Shwartzman & PREMA on pole: An Indy 500 story for the ages
- Archie O’Reilly
- 1 minute ago
- 10 min read
Not even in his wildest dreams.
The concept of an oval? Alien. Both to driver and team.
Their first taste? The Indianapolis Motor Speedway. An extreme, 2.5-mile baptism of fire.
But where many saw jeopardy in the PREMA Racing team and their rookie IndyCar driver Robert Shwartzman making their oval debut at the Indianapolis 500, the esteemed Italian outfit solely saw opportunity.
It could not have mattered less to them that many saw them as favourites to be the one driver-team combination to miss the cut for the 33-driver field.
That view did not necessarily defy logic given their vast inexperience in the discipline compared to a seasoned field. It is like nothing the team has ever done before. But PREMA have been shrewd with their hires in the formative stages of their stateside venture; plenty of IndyCar expertise has been combined with nous from elsewhere.
Still, the fire of doubt was stoked further as the team failed to be ready for the opening Indy 500 practice session last Tuesday. Between Shwartzman and teammate Callum Ilott, only 22 laps were logged on that opening day of practice. Shwartzman was confined to only six.
But as others flew into a frenzy, PREMA never hit the panic button. Little did anyone know at the time, that doubt only laid the groundwork for a tale that will certainly stand the test of time in this famed, historic race.
One of the Indy 500’s great underdog stories was brewing.
IndyCar had been on Shwartzman’s radar before PREMA formalised their intention to join the series. He tested for and impressed series powerhouse Chip Ganassi Racing in early 2023.
But at the time, the young driver was still locked into his role as Ferrari’s Formula One test and reserve driver. As a champion in Formula 3 and runner-up in Formula 2, the goal was to make it to the peak of that ladder and race in F1.
With no available step up, Shwartzman landed in the World Endurance Championship in 2024 and became a race winner with Ferrari. But he knew that was not a forever home.
Then PREMA, with whom he raced throughout his esteemed junior career, came calling.
“I obviously start hearing a lot of things about Indy that it’s another way from Formula One,” Shwartzman said. “Let’s say if you don’t go to Formula One, the best thing is to go to IndyCar.
“Here we are. It happened so that unfortunately I haven’t been given a chance to go to F1 even though I really tried my best. It was like: ‘Okay, if that’s not the way to go, I’ll try here in Indy.’ And here we are. It’s a good place to be in. I really like it. I really enjoy it.”
Shwartzman’s first memory of IndyCar was watching the Indy 500 while at the Monaco Grand Prix. He was invited onto a yacht after the F1 race, where he was first captivated by the spectacle of the Indy 500.
“Normally Monaco is quite boring, as we know,” he explained. “There is not many possibilities of overtaking. Then we were just sitting there and on the TV there was the Indy 500 race. Honestly I was just looking… it was so much more exciting.
“I was just like: ‘Damn, until last turn you don’t know who is going to win.’ I was being like: ‘Okay, this guy is fast, he’s going to win.’ And then all of a sudden, no, he’s getting overtaken and then another guy and another guy. That was the first memory: ‘Damn, this is amazing. This is a proper battle.’”
When it presented itself for 2025, Shwartzman was never going to turn down an offer to drive for his beloved PREMA team and help to spearhead their IndyCar project. He embraced the idea of being a part of building something special.
With that, a chance to try his hand at the Indy 500.
There is nothing more prized in IndyCar than the Month of May. And Shwartzman’s first experience has quickly become exceedingly memorable.
Missing the opening practice session was not an ideal start, of course. But in Shwartzman’s view, it only spoke to PREMA’s measured and meticulous approach to their maiden Indy 500. Where some saw it as failing to honour the grandeur of the Indy 500, he saw it as respect for what it takes to succeed at the Speedway.
Without the patience and attention to detail PREMA have shown, Shwartzman feels it is unlikely his week would have shaped up in the manner in which it has.
“The thing that made me sit here in this position is just the right team mentality,” he evaluated. “You don’t need to be a genius. You don’t need to have incredible experience. You just need to have a good people around you as a team, who are conscious of what they’re doing
“As a whole team, you just know that we’ll go step by step, small steps without rushing. Because even though I don’t have experience, I’ve heard a lot of people saying that Indy doesn’t forgive.”
Led by the experienced Piers Phillips and buoyed by the advice of the likes of 10-time Indy 500 starter and 2012 pole-sitter Ryan Briscoe, PREMA have brought onboard some high-quality personnel.
