For the first time since having procedures done on his right ankle and a finger on his left hand following a crash in Monday’s Indianapolis 500 practice, Alexander Rossi spoke publicly for a live taping of his podcast, Off Track with Hinch and Rossi.
Recorded in front of an audience at a Fishers Cracker Barrel with co-hosts James Hinchcliffe and Tim Durham on Tuesday night, Rossi explained that during pack-running in practice, he was fuel-saving and going “too slow in dirty air,” leading to the crash that caused his No. 20 Ed Carpenter Chevrolet to hit the Turn 2 wall then ricochet to hit Pato O’Ward’s No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Romain Grosjean also crashed while trying to avoid the accident.
Rossi wore a boot to Cracker Barrel, which he said was to stop swelling. He said he’s dealing with “a very small bone on the inside of my ankle” and expects the boot to come off on Wednesday. Rossi also had a cast on his left hand, and he did not address the recovery process for his finger.
“The cars don’t work at that speed,” Rossi said of going slower. “I know it sounds counterintuitive, but there’s a perfect window where the car is working well, and if you go above that, you’re obviously going to have problems. And if you go below that, I guess in some situations, you also have problems.”
Rossi said his lap before the crash came in at an average speed of around 207 mph, which is almost 20 mph slower than the fastest race lap in the current era. Rossi and O’Ward are both moving to backup cars, which won’t change their starting positions as long as they’re driving the car, which Rossi expects to do. ECR is using the car that Rossi tested with at IMS in October.
Rossi plans to drive in Friday’s Carb Day practice, although rain could cancel the two-hour practice session altogether. Rossi commended IndyCar and its safety team for his injuries not being worse, as he has no head, shoulder or neck injuries.
“That being said, it was one of those incidents where you’re just blown away repeatedly by the safety of IndyCar and all of the advancements that they have made,” Rossi said.
Rossi is slated to start second in the race as he looks for his second Indy 500 victory, 10 years after his first. If he’s able to drive, his health will need to hold up for the longest race of the year.
Zion Brown is IndyStar’s motorsports reporter. Follow him at @z10nbr0wn. Get IndyStar’s motor sports coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Motor Sports newsletter. Subscribe to the YouTube channel IndyStar TV: IndyCar for a behind-the-scenes look at IndyCar and expert analysis.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Alexander Rossi explains Indy 500 practice crash, expects boot to come off Wednesday
Reporting by Zion Brown, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
