Malukas’ “mental reset” & processing Indy 500 heartbreak
- Archie O’Reilly
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
David Malukas is hitting the reset button after a challenging Detroit Grand Prix, which followed a heartbreaking runner-up finish at the Indianapolis 500.
The Team Penske driver finished four laps down in 18th place in the Motor City - only his second result worse than seventh this season - in a weekend that spiralled following a crash in qualifying. After a race of limited progress, a “lucky yellow” had seen him cycle to third place around the 70-lap mark, though that immediately came undone.
On the outside of rookie Mick Schumacher in a bid to take second place on the caution restart, an error under braking from the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver ushered Malukas into the runoff zone. He was then forced to pit for repairs after lightly striking the wall with his left-rear corner under a further caution period.
“Detroit was a stinker,” Malukas said. “I look at myself, 24 years old, I try my best to keep myself in a calm state of mind. I try my best to not let things really get to me because it does affect performance on track, I’ve noticed for myself in previous years.
“Detroit, certain moments, certain things didn’t really go our way. I really let it get to me, when normally I try my best not to. I feel like I’ve done a good job of that up until Detroit. That’s more of the mental reset, not letting little things amplify, start affecting me and letting that go into the performance.”
Only one week earlier, Malukas had suffered the greatest race-related anguish of his career after falling a mere 0.0233 seconds from victory in the closest Indy 500 finish of all-time, as Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist reigned in a one-lap shootout.
But after the initial outpouring of emotion post-race, Malukas ensured to move on quickly and not fixate excessively on such an agonising near miss.
“It’s pretty much after that, the night right after the 500,” he said of how quickly he processed events at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS). “I just didn’t sleep all night, just stared at a wall running different things of what I could have done differently.
“Honestly, after that one night, it was pretty much reset. I was already looking forward to Detroit and moving on from it. It’s a rule within the team - drivers, everybody in general - you don’t want to be dwelling on previous races that much. You want to dwell on it enough to learn from it but, at that point, we’ve got to get back to work and get back to the next race.”
The Indy 500 still marked a third ‘podium’ finish of the season for Malukas, following his third-place result at Phoenix Raceway and a runner-up finish on the IMS road course, as he vaulted to second in the championship standings. He has since dropped to a still-strong third in points post-Detroit after an impressive, team-topping start to life at Penske.
Marking the halfway stage of the 18-round season, IndyCar now heads to World Wide Technology Raceway, which Malukas regards as his “favourite race of the whole season”, given his first two podiums came at the 1.25-mile oval with Dale Coyne Racing. He has also contended for victory in the two seasons since, though hitting strife on each occasion.
A front-runner in both oval races so far this season and pole winner in Phoenix in his first oval race with Penske in March - snapping his streak of successive second-place starts on ovals with AJ Foyt Racing - Malukas has continually proven himself as one of the series’ finest in the discipline.
He has shown to be plenty more than an oval specialist this season, too, but given his and Penske’s strength on ovals - as four populate the final the final 10 rounds of the season - his margin of 79 points to championship leader Álex Palou appears lofty but not insurmountable.
And in this first IndyCar ‘championship fight’, as he looks to hunt down Chip Ganassi Racing’s four-time series champion, Malukas doesn’t feel any added weight.
“I am my worst critic,” he said. “That pressure’s always been on me. No matter what team, equipment or situation I’m in, I always put that pressure on myself. Although it’s different scenarios, that pressure maintains equal throughout all my years of racing.”
