Scott Dixon took his first podium of the 2022 Indy season in Detroit, and said the disappointment of last weekend's Indianapolis 500 is behind him
Scott Dixon finally earned his first podium in the 2022 Indy season with a third-place finish at the Detroit GP on Sunday (5). The New Zealander had only missed out on a top-3 finish during the first six races of the 2005 season. Starting in ninth position, the six-time champion opted to start on black tires and watched his rivals suffer on red tires at the start.
Dixon only put on the red tires in the second stint, and was positively surprised by the wear, which did not hinder his race. The veteran was only surpassed by Will Power, who overtook him early in the race and made a similar strategy, and Alexander Rossi, who made a bold three-stop tactic work.
"[The red tire wear] was better than I thought it would be. Obviously, because I was one of the lucky few who started the race on the black tires, I saw how things went. But congratulations to Will, he was aggressive in the beginning, he passed me and was on the same strategy, and Rossi did a great job as well," Scott praised.
"But it's a good feeling to be back on the podium, it's been a while and hopefully we can pick up a good streak from here. It was a fun race, very interesting, and the result wasn't bad!" celebrated the New Zealander.
Dixon was coming from a frustrating weekend. Leading most of the Indianapolis 500, the Ganassi driver seemed close to his second victory at the Brickyard, but he made a mistake and was punished for speeding in the pits. The result in the main race of the year shook him, but the veteran knows he can't change the past.
"I can't change anything about last week. Believe me, I was pretty upset, especially for all the effort of the team. What obviously saved it was Marcus [Ericsson] winning for the first time, which is pretty special. All we can do now is try our hardest to try and get some wins," said Scott.
With the result, the six-time champion is currently sixth in the Indy standings, 43 points behind leader Will Power. In search of his first win in 2022, Dixon returns to the track next Sunday (12), for the Road America GP.