Alexander Rossi of Ed Carpenter Racing expressed his anger after a hybrid system malfunction left his car stranded on the front straight of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. He was forced to exit his No. 20 Chevrolet while cars raced past at speeds exceeding 170mph, and race control initially refused to throw a full-course caution.
During Saturday’s Sonsio Grand Prix, Rossi’s car came to a halt on the front stretch of the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course after just 21 laps. Rather than deploying a full-course yellow, officials opted for a local caution—despite a separate piece of debris having already occupied a different part of the track for several laps.
Two laps later, with the steering wheel in hand and his seat belt clearly unfastened, Rossi climbed out of the car despite the danger. Only then did race officials finally wave a full-course caution. Rossi then jumped over the pit wall and walked to his timing stand.
“It’s pretty annoying to have failures on the car because of a product we didn’t ask for that doesn’t improve the racing,” Rossi said. “So that’s frustrating.”
Rossi ultimately finished 24th after a chaotic race. He also criticized the lack of a full-course yellow before he exited, leaving him vulnerable while cars thundered by at 170 mph—especially after Friday’s qualifying was postponed due to standing water.
“Second of all, the fact that it took that long to throw a full course caution when the cars on the front straight were going by at 170 miles an hour also seems insane when they don’t let us drive in the wet yesterday,” he said. “So, I don’t really know where the priorities lie. So, pretty frustrated.”
IndyCar Responds
IndyCar Officiating later issued a statement: “Following every race weekend, IndyCar Officiating thoroughly reviews and evaluates all procedures and processes. This will include the incidents involving debris and car No. 20 during today’s race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.”
