Simon Pagenaud wins Indy 500

Forgotten the 2015 edition and this missed appointment with victory at the Indianapolis 500. This time, simon pagenaud (Team Penske – Chevrolet) did not miss the opportunity to add the Indy 500 to his list of achievements, by winning the 103rd edition dominated almost from start to finish by the French pole sitter.

Easy leader at the start and in the first laps, barely disturbed by the retirement of Colton Herta (Harding Steinbrenner Racing – Honda) due to a gearbox problem, Simon Pagenaud traced his path throughout the 200 laps, despite strategies slightly different from his main rival Alexander Red (Andretti Autosport – Honda).

The American offered the fiercest resistance to the Frenchman until the last meters but was unable to achieve a second victory on the Brickyard after that obtained in 2016.

The Andretti driver almost lost big in a missed refueling in the pits, just as a yellow flag was displayed following contact with the wall in the pitlane of Marcus Ericsson (SPM – Honda).

 @AlexanderRossi was heated in pit lane as his crew dealt with a fueling issue.#INDYCAR // # Indy500 pic.twitter.com/fN5YdZPZGh

—NTT IndyCar Series (@IndyCar) May 26, 2019

The end of the race did not come down to fuel strategy, notably after a red flag was displayed at the 180th lap, after an accident involving Sébastien at the start. Bourdais (Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan – Honda) and Graham Rahal (Team RLL – Honda), before Felix Rosenqvist (Chip Ganassi Racing – Honda) and Zach Veach (Andretti Autosport – Honda) left immediately after making a mistake.

Graham Rahal and Sebastien Bourdais crash late in the # Indy500, and share some gestures at each other.

Watch the finish to the race on @NBC: https://t.co/tf7QqeUNH5 #MustBeMay pic.twitter.com/MQS8XZRNqw

- NBC Sports (@NBCSports) May 26, 2019

If Alexander Rossi leads the peloton at the last restart, Simon Pagenaud does not tremble and quickly takes control of the race before seeing the American briefly return to the lead. But it was said that Simon Pagenaud would win, the Frenchman making the final decisive overtake on the 199th lap.

Alexander Rossi finished 2nd ahead of Takuma Sato (Team RLL – Honda). Josef Newgarden and Will Power (Team Penske) complete the top 5. This is the 18th victory for Team Penske in this event and the first for a Frenchman since 1914 and René Thomas.

Discover the full report of the Indianapolis 500, produced by our special correspondent in the United States, in issue 2218 of AUTOhebdo, available tomorrow evening in digital version, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.