Briscoe has been especially helpful in Shwartzman’s adaptation to a new style and discipline of racing, particularly during his maiden Indy 500 campaign so far.
“He’s really helping a lot with his experience, his knowledge, things he was doing in his past,” Shwartzman admitted. “I was feeling really nervous about going to qualifying. For me, I never actually was nervous in my career in qualifying. It’s just one lap. You go there, there’s nothing dangerous, nothing scary.
“Here, it was first time being really nervous to go out there because you don’t know what’s going to be, how the car is going to be. You definitely don’t want to end up crashing here. I was really nervous and I was like: ‘Ryan, were you nervous?’
“He was like: ‘Yeah, I was. It’s normal. It’s absolutely normal.’ We chatted. He calmed me down. He is like: ‘Listen, take it easy. It’s the first year. You’re a rookie. No expectations. Just enjoy it.’ That’s what I did. Especially when you have a good car and you can get confidence and trust that the car is going to be good, that also helps a lot.”
It has also aided Shwartzman that his engineer Eric Leichtle has experience of the Indy 500 with Josef Newgarden and Team Penske. That has helped Shwartzman to learn to trust the car beneath him.
Judging off the speed charts, it was a steady but somewhat slow start to practice week; 33rd on Tuesday, 28th on Wednesday and 32nd on Thursday. But with the qualifying boost added on Fast Friday, PREMA and Shwartzman came alive and placed 13th.
“In practice, we were definitely way faster than where we were,” Shwartzman insisted. “The problem is that other people were mainly simulating race runs while we were actually focusing on quali runs.
“We were always trying to find the free air, obviously without the boost, so that’s why we were not as good-looking in the field because other drivers had slip stream and that was definitely giving them some speed advantage. We didn’t really care at that stage. The target was just to get the car in the right window with the right balance for quali.”
That qualifying practice would come to pay incredible dividends.
Shwartzman did not go into qualifying for his maiden Indy 500 - also his first on an oval - with any big expectations. The goal was to simply complete four clean laps and safely make the field.
Unlike qualifying sessions he is used to, putting aside the fact of it being an entirely unfamiliar discipline, there was the uniqueness of having to run four laps. Not to mention the peril that is one minor error away and has bitten even the best this month
“One slight mistake can cost you a lot,” Shwartzman observed. “We’ve seen Colton [Herta], Marcus [Armstrong], Scotty [McLaughlin], they were really fast, they could have definitely challenged but, with that mistake, they didn’t manage to do it.
“So that was the thing that I didn’t really want to do. That’s why we didn’t [run] the warmup yesterday and in practice today. It was like: ‘Let’s keep it safe, just stable. We know that the car is quite quick. Just need to be consistent, do the four laps.’”
It had been a tricky start to the season for Shwartzman and PREMA. The team has recorded a best race finish of 18th inside the opening five rounds and had not really come close to transferring to the Fast 12 in qualifying.
Even the patience of a typically effervescent Shwartzman was being tested during the recent Grand Prix of Indianapolis after, not for the first time, logging essentially no practice running due to technical gremlins. There have been a lot of teething problems limiting the rookie’s learning.
But when it has mattered most at a place that rewards perfection - or as close to perfection as is possible at the Speedway - more than any, PREMA have stepped up and delivered.
Not only did Shwartzman securely make the show on Day 1 of qualifying on Saturday, he ran only once and held sixth place by the end of the day, transferring to a maiden Fast 12 at the biggest race of the year.
“It’s the toughest qualifying of my career,” Shwartzman said afterwards. “Four laps consecutive, focus, one slight mistake and you’re done. Definitely it was a big challenge for me. Finally got a top 12, it’s here in Indy.
“Quite a legendary moment for us.”
But what supersedes legendary? Because Shwartzman’s Sunday performance did just that.
As his head hit the pillow on Saturday night, he was a night’s sleep away from producing something in car No.83 that had not been done since ‘83. Robert Shwartzman was on the brink of history.
But as much as he tried to dream about what was to come, it still felt entirely improbable.
“I was just thinking in my dreams, fantasising: ‘How will it feel to take pole position in Indy 500? How is the vibe?’” he recalled. “Then I was like: ‘Yeah, Robert, get back to reality. You have a new car, new team, you are a rookie. How can you expect to be in this position? It’s just in your dreams.’
