Pagenaud: “Really a shame to have gone so far away”

It was a very complicated Sunday for simon pagenaud (Team Penske). Starting from only 25th position, the champion ofIndyCar 2016 got off to a good start. An offbeat strategy allowed to take the lead on the 33rd lap and he occupied this place for 14 loops. After his first stop, the Frenchman continued his comeback before all his efforts were ruined by contact with Ryan Hunter-Reay (Andretti Autosport) on lap 135. This incident prompted Kyle Moyer, Pagenaud's race engineer, to call his driver to the pits to change front wing.

Unfortunately, this change did not improve the handling of his Chevrolet. Simon Pagenaud made a final stop on lap 144 and his mechanics took the opportunity to make adjustments to his wing.

The winner of the previous edition seemed stronger at the end of the race but he finally finished in an anonymous 22nd position (two laps behind the leader), just behind a certain Fernando Alonso (Arrow McLaren SP) who will have to postpone, just like in 2017, his dreams of the triple crown until the next time.

Hunter-Reay right into the path of Pagenaud # Indy500 pic.twitter.com/AFsGxME6oc

- Mattzel89 (@ Mattzel89) August 23

The driver of the number 22 Chevrolet-powered Dallara regrets his poor qualifying and a collision which did not allow him to exploit the real potential of his car. “It’s really a shame to have gone so far. I think Chevrolet brought an incredible engine, it had a lot of power.

I think if we had started from a better position, we wouldn't have lost much time in traffic. Regarding the collision, I was on the outside on Ryan Hunter-Reay and he hit my front wing like I didn't exist. We had to change it and we fell to the bottom of the rankings from there. At the end of the event we did the best laps I think. The car was really good and the end of the race could have been good but it just wasn’t our year.”

Poitevin concludes by congratulating the winner and is already optimistic about the 2021 edition of the 500 Miles. "I haven't seen Takuma Sato (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) but congratulations to him. He's driving incredibly well here, it's fantastic. I think he's the best Japanese driver in history so congratulations to him and the team. As far as we are concerned, we will come back stronger next time. We have a good basis to attack the event next year and we will try to win the Indy a second time. »

.@TakumaSatoRacer is a worthy champion, congratulations! # Indy500 https://t.co/YXnb2NEFE5

— Simon Pagenaud (@simonpagenaud) August 23

Find the analysis of the 2275 Indy 500 in issue 2020 of AUTOhebdo, available Monday evening digitally and Wednesday on newsstands.