Robert Shwartzman, the chef's surprise in the Indy 500 qualifying

Prema didn't get off to the best start to its week of testing in Indianapolis, with Robert Shwartzman and Callum Ilott forced to do few laps on Tuesday, the first day. Gradually, the Italian cars became more competitive. Once qualifying arrived, both drivers had already secured their tickets to the 109th edition of the Indy 500. Ilott will start from twenty-third place, but Shwartzman's starting position is not yet known, as the Russian driver managed to climb into the Fast 12!

He will therefore have to qualify again tonight, and if he reaches sixth place again, he will qualify for a third session, the Fast 6, where he could fight for pole position. Starting early in the day in the running order, Shwartzman took advantage of a cooler track to set his time. But you also need a fast enough car to do so, and even at the end of the day, the other drivers were unable to beat his time and get into the top 5!

"I am very happy with the result of my first qualifying for the Indianapolis 500, and my first race on an oval.", Shwartzman explained. “We finished in sixth place today and I thought it was a really good run. We had a good draw and we were fourth in line, so in that position I knew I had to give it my all on my first run. My first two laps went well, I was flat out and from lap three onwards we were a bit optimistic with the balance and the car started to slide a bit.”

The young driver, who hasn't exactly been on the up and up since the start of the season with a host of mechanical issues, is making the most of his first experience on the Indianapolis oval track. While a top-12 finish is already a great one, he's aiming higher, and the Fast 6: “Overall I think we have a good car, but Sunday is another day, we have the Top 12 and hopefully we can fight in the Fast 6.”

Tune in at 22:05 PM for the Fast 12, and see if Robert Shwartzman can qualify on the first two rows of the starting grid.

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