He will never be Formula 1 world champion, but Marcus Ericsson will have his name engraved on one of the most prestigious trophies in motor racing, that of winner of the Indianapolis 500 Miles.
Against all expectations, the 31-year-old driver won on Sunday, not without having been able to keep the lead during a late restart with only two laps to go on the legendary oval circuit.
He becomes only the second Swede, after his compatriot Kenny Brack in 1999, to win this annual classic and crowning event of the IndyCar series.
"I can't believe it," he exclaimed after stopping his car in the winner's circle. I am so happy.
"It's every driver's dream to win such a famous event," he added. I am looking for the words to express my satisfaction and to thank all those who believed in me. »
Poor Dixon
A member of the renowned Ganassi team, which is enjoying its fifth Indy 500 success, but its first in ten years, Ericsson is not the one we expected.
His teammate Scott Dixon, who started in the lead, was heading for a second success at Indianapolis (after that acquired in 2008), but he was penalized for speeding at his last stop at the pit, which occurred on the 176th lap of the 200 laps of the race.
The damage was done, the New Zealander will have to settle for 21st place at the finish line.
It was an accident involving seven-time NASCAR Series champion Jimmie Johnson that came to regroup the field with just four laps to go.
This harmless exit from the track for the veteran American driver forced the race marshals to raise the red flag.
When the proceedings resumed, Pato O'Ward, who wanted to offer his country, Mexico, a first victory in the Indy 500, tried everything to destabilize Ericsson, but he had to admit defeat.
Brazilian veteran Tony Kanaan, 47, placed third. Another Swede, Felix Rosenqvist, finished fourth.
Conor Daly, Alexander Rossi, defending race champion Helio Castroneves, Simon --Pagenaud, Alex Palou and Santino Ferrucci rounded out the top 10.
Nearly 100 F1 starts
Ericsson is a defector from Formula 1, where he has 97 starts and a modest eighth place as his best result, obtained at the Australian Grand Prix in 2015.
After losing his wheel with the Sauber team at the end of the 2018 season, he redirected his career to IndyCar.
Before his feat on Sunday, he had won two victories in the American single-seater series.
Grosjean in the wall
In his very first experience at the Indy 500, Romain Grosjean, another ex-F1 driver, was forced to retire when he suffered an accident on the 96th lap at the wheel of his Andretti team car .
The Frenchman was not the only one to have been trapped by the second corner of the circuit since Rinus VeeKay, Callum Ilott and Johnson suffered the same fate in the same place. All came out unscathed.
The Andretti and Penske stables, considered among the powerhouses on the grid, had a rather disappointing run.
At Penske, Josef Newgarden and Will Power couldn't do better than 13th and 15th respectively.
On Andretti's side, Alexander Rossi came in fifth place while his teammates Devlin DeFrancesco and Marco Andretti (son of owner Michael) took 19th and 22nd places, in order.
