Austrian GP Paddock Notebook – Sunday

By Jun 22, 2014, 2:00 PM EDT
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SPIELBERG, AUSTRIA – And so ends the first Austrian Grand Prix weekend since 2003. After Williams threatened to spring a surprise and beat Mercedes fair and square, normal service was resumed in the race on Sunday as Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton secured a one-two for the Silver Arrows.

Although the win was by no means comfortable, it was certainly impressive. Both Rosberg and Hamilton proved that they can fight for victories in the W05 Hybrid, but Lewis will undoubtedly be left ruing his mistake in qualifying that left him ninth on the grid.

For the final time from Austria, here’s the full round-up in the Paddock Notebook.

RACE REPORT

  • The Red Bull Ring had one King today: Nico Rosberg. A mix of good strategy and searing pace saw him beat both of the Williams drivers and Lewis Hamilton to extend his lead at the top of the drivers’ standings.

NEWS FROM THE PADDOCK

THOUGHTS FROM THE TRACK

Maybe the result of the Austrian Grand Prix was not a surprise, but the fashion in which Mercedes claimed its sixth one-two finish of the season certainly was. Who would have thought that Williams would run them so closely this weekend?

Ultimately, the fairytale ending wasn’t to be. The Silver Arrows once again reigned supreme, with Nico Rosberg emerging as the victor in the latest episode of “The Nico and Lewis Show”. However, Hamilton was left lamenting two slow pit stops which he felt could have given him a shot at victory. Frankly, though, it was his mistake in qualifying yesterday that really lost him the grand prix.

Let’s be fair to Lewis, though. It was a titanic drive that he has constantly shown he is capable of. On the first lap, he shot up from ninth to fifth, and then picked off Fernando Alonso on lap two. There’s no denying that he is a true racer, perhaps even more so than his teammate.

It is Nico who comes away from the Red Bull Ring with the biggest smile, though. His championship lead has been extended to 29 points, meaning that even with a DNF and a win for Hamilton, he will still lead. With this win, he also surpasses the number of races that Keke Rosberg – his father – won during his F1 career. One journalist asked Nico if he’d grow a moustache like his Dad if he won the title. The response: “Maybe!”

In the final few laps of the race, the TV coverage showed a thank you message from Bernie Ecclestone to Dietrich Mateschitz on the track at turn one (superimposed, don’t worry!). As odd as it may have been, the sentiment is spot on. This weekend, Red Bull – the brand, not the team – has shown the F1 world how it should be done. Lower ticket prices, packed grandstands, wonderful hospitality, great racing – the other circuit promoters should take note. So, from someone far poorer and a bit taller than Bernie, thank you, Dietrich.

Last night, I spoke to a local in a bar at my hotel. In broken English, he explained to me how F1 had been away for so long, and how it was great to be back. “Mateschitz!” he cried, smiling and giving a big thumbs up. I think it’s a feeling shared by everyone who came to the Red Bull Ring this weekend.

So from Austria we head to England for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. With the majority of teams based near the circuit, it is the homeliest of home races, and usually puts on a show.

The Silver Arrows might be ahead once again, but the challengers are beginning to make themselves known.

Winner Josef Newgarden earns $3.666 million from a record Indy 500 purse of $17 million

By May 29, 2023, 6:01 PM EDT
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INDIANAPOLIS — The first Indy 500 victory for Josef Newgarden also was the richest in race history from a record 2023 purse of just more than $17 million.

The two-time NTT IndyCar Series champion, who continued his celebration Monday morning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway earned $3.666 million for winning the 107th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

The purse and winner’s share both are the largest in the history of the Indianapolis 500.

It’s the second consecutive year that the Indy 500 purse set a record after the 2022 Indy 500 became the first to crack the $16 million mark (nearly doubling the 2021 purse that offered a purse of $8,854,565 after a crowd limited to 135,000 because of the COVID-19 pandemic).

The average payout for IndyCar drivers was $500,600 (exceeding last year’s average of $485,000).

Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Roger Penske, whose team also fields Newgarden’s No. 2 Dallara-Chevrolet, had made raising purses a priority since buying the track in 2020. But Penske but was unable to post big money purses until the race returned to full capacity grandstands last year.

The largest Indy 500 purse before this year was $14.4 million for the 2008 Indy 500 won by Scott Dixon (whose share was $2,988,065). Ericsson’s haul made him the second Indy 500 winner to top $3 million (2009 winner Helio Castroneves won $3,048,005.

Runner-up Marcus Ericsson won $1.043 million after falling short by 0.0974 seconds in the fourth-closest finish in Indy 500 history.

The 107th Indy 500 drew a crowd of at least 330,000 that was the largest since the sellout for the 100th running in 2016, and the second-largest in more than two decades, according to track officials.

“This is the greatest race in the world, and it was an especially monumental Month of May featuring packed grandstands and intense on-track action,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said in a release. “Now, we have the best end card possible for the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500: a record-breaking purse for the history books.”

Benjamin Pedersen was named the Indy 500 rookie of the year, earning a $50,000 bonus.

The race’s purse is determined through contingency and special awards from IMS and IndyCar. The awards were presented Monday night in the annual Indy 500 Victory Celebration at the JW Marriott in downtown Indianapolis.

The payouts for the 107th Indy 500:

1. Josef Newgarden, $3,666,000
2. Marcus Ericsson, $1,043,000
3. Santino Ferrucci, $481,800
4. Alex Palou, $801,500
5. Alexander Rossi, $574,000
6. Scott Dixon, $582,000
7. Takuma Sato, $217,300
8. Conor Daly, $512,000
9. Colton Herta, $506,500
10. Rinus VeeKay, $556,500
11. Ryan Hunter‐Reay, $145,500
12. Callum Ilott, $495,500
13. Devlin DeFrancesco, $482,000
14. Scott McLaughlin, $485,000
15. Helio Castroneves, $481,500
16. Tony Kanaan, $105,000
17. Marco Andretti, $102,000
18. Jack Harvey, $472,000
19. Christian Lundgaard, $467,500
20. Ed Carpenter, $102,000
21. Benjamin Pedersen (R), $215,300
22. Graham Rahal, $565,500*
23. Will Power, $488,000
24. Pato O’Ward, $516,500
25. Simon Pagenaud, $465,500
26. Agustín Canapino (R), $156,300
27. Felix Rosenqvist, $278,300
28. Kyle Kirkwood, $465,500
29. David Malukas, $462,000
30. Romain Grosjean, $462,000
31. Sting Ray Robb (R), $463,000
32. RC Enerson (R), $103,000
33.  Katherine Legge, $102,000

*–Broken down between two teams, $460,000 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, $105,500 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports