Peter Lyon
May 19, 2025
This year’s 109th running of the legendary Indianapolis 500 is shaping up to be one heck of a race. With the race slated for next weekend, the qualifying session at the 2.5-mile long Indianapolis Motor Speedway yesterday had all the drama and suspense of a full race day.
To start the draw-dropping action, 25-year-old rookie driver Robert Schwartzman with dual nationality in Israel and Russia, became the first rookie to qualify on pole position driving his No. 83 Chevrolet powered Prema Racing car to 232.790 mph, just nudging out Japanese driver and two-time Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato in his Honda by 0.3 mph. It was the first time a rookie had seized pole since Teo Fabi snatched the fastest qualifying time 1983. Meanwhile, Pato O’Ward who was a further 0.35 mph in arrears, picked up P3 and the 3rd position on the front row piloting his Chevy.
Shwartzman starting racing under the Russian flag until the war with Ukraine started. He quickly switched to race under the Israeli flag, which makes the Tel Aviv native the first driver from Israel to make “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” His Prema Racing is the first team making its debut in the Indy 500 to land on pole since Mayer Motor Racing put Tom Sneva there in 1984.
Two-time race victor Josef Newgarden and 2018 winner Will Power were shifted to the back end of the starting grid on Monday after IndyCar stewards ruled that their cars had been illegally modified on Sunday qualifying.
The last time Takuma Sato sat on the front row was in 2020, where he surged to victory at the end of the race. His won his first win in 2017 starting from fourth on the grid—with both victories marking the only times Sato has started in the top five for the 500.
CARLIST THOUGHTS
Schwartzman definitely has pace, and was actually considered for an F1 seat until last year, but to win an Indy 500 race, a driver must have nerves of steel, enough experience to make the right decisions at the right time and a talented spotter (a team member who is typically located in a high vantage point on the track to help the driver navigate the race and stay aware of their surroundings, especially in heavy traffic). Odds at this stage seem to favor Sato by the smallest of margins. Traditionally, the Indy 500 field consists of 33 starters, aligned in a starting grid of eleven rows of three cars apiece. Drivers race 200 laps, counter-clockwise around the circuit, for a distance of 500 miles (800 km). Since its inception in 1911, the race has always been scheduled on or around Memorial Day.
