Carlos Sainz Jr to start Monaco GP from pit lane

By May 23, 2015, 12:30 PM EDT
0 Comments

Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz Jr will start tomorrow’s Monaco Grand Prix from the pit lane after failing to stop for a weight check during the first stage of qualifying on Saturday.

Sainz originally qualified in eighth place for the race following a strong display in qualifying, but was called before the stewards after failing to go to the weighbridge for a customary check.

“The driver failed to stop for weighing during Q1 when signalled to do so by the red traffic light, the car was not returned to the FIA garage and work was undertaken,” the stewards’ report reads.

“In accordance with Article 26.1 (iv) of the FIA Formula One Sporting regulations the driver is required to start from the pit lane.”

Speaking after the decision was made public, Sainz made no secret of his disappointment and seemed uneasy about the prospect of starting a race where overtaking is difficult from so far back.

“Considering where we were in FP1, FP2 and FP3, a P8 in today’s qualifying session could have seemed disappointing,” Sainz said.

“But we need to remember that our objective was always to get into Q3 in order to fight for points in tomorrow’s race, and that’s what we had done today.

“I was actually quite satisfied and happy with a P8 in my debut in Monaco, but the stewards’ decision for me to start from the pit lane for not stopping at the weighing bridge in Q1 is very disappointing.

“78 laps around here in tomorrow’s race will now be even tougher. In Monaco it’s very difficult to overtake but I will try my best.”

Sainz’s teammate, Max Verstappen, makes up one position on the grid for tomorrow’s race as a result of the penalty, meaning that he will start from P9.

“I’m disappointed with qualifying in P10 here in Monaco,” Verstappen said. “Q1 and Q2 were okay, even though I was already starting to struggle with the tyres, but in Q3 it was really difficult to get the tires up to temperature.

“I had no grip at all and started to lock-up a lot, and in my last run I was only eight hundredths faster with a new set of iyres. We have to make sure we look into this and understand the reason.

“We will try and make the most out of today’s result in tomorrow’s race, but it won’t be easy. I will try and make a good start, stay out of trouble and hopefully fight for some more points.”

F1 Countdown for the Monaco Grand Prix is live on NBCSN from 7am on Sunday, before switching over to NBC at 7:30am ET for the race.

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

By May 29, 2023, 6:01 PM EDT
0 Comments

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