After a full week of practice and qualifying without a single incident, that changed in a big way on Monday.
After a career-best Indy 500 qualifying effort put him second on the grid, Alexander Rossi lost control of his No. 20 ECR Chevrolet during practice on Monday at the exit of Turn 2.
He slammed the wall and the car lifted up off the ground, rotating to the side before sitting back down on its wheels. Trying to avoid, Pato O'Ward spun out an directly impacted Rossi's car with his No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, severely damaging both cars.
Various other cars narrowly avoided the incident, while Romain Grosjean lost control in the check-up and slammed the outside wall on the backstretch.
Another look at the incident that involved Alexander Rossi, Pato O'Ward and Romain Grosjean. pic.twitter.com/Qnfik2GewK
— INDYCAR on FOX (@IndyCarOnFOX) May 18, 2026
Rossi transported to a local hospital, suffered minor injuries
O'Ward and Grosjean were quickly checked and released from the infield care center, while Rossi was held for some time before being transported to a local hospital.
IndyCar medical director Dr. Julia Vaizer, Rossi said that he was 'awake and alert, in good spirits, and still undergoing evaluation.'
O'Ward and Grosjean react to the crash
"I saw Rossi spinning and it's really tough to stop these cars, especially in the middle of the corner when you smash the brake," O'Ward told a media scrum that included Motorsport.com. "I was just trying to get away but as soon as I pulled the car down -- because I knew Rossi's car was going to bounce off the wall -- that's when the rear kind of went from me, and I lost it there. Just feel for the guys that have to rebuild the car."
Grosjean didn't actually collide with O'Ward or Rossi, but crashed while trying to turn away from the melee. "Most important thing is that everyone is okay," said Grosjean outside the care center. "It happens. Rossi spun, Pato spun trying to avoid, and I also spun. Not ideal. It's going to take some time to work on the car. Hoping that Friday's a dry day so we get two hours of practice, and make sure the car is as good as the one we had here, and go race.
On trying to avoid the incident, Grosjean added: "I had to go down to the left to avoid the cars on the right-hand side, and that was at the highest point of Gs, and I had to brake, slow down, and the car just spun. Shit happens."
