Former Ferrari driver crashed into team at pitlane in Indy 500

12:50, 26 May

Updated: 12:51, 26 May

byNorberto Mujica

Robert Shwartzman, former Ferrari man and one of the three rookie polesitters the Indy 500 has ever had, crashed into his Prema Racing team in the pitlane.

Former Ferrari sriver Shwartzman crashed into 4 mechanics at Indy 500

Shwartzman went straight against the wall during his pit stop, damaging his front suspension and nose. According to the former Ferrari reserve driver, his front tires unexpectedly locked up while braking, although he claims to have entered the pit cautiously.

"I was going slow coming in the pit lane, I locked both front tires, which usually is not the case," he said as quoted by Racer magazine.

"And then when I came back to my pit I [actually] did not push. I tried to be very slow, but as soon as I touched my brakes, my fronts just lock and just went straight into the guys. Luckily, nobody got really injured."

What prompted the accident? It is still anybody's guess. Shwartzman listed brakes or cold tyres as the likely causes.

"Was really scary, because at the moment when I braked, it was nothing, no brakes. We don't know yet what's happened. We'll need to have a look and understand if there was any mechanical issue, or it's just cold tires."

After a strong qualifying session, where he secured pole position, his first Indy 500 ended prematurely this way.

" It's really sad because we did such great work with qualifying, but in a 500-mile race, anything can happen. We just need to learn from it, and hopefully next year we'll come and have a proper battle for the win.” The former Ferrari man finished his first Indy 500 in P29.