Former Formula 1 racer Ericsson, who won the Indy 500 in 2022, was in a good position to qualify for the race. However, he made a mistake by slowing down at the end of his third lap during the qualifying run. By the time he realized his error and sped up again, it was too late to set a competitive speed.
This meant he had to wait in the pits to cool down his car before making one final attempt to qualify. Unfortunately, this last-minute effort placed him in the 32nd position on the starting grid.
“It was really tough,” Ericsson said. “Especially after making that mistake on my first run when we were already in a good position – I can’t believe I did that. Then I had to wait and think about having only one chance left to make the race. I knew the car was already hot from the first run, and it was difficult to drive after my crash. It was mentally challenging.”
Ericsson admitted that the mistake was entirely his fault and that he should have known better, given his experience. He also mentioned that they would be changing their procedures to avoid such errors in the future.
Another driver, Graham Rahal, also faced a nerve-wracking experience trying to qualify for the race. He expressed frustration over his team’s struggles to find the right setup, despite making changes they thought would improve their speed.
“We’ve been puzzled for the past few days,” Rahal said. “We made some changes that we thought would help, but we ended up going slower again today. It’s been a consistent loss of speed for four days straight.”
Rahal highlighted the anxiety of the last-chance qualifying process, where drivers on the bubble have limited options to improve their performance.
“It’s never calm,” Rahal added. “The rules for last-chance qualifying aren’t favorable for those on the bubble. You can’t make proactive adjustments to the car, so you’re constantly waiting and hoping for the best.”
