IndyCar: Robert Shwartzman finished 9th but is disappointed

      Last weekend at the Iowa Speedway oval in the American state of Iowa, a double IndyCar race took place, and Robert Shwartzman, racing for Prema Racing, achieved his best result of the season.

      He demonstrated speed, bravery, and skill back in May by sensationally winning the qualifying for the Indy 500, but so far he has been unable to confirm this in the races—due to various reasons. Partly due to lack of experience, sometimes technical issues, and sometimes just bad luck.

      This time, Robert finished ninth—his best result so far and the best for the Italian team in its debut season in IndyCar.

      In qualifying for the Sunday short-track race with a lap length of less than one and a half kilometers, Shwartzman and his teammate Callum Ilott posted 11th and 13th times respectively. Early in the race, Robert maintained this position, but then dropped back due to a penalty for exceeding the speed limit in the pit lane.

      After that, he gradually started to gain positions and, 100 laps before the finish, was already 16th ahead of the next restart—Ilott had crashed out by this point.

      At the restart, Shwartzman acted precisely, advancing to 12th, and when several competitors pitted for fresh tires, he stayed on track, allowing him to reach the top five. Although he lost a few positions in the final laps, he was still able to finish ninth.

      "The race was eventful," commented Robert. "At the beginning, we were close to the top ten, but then I made a mistake in the pit lane, for which I apologize. I started to recover, realizing that we had a quite efficient car.

      Then I just tried to overtake as many cars as possible, aiming to move forward and return to the positions I initially had.

      It wasn't easy, but thanks to the pit stops, the task became somewhat easier. I continued to overtake competitors, and by the time the yellow flags appeared again, I was running in fourth place. During the restart, I did everything I could to defend my position, but due to some miscommunication about the final pit stop, the car was just sliding on old tires, making it extremely difficult to hold it.

      I lost several positions, which I am very disappointed about because I am confident I could have finished in the top five."

      It should also be noted that Alex Palou won the race—this was already the seventh victory of the Spanish driver from Chip Ganassi Racing this season, and the reigning IndyCar champion continues to lead both the series standings and the championship into 2025.