F1 to turn USGP in Austin pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month - MotorSportsTalk

Formula 1 has confirmed plans to turn next month’s United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

F1 will head to the Circuit of The Americas for October 20-22 as the fourth-to-last round of the 2017 season, with much of the attention laying on the battle between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel for the championship.

F1 will be reaching beyond sport over the race weekend, though, confirming on Friday its plans to team up with breast cancer organization Susan G. Komen, which has previous involvement in racing via IndyCar racer Pippa Mann’s #GetInvolved campaign.

“Formula 1 will partner with Susan G Komen both on and off track with a number of initiatives as part of their ‘Drive for the Cure’ program, highlighting the cause with our sponsors, race promoters, teams, broadcasters and the FIA and in doing so, turn the United States Grand Prix ‘pink’,” the release from F1 reads.

“Pink-themed merchandise will raise money on behalf of Komen and fans will have the opportunity to donate directly to the cause throughout the entire weekend.

“Beyond the track, the theme will be shared on Formula 1’s global social media channels, as fans and followers will be encouraged to share stories and experiences of those affected by breast cancer worldwide.”

F1 commercial chief Sean Bratches said: “This ground-breaking partnership will mark a very special moment on this year’s Formula 1 calendar as we physically alter key elements of a grand prix weekend to highlight Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

“We are in a unique position as one of the most watched sports in the world – and the only truly global sport that competes annually – with over half a billion fans across the globe to help elevate awareness for such an important cause.

“This is an opportunity to use the Formula 1 platforms as a force for social good and rally support for the fight against breast cancer, a disease which affects millions of people every year.

“It is gratifying to see the entire Formula 1 community, from the teams, drivers, the FIA, sponsors and broadcasters, unite and focus its collective will to give back.”

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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