The fate taken by the drivers of the Indianapolis 500

Many places are known as the gold miles. Sa Madrid, Marbella, Caracas, Medellin or San Juan we found sites named that way. But maybe two more miles should be added to that list. Specifically, 2.5 miles located in Indiana, USA, in the shape of an oval, in the well-known city of Indianapolis. The businessman is there Carl G. Fisher built a mythical layout now, inaugurated in 1909, on an original brick surface. Today, a line of bricks known as ‘Brick Yard’, the dream of every motorsport driver to cross with his arms raised. This has been the case since the first Indianapolis 500 was held in 1911, an iconic race of heroes and legends. Combine them 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Monaco GP makes the pilot win the honorary title of Triple Crownso persecuted by Fernando Alonso. But aside from its historical value and the desire of any pilot to write his name and put his sculpted face on the Borg-Warner trophy, there is everyone’s economic interest.

The winner will not take the trophy Borg – Warner house, but a miniature replica. But the most important thing is how fat it makes your wallet. Last year, after the pandemic, the prize won by the winner, Helio Castroneves, is 1.8 million dollars. And if he repeats this year, in addition to another millionaire prize, he could take 400,000 dollars from the accumulated jackpot to deliver to the driver two consecutive wins. He got it in 2001 and 2002, but this time he couldn’t, though that didn’t erase his smile, because there was a prize for everyone.

The most surprising thing about this edition is the amount given to the Indy500 champion. A year later, the prize was doubled. Marcus Ericsson won the prestigious event for the first time and earned at least $ 3.1 million by beating Duck O’Ward, who took a million, with a great last defense. But it is remarkable to see the fate pocketed by others. All this, due to a very equal distribution system. The winner received approximately 20% of the total prize pool, which this year is 16 million dollars.

And from there, the 33 cars took money based on their position and special bonuses for qualifying and top laps.

The money taken by each pilot

1. Marcus Ericsson, $ 3,100,000
2. Duck O’Ward,, 000,000
3. Tony Canaan, $ 400,000
4. Felix Rosenqvist, $ 570,500
5. Alexander Rossi, $ 548,000
6. Conor Daly, $ 527,100
7. Helio Castroneves, $ 205,300
8. Simon Pagenaud, $ 507,000
9. Alex Palou, $ 569,600
10. Santino Ferrucci, 34,500
11. Juan Pablo Montoya, 27,000
12. JR Hildebrand, 75,300
13. Joseph Newgarden, $ 530,000
14. Graham Rahal, $ 483,000
15. Will Power, $ 474,500
16. David Malukas, $ 463,000
17. Kyle Kirkwood, $ 463,000
18. Christian Lundgaard, $ 463,000
19. Ed Carpenter, 17,000
20. Devlin DeFrancesco, $ 463,000
21. Scott Dixon, $ 707,000
22. Marco Andretti, 14,400
23. Sage Karam, 04,500
24. Jack Harvey, 58,800
25. Takuma Satō, $ 462,000
26. Stefan Wilson, 02,000
27. Dalton Kellett, $ 462,000
28. Jimmie Johnson, $ 207,900
29. Scott McLaughlin, $ 462,000
30. Colton Herta, $ 469,500
31. Romain Grosjean, $ 478,500
32. Callum Ilott, $ 463,000
33. Rinus Vee Kay, $ 487,800

In this sense, each pilot set out in his contract his earnings, and the remaining money earned was distributed to the whole group. The prizes were so good that Rinus Veekay, who was last classified as the Indy500’s first retiree after having an accident on lap 38 of the 200, took in at least $ 487,000.

The Alex Palou Award

Alex Palou did not achieve his long -awaited victory despite leading with great speed at the start. A yellow flag at the worst moment drove him from fighting the lead with multiple options, to return from last position in ninth place, to get some crucial points for his IndyCar title defense (he was third , 14 points behind new leader, Ericsson). But in addition, he earned a good $ 596,000. That is, about 530,000 euros. Excellent at melting disgust.

Whole milk won

Palou would definitely be one of those who pick whole milk for the celebration if she wins the race. All winners must follow the tradition of this race, celebrating victory by drinking milk from local farms. Yes, to taste. For example, Juan Pablo Montoya ordered chocolate milk and Castroneves Ilott, Kanaan, Karam, Sato and Malukas opted for two percent milk. The rest, whole milk, like winning Ericsson.

Verstappen: “Crazy”

Stefan Wilson, the last driver to announce he would compete in the Indy500, started 26th and took home $ 102,000. Who wouldn’t want to be included in this fictional event with juicy prizes? But not everyone wants to compete with the Indy500, and the example is Max Verstappen.

“I appreciate what they’re doing,” the Red Bull driver said of IndyCar drivers, who face the dangers of the most dreaded oval at more than 370 km / h. “It’s insane. I have a lot of respect for what they do, but I don’t have to risk my life in Indianapolis. “