We were struggling so much. I can not believe. I just can’t believe it.”
Team owner Michael Andretti must have felt the same, judging by his reaction after his son’s accident capped off another nightmarish day of racing on the 2.5-mile oval, where his family had so much trouble that they were continually asked about the Andretti Curse.
Fate or not, the result was the same on Sunday – even for drivers previously employed by Andretti.
Ryan Hunter-Reay, the 2012 IndyCar winner and IndyCar Series champion with Michael Andretti’s team who now drives for Dreyer Reinbold Racing, struggled with his car’s balance and was knocked out on lap 108 when he collided with the wheels of the six-time champion. of the series Scott Dixon while fighting for position in the second round.
“I haven’t looked at the replay yet to see if I could have done anything different other than go his way,” Dixon said after finishing third.
Still, the incident caught Hunter-Reay off guard.
“I’ve been racing with Scott Dixon for almost two decades and I’ve never seen anything like this on the track,” said Hunter-Reay. “He knows I was there. and how this wasn’t a penalty was beyond me.
It was that kind of day after a four hour delay due to rain.
Ericsson, Blomqvist and Pietro Fittipaldi were collected after crashing on the first lap. Chip Ganassi Racing’s rookie Linus Lundqvist hit the wall in the first corner of lap 28. Even Team Penske’s Will Power, two-time series champion and 2018 IndyCar winner, couldn’t avoid the crash – hitting the wall between first and the second connects to lap 148.
But no one suffered more bad luck on Sunday than the Andretti team.
Herta, the 24-year-old Californian and one of the pre-race favorites, spun in the first corner on lap 86 and after being cleared to drive at the in-house medical center climbed back into the cockpit of the repaired No. 26 Honda. and completed 170 laps.
Kirkwood’s penalty, for hitting Callum Ilott’s car in the pits, was announced on lap 92. Marco Andretti, the 2020 Indy pole winner, desperately tried to save his swaying car on lap 113 before hitting the wall at turn 4 as his father, Michael, rubbed his head.
For Ericsson, it was another chapter in a stress-filled May, which began with a crash on May 16th. He made a similar mistake in training to the one Blomqvist made on race day.
Crew members struggled to get Ericsson’s No. 28 Honda back on track on the first day of qualifying, but he was unable to qualify fast enough to crack the top 30.
When he returned last Sunday as one of four drivers fighting for the last three starting spots, his first attempt was foiled when he mistakenly thought he had completed the four-lap race after just three laps and slowed down so much that he was later run over. . out of the race. Ericsson spent the next 45 minutes anxiously waiting to make up and eventually moved into 32nd place.
Then, on Sunday, he ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time – again.
“Obviously not much,” said Myer Shank Racing’s Blomqvist when asked about what he experienced in his first 500cc start. “I’m really disappointed for the guys.”
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