Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson became the second driver to be involved in a crash during practice for Thursday’s Indianapolis 500, with the Swede swerving after falling below the white line in Turn 4 and losing control of the No. 28 Honda.
It was a mirror of the accident his fellow Swede had suffered hours earlier at the opposite end of the 2.5-mile oval at Turn 2, where Chip Ganassi Racing’s Linus Lundqvist – Ericsson’s replacement in the No. 8 Honda – put his left front tire under the tire. A white line and was flipped around, hitting the wall.
The damage to Lundqvist’s car was minor compared to that of Ericsson’s car, which struck the SAFER barrier on the left side of his car, then slid nose-first into the inside wall and then skidded and struck the damper in front of the wall separating the pit lane from the road. Straight front. Ericsson stopped in the pit lane, climbed out of the wrecked car, was taken to care, and released to continue driving when Andretti’s crew could assemble a car ready for Friday.
“You go over the curb a little bit and that’s probably enough to send him over and then you’re a passenger,” Erickson said. “Very disappointing. Very sorry to my team. They did a good job and have a lot of work to do. This is probably the worst thing.”
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