PREMA racing driver Robert Shwartzman experienced the highs and lows of IndyCar racing during the Indy 500. Shwartzman became the first rookie in over 40 years to take pole position at the Brickyard. Unfortunately, he retired early in the pit lane following an issue with his brakes.
Speaking exclusively to Pit Debrief, Shwartzman discussed his performance at the Indy 500.
Racing the “triple crown” of motorsports
Shwartzman expressed excitement over competing in his first Indy 500. He previously raced in Monaco with PREMA for Formula 2. In 2024, he raced in the 24h of Le Mans with AF Corse, Ferrari’s WEC team.
“This was my third race, the final one that I had to race. Because I raced in Monaco, I raced in Le Mans, and coming to Indy, it was the third and conclusive of those three legendary races.
“Honestly, it felt amazing. I was very excited, obviously. It felt like a really special race. Obviously, we also managed to take a pole position, which was unexpected and very, very good, very happy.”
Taking pole position at the Indy 500
PREMA racing shocked the motorsports world when Shwartzman topped the Indy 500 qualifying. The rookie team and driver had a difficult start to the season, unsurprisingly finishing races near the back of the grid. They were slow to get going in the first couple of days of practice before gathering serious momentum as the former Ferrari junior flew on Fast Friday that led to pole on Sunday.
“It was a super, super achievement for us, especially being a rookie with a rookie team. It was something amazing, something really, for all the people in the team. Something to believe in, that we can actually achieve things. Because the beginning of the season was quite difficult. We were struggling with quite a few things.
“At the same time, the Indy 500 is quite a demanding race overall because it’s like two weeks. Every day you have a lot of work. The first week, you mainly try to prepare the fastest car you can for the qualifying. And after the qualifying, you have a little bit of time to prepare the car for the race, but at the same time, you have a lot of media activity, a lot of attention, a lot of things.
Mental exhaustion during the Indy 500
Shwartzman discussed the mental exhaustion he experienced during the Indy 500. Media attention from being the rookie pole sitter had its pros and cons. While PREMA got exposure to the American audience, Shwartzman said it increased his workload significantly.
“So, honestly, it’s really exhausting. Mentally, it’s extremely tough. Obviously, I don’t know for the other drivers.
“For me, it was tough because there was so much attention around as well. I mean, it’s a good thing that we had it. It means that we did a really good job, but at the same time, obviously, it was a lot of work, a lot of work, a lot of connections with people, ‘do this, do that, speak with this one, explain this one.’
“At the same time, trying to help the team to get better for the race as well because you want to do a good race. Overall, it was a big challenge.”
Handling the pressure as an Indy 500 pole-sitter
Shwartzman talked about the pressure leading up to the Indy 500 after he secured pole position. He discussed how your starting position might not reflect how you finish the race. We saw this with Penske driver Josef Newgarden, who made his way from the back of the field to the top ten before retiring.
“I tried not to really focus on that. I knew that the race is another thing. One thing is qualifying, which is sort of one race, and then the actual race is another race, which is really not dependent because the race is long, 200 laps. And as we saw, anything can happen. You can have issues with the cars, problems at the pit stops.
“I knew that this is not really relevant for me, where I’m going to be starting, because you can win the race from the back or lose it from the front. It works randomly there.
“From my side, there was a bit of pressure because I’m starting first, but I tried not to focus on it and to put pressure on myself on the top. I was like, I know I’m starting first, but I tried to just focus on, ‘How can I do the best job as possible in the race?’
“The race didn’t go well because we had different issues that unfortunately we didn’t manage to fix and control. But at the same time, I did what I could, I did my best. So, on that side, I’m happy with how the race went and generally the whole weekend went.”
Shwartzman explained that he managed the pressure by focusing on the work he needed to complete before the Indy 500.
“Mentally, it’s just to be more focused on things you need to take care of instead of just wasting your energy and time thinking of something that is not gonna bring you any results. So, even though there was quite a bit of pressure, I just tried to put my focus into work and not get affected by this pressure around other people.”
Shwartzman on pit lane retirement at the Indy 500: “I don’t think we lost confidence at all”
Shwartzman had a scary incident in the pit lane at the Indy 500. He described losing control of the car due to a parts failure. He crashed into the pit wall, making contact with his pit crew. Thankfully nobody was seriously injured.
Shwartzman discussed the incident with Pit Debrief as it ended his day far too soon. He described keeping his confidence following the incident, as it was caused by a mechanical issue rather than driver error.
“I don’t think we lost confidence at all. It was a mechanical issue in the car that put me in the position where I had this incident. I’m very happy and, honestly, looking at the video as well from the outside that I’ve managed to hit the wall with my front wheel tyres and not hit any of the guys.
“So, they sort of had collateral damage and not the actual big impact because the impact was really strong. This is the most important for me because coming there, it was really scary.
“It happened all in one second and when you don’t have brakes, obviously, as a driver, I can’t control anything in that moment. So, it’s just whether it’s gonna be lucky or not. And luckily, there was no guys at the main impact.
“I haven’t lost any trust in people, and I hope they didn’t lose it as well. I think all of the mechanics in the team, they realised that it was not my fault — I couldn’t do anything at that stage.”
Issue with new part caused Shwartzman’s pit lane crash
Shwartzman stated that a new part failure was to blame for the incident, causing him to lose the brakes of his car heading into the pit lane.
“We figured out what was the issue with the car and it was a new part, actually. It has sometimes happened. One out of 100, there is an issue with it and in my car, we had that issue. We figured it out already too late, but it happens, it’s motorsport.
Shwartzman remains confident in PREMA Racing’s ability
Shwartzman re-emphasized his confidence in the team’s performance moving forward through the season.
“I haven’t lost any trust in the team and I want to believe that they didn’t because I spoke with all of them. I came to see the guys in the hospital to check on them. They were all smiling, they were all happy. Generally, it didn’t seem that nobody were really stressed which is a good thing because at that stage, I didn’t know what happened. I was feeling really bad and sort of guilty.
“But also, from my side, I was questioning what is going on, what could I have done differently? I tried to analyse things because it happened so quick. In racing, it happens, everything’s incredibly quick.
“Engineers have had their analysis and they found that we didn’t have brakes and, at that stage, as a driver, I was just there doing everything I can.
“When you come in with such a low grip, plus, don’t forget that the car is made for ovals, so how they’re designed, it’s quite difficult to brake in general. It’s already a challenge and when you don’t have brakes, it’s impossible.
“But, yeah, from my side, I can say I haven’t lost any trust with the team.”