“But still I was keeping that tiny dream deep inside like: ‘Maybe. Maybe.’”
But that something that felt too grand even for Shwartzman’s dreams did become reality on Sunday afternoon. The perceived impossible was made possible by one of Indianapolis’ all-time great team efforts.
The Fast 12 session gave Shwartzman the belief that maybe, just maybe, the most unlikely of pole positions could have been on the cards. His run was good enough for third and a comfortable advancement to the Fast Six pole shootout.
Dreamland.
At the time of his Fast Six run, two-time Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato had set the benchmark at 232.478 mph for his four-lap average. Shwartzman would have to find around 0.5 mph from his Fast 12 run to eclipse the Japanese veteran.
But with yet another first lap over 233 mph, there was hope. And in a manner not seen in his two previous qualifying runs, Shwartzman was able to manage the drop-off lap to lap. With a 232.790 mph four-lap average, he shot to the top of the charts ahead of Sato and the combined nine IndyCar titles of Scott Dixon and Álex Palou.
Shwartzman was guaranteed a front row start on debut at the Indy 500. But there was still an anxious wait to see if it could be more than simply a top-three result.
It quickly became apparent that Pato O’Ward, despite slotting into third, did not have enough to challenge the speed of the PREMA. One more to go: Felix Rosenqvist. But yet again, the speed out of the Meyer Shank Racing machine was not a match.
Frankly, neither O’Ward nor Rosenqvist could even get within touching distance. The surreal became vividly real.
Rookie Robert Shwartzman was on pole for his first Indianapolis 500.
PREMA Racing were on pole for their first Indianapolis 500.
No rookie had been on pole position for the Indy 500 since Teo Fabi 42 years ago. No debuting team had headed the field since Mayer Motor Racing 41 years ago. It was one of the all-time great stories at the Speedway unfolding in real time.
“Honestly it’s unbelievable,” Shwartzman said. “I was just processing it and I still can’t believe it. It’s just a dream. I give maximum what I could. I tried to stay as long as possible flat and here we are. We managed to survive it. I managed to hold it on.
“It was the best feeling ever. The car was just amazing. It’s my first experience on ovals… that was just something unbelievable. Especially going 240 mph, it’s a new experience. I’ve never driven so fast a car. Now sitting here being in pole position is… just wow.”
It is a feat that some of the very best have never achieved. Even the greatest-ever qualifier in IndyCar, Will Power, has never been on pole for the Indy 500 despite his legendary career.
For PREMA and Shwartzman to win Indy 500 pole at their first shot is something beyond extraordinary. Totally inexplicable.
Quite remarkable scenes unfolded in pit lane after Shwartzman completed his run. Anticipation grew before an eruption of unbridled jubilation as Rosenqvist took the chequered flag to confirm PREMA’s pole.
Shwartzman held his head in his hands in utter disbelief as he was embraced by a team which defied all of the odds. And the ovation from those populating the grandstands was befitting of the something special unfolding before them.
“People started noticing us that we were actually not too bad, we were pretty competitive,” Shwartzman said. “It started picking up this level of people cheering, cheering, cheering. At the end now when we took the pole, it’s unbelievable, the roar, how loud it is.”
Shwartzman is taking time to absorb the moment before attention actually turns to leading the field to green. Winning the Indy 500 on debut appears a long shot. But writing this PREMA team off has already proven unwise.
“I have no experience racing on oval so I don’t know exactly how are the overtakes, how you defend,” Shwartzman said. “It’s something absolutely new. So I don’t want to put any high expectation on myself on that point. It’s obviously amazing to start first but I just probably take it easy. I just want to make it a smooth ride.”
As one rookie took pole, another was bumped from the field as Jacob Abel failed to make the cut. But the second day of qualifying was another stark display of the simultaneous anguish and ecstasy that makes Indy so brutally brilliant.
“The rookie of rookies on ovals... it’s phenomenal what they did,” O’Ward said of PREMA’s success. “It’s an amazing storyline. I believe they’ve built a rocket and it’s phenomenal to see.
“It’s the best definition that I can probably give… Indianapolis is full of surprises. Just cool to be a part of it.”
The Speedway has delivered another day of sporting splendour. Nothing is capable of delivering stories quite like it.
Sport has the ability to spring surprises that not even the wildest dreams can muster. And nothing captures that quite like Indianapolis.
