American Alexander Rossi defended Indy after reigning Formula One champion Max Verstappen said he was not interested in running the Indy 500 because of safety concerns
Alexander Rossi came out in defense of the Indy 500 after reigning Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen said he "didn't need to risk his life for the triple crown." The American, who raced in F1 with Marussia in 2015, said he thought the same way as the Dutchman before and stressed how special it is to participate in the Indy 500.
"I was that guy too. I think when you are on a trajectory to Formula 1 and your whole world revolves around F1, it's a sad state in the sense that all other racing really doesn't exist for you. You have to have a lot of focus to get there. I was the same way, I knew what the Indy 500 was, but I never really paid attention," Rossi told British television channel Sky Sports.
"But then, when you come and have the opportunity to do it, it really is an incredibly special event. Not just motorsport, but globally, it's the biggest one-day sporting event on Earth, right? So, [it's special] to have the opportunity to compete in that," extolled the Andretti driver.
While I understand Verstappen's point of view, the safety excuse did not sit well with Rossi. The 2016 Indianapolis 500 champion recalled that this year's edition had four accidents and in none of them did the car break in half, as happened to Mick Schumacher during the Formula 1 Monaco GP held on the same day.
"In some ways, maybe it is more dangerous, but we had four crashes and we didn't have any cars split in half. You can't say the same about the Monaco GP, right? I think the safety argument is a lame excuse," Alexander criticized.
Indy has become a career option for Formula One drivers again in recent years. Marcus Ericsson won the 2022 Indy 500, while Romain Grosjean became Rossi's teammate at Andretti and has already stated that he has fallen in love with the category.
"I think Romain [Grosjean] is someone really good to talk to about it. Obviously, he had that incredibly dramatic and scary accident in Bahrain a few years ago. He thought a lot about what he would do with his future and shared that his passion for motorsports has been renewed with a new car and that he feels completely safe in cars," the American said.
"At the end of the day, it's all very relative, so these answers don't surprise me, but that doesn't mean I agree with them," Rossi concluded.