Alexander Rossi: Max Verstappen’s Indy 500 safety argument is a ‘cop-out’
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Former Marussia F1 driver, Alexander Rossi did not agree with Verstappen on IndyCar's safety 'issues.'
In the press conference following last month’s Monaco Grand Prix, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez had made clear that they had no interest in trying their hand at the Indy 500. The Indy 500 is considered part of the ‘Triple Crown’ of Motorsport. It is joined in this by the Monaco Grand Prix and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Max Verstappen did have some interest in competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but Sergio Perez had no interest in either of them, instead preferring to spend time with his family. Both are winners of the Monaco Grand Prix, but it does not seem as if they are interested in the full ‘Triple Crown’. Verstappen completely declined the possibility of competing in the Indy 500, saying that he doesn’t want to risk his life.
Alexander Rossi, who once drove for the Marussia/Manor F1 team, understood where the concerns arose from. Despite that, Rossi did not agree with Verstappen on IndyCar.
Rossi admitted that he once used to think the same way, but being away from Formula 1 helped him change his perspective on IndyCar, and other racing series in general. “I was that guy as well. I think, when you are on a trajectory for Formula 1 and your entire world revolves around F1, it’s a sad state in the sense that other racing really doesn’t exist to you.”
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Rossi on the Indy 500: “It is an incredibly special event.”
Rossi feels that the path to Formula 1, and being involved in the racing series means you can sometimes be ignorant of how other forms of racing truly are.
“It’s such a single-track focus you have in order to get there. I was the same way – I knew what the Indy 500 was but I didn’t ever really pay attention to it.”
“But then, when you come and you have the opportunity to do it, it truly is an incredibly special event. Not only in motorsports but just globally, like it’s the largest single-day sporting event on Earth, right? So to have the opportunity to compete in that…”
He also dismissed Verstappen’s safety argument, citing Mick Schumacher’s Monaco crash as a counterpoint to IndyCar crashes.
“In a sense, it’s more dangerous maybe, but we had four crashes and we didn’t have any cars splitting in half. You can’t say that about the Monaco Grand Prix, right? I think the safety argument is kind of a cop-out.”
He admitted that everyone has a different perspective on everything, so while he admits that possibility, he still found it hard to agree with Max Verstappen’s statement.
“It’s all relative, I think, at the end of the day, so those answers don’t surprise me, but that doesn’t mean I agree with them.”
After declining a full-time seat at Manor in 2016, he decided to focus full-time on his IndyCar career. In the same year, he won the Indy 500 as a rookie. Rossi has won seven races in the racing series and stood on the podium 26 times.
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)