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Motorsport

Exclusive: Indy polesitter Robert Shwartzman on how ovals looked "scary" to him

Robert Shwartzman Prema Prema Racing Indy IndyCar F1 Oscar Piastri Indianapolis the Indy 500 Indianapolis 500

If you were shocked by Indianapolis 500 rookie Robert Shwartzman’s pole run with fellow debutants Prema Racing, you shouldn’t feel too bad about it. Even the driver himself struggled to grasp what he’d done in the hours after he led the way in the Fast 6 to earn the right to lead the field to green in one of the world’s grandest races.

“I still can’t fully acknowledge the fact that we’ve managed to take pole position,” Shwartzman told Motorsport.com in an exclusive interview only hours after he became the third Indy 500 rookie to claim pole for the race in qualifying — ever. “It’s a really incredible and special moment in my life and career, and I think also for the team,” he said.

Robert Shwartzman, Prema Racing (Photo by: Penske Entertainment)

Heading into the weekend, Shwartzman and Prema were a relative afterthought. The 25-year-old entered the Month of May with a best result of 18th in his first five IndyCar appearances. His teammate, Callum Ilott, had fared no better.

Perhaps more daunting: Shwartzman had never even made an oval start before he rolled into Gasoline Alley to qualify for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

From European junior series to Indianapolis

Robert Shwartzman, Prema Racing (Photo by: Geoff Miller / Motorsport Images via Getty Images)

In truth, racing in Indianapolis wasn’t something Shwartzman had ever planned to do. Five years before his sensational qualifying run, the Israeli driver was in the midst of a tense Formula 2 championship battle. He spent that season and the ensuing year with Prema, racing future F1 competitors including Oscar Piastri, Yuki Tsunoda, Liam Lawson and Mick Schumacher.

IndyCar didn’t appear on the radar for the driver or team. In fact, the Indy 500 had only entered his radar a few years earlier, when the then-teenager was “invited into a yacht with my friends and sponsors” after competing in Formula Renault at Monaco.

“After the Monaco Grand Prix, I remember just watching the Indy 500 and it was so, so much fun,” he said. “There [were] so many battles, and until the last corner, you didn’t know who was going to be the winner.”

That first experience made Shwartzman aware of the thrill of IndyCar and the Indy 500, but F1 was still the goal. So Shwartzman rallied through the ladder system, finishing second to Piastri in the 2021 F2 season and showing promise along the way.

But it wasn’t enough. The call to join F1 never came. Shwartzman became a Ferrari reserve driver and made appearances in a few free practice sessions, but was left on the outside looking in when driver decisions were made. So he expanded, making sports car starts and testing an indy car with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2023. One year later, his old friends at Prema announced plans to join the tour. It was a chance that made too much sense to refuse.

“I was like, ‘It’s a good opportunity. I know these people. I know this team. I’m going to join in and try myself here in Indy,’” Shwartzman said.

A new challenge: racing on ovals

The opportunity was right, but it came with challenges. Launching a program in a new series is always difficult. But this came with an added twist: oval racing.

Like many, Shwartzman was leery about oval racing. “At the beginning, honestly, it was something that I had completely no idea what to do, how to do,” he said.”I’ll be honest, it looked scary. Especially the Indy 500. To go that speed, that fast in the corners, it felt quite scary — I think for any driver. So it was like,’ Okay, this is going to be a big challenge for me to get used to.’”

Thankfully for both the driver and team, there was plenty of time to learn and adjust. The Indy 500’s April test and unique week of pre-qualifying practice allowed the group a chance to get comfortable and build on what Shwartzman had already learned through sim time and viewing of onboards from past races.

In fact, it’s something the Indy 500 pole-sitter would like to see come into play at other races on the IndyCar calendar.

“Honestly, from my side, I would have a preference in the other races in the season, to have a bit more running time,” Shwartzman admitted. “Maybe a couple sets more tires and like an hour more of running time. Because at least for us, it’s very useful. And we really need this in order to put a bit more confidence from my side into the car and put it in better shape for qualifying into the race.“

“Let’s be honest, we had balls on my side”

Robert Shwartzman, Prema Racing (Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images via Getty Images)

All that track time helped Prema and Shwartzman get comfortable and fine-tune the car. From there, it was all about the fine details. With everyone pushing things to the limit, Shwartzman felt his team’s approach — along with a lack of expectation and a little testicular fortitude — made the difference.

“We didn’t have the pressure” he said. “Also, I think in general the approach of things - to gradually improve the car without rushing things. Because we knew that Indy is unforgiving and one mistake can cost you everything. I think that’s the approach and the mentality that made a difference.

“Let’s be honest, we had balls on my side,” he added. “To keep pushing the car more to its limits, you have to [have] a good sensitivity and acknowledge that we’re bringing the car to its limits. From my side, as a driver, I need to be really careful in controlling it. The good side, from the engineers, [is] that they were following together with me, what I was asking from them and what I needed to have a perfect car. I think all these combinations and generally people — the team, teamwork, the team spirit — that’s what made the difference.”

With a shocking pole run now behind them, Shwartzman and Prema will get to work on preparing to lead the field to green in Sunday’s race. They’ll have just four hours of practice to learn how the car races in traffic and make any tweaks necessary to make Shwartzman a contender.

The real test — Indy 500 — is next

Robert Shwartzman, Prema Racing (Photo by: Brandon Badraoui / Motorsport Images via Getty Images)

Still, Shwartzman knows not to put too much pressure on himself. “I don’t want to put much expectation on my side,” he said. “It’s my first-ever oval [race], so I don’t know exactly how to defend and overtake. I’ll have to learn it through [the week].

“From my side, I just want to have the same smooth execution that we did here in qualifying. Not to panic. Not to lose control. Take things with ease and see where we are. Hopefully we’re going to be battling until the end at the top, and having a good chance of winning the Indy 500.”

Will Shwartzman be able to parlay his pole into the first win for a debuting driver since Alexander Rossi in 2016? It’s difficult to say. Either way, you can count on Shwartzman and Prema to keep fighting moving forward. After all, it’s led them this far.

“Even in the very difficult and tough moments in life, you’ve still gotta believe,” Shwartzman said. “You’ve still gotta push.

“That’s what I’ve been doing. I’ve never given up. I just keep pushing. And we’ve come to a stage now where we were underdogs. Nobody had any expectation of us whatsoever and we managed to pull [the pole] off by just working hard, believing in ourselves. Believing that things [are] going to work out eventually for us.

“Now here we are. One of the three biggest races in the whole world, and we go and take the pole position on [our] first year. I think that’s quite a historical moment, at least for me and the team. And I’m super proud and happy about it.”