Sato and Castroneves, seeking the same record at the Indy 500

Sato, who starts in second position this Sunday, as well as Castroneves (22nd) could both be the oldest winners in the history of the event. Al Unser currently holds the record, having been 47 years and 360 days old for his fourth victory in 1987. At 48 and 50 years old respectively, Sato and Castroneves could therefore break this record this Sunday, while adding their faces to the Borg-Warner Trophy for a third or fifth time.

For Takuma Sato, this month of May has been a dream so far, as April left him without a main car. Following an accident during preliminary testing, the Japanese driver had to resort to a reserve car for these two weeks of competition. While spare chassis are usually less competitive, one could expect even worse given that he drives for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, a team chronically lacking speed at Indianapolis since 2022. It is therefore quite a surprise to see the Japanese driver on the front row of the 500 Miles!

Reunited with his favorite engineer, Eddie Jones (they won the 2020 edition together), Sato seems unstoppable. And when you consider that both times he started in the top 5 at Indianapolis, he ended up winning the cup, Al Unser's record could well fall this year!

“Being on the front row is an incredible result because I think we were on a bit of a rollercoaster ride. Not just today, but yesterday and probably the last couple of weeks. As everyone knows, the team had to build a completely new car after the crash in April. We showed good speed, but we weren't able to produce a good lap during testing. I'm very happy for my engineer, Eddie Jones, who should have retired five years ago, but who I keep bringing back from Ireland.”

Experience, the key to victory at Indy?

For Helio Castroneves, Takuma Sato's performance is both a surprise and confirmation of his great talent on the circuit where he also achieved his only podium in F1, in 2004. If he starts twenty places behind, he hopes to be able to find himself with his partner in the fight at the end of the race. The two men had a magnificent duel in 2017, the year the Japanese won his first Indy 500.

“Sometimes Sato-san tosses the coin in the air and waits to see where it lands (laughs)! He’s a two-time winner for a reason. He enjoys this kind of racing, I imagine. He’s experienced, he takes risks, and sometimes they pay off. You can clearly see that they’re also doing a very good job thanks to his experience. It’s always nice to see him at the front, and I hope we meet again in the race! Experience helps, that’s for sure. I’ve seen drivers take some interesting lines, shall we say. If you try that in a race, it can end badly. Sometimes, when you’re young, you have to learn the hard way!”

Second in Monday's free practice, Castroneves will likely be able to make a strong showing in Sunday's race. With Sato starting sixteenth and his Brazilian rival twenty-fifth, one thing is certain: they don't have much left to learn at the legendary Brickyard.

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