F1 drivers dominated Indy 500

James Davison, subbing for Sebastien Bourdais the last minute, proved that the IndyCar formula gives any driver with talent a chance to be competitive

Lewis Hamilton essentially called the Verizon IndyCar Series a bunch of wankers because Fernando Alonso was able to go to IndyCar and qualify 5th in his first oval race. What Hamilton doesn't say that F1 is 99% car and 1% driver so if you are not in a Mercedes or Ferrari you chances of winning are zero.

Hence a number of F1 drivers who are not in position to buy a top ride to win, turn to IndyCar where every driver in the field has a chance to win because the cars are not 99% of the equation. In IndyCar driver talent is a bigger part of the equation than F1, which is essentially an exercise in engineering.

The real reason why former F1 drivers are turning their sights to IndyCar is cost and the competitiveness of the IndyCar formula. In F1, only two teams have a legitimate shot to win, and before this year, only a Mercedes driver (2 drivers only) had a shot at winning.

In IndyCar, literally anyone can win on any given race. Here, those F1 drivers that were overlooked by Ferrari and Mercedes can come and show the world their talents instead.

The 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 was a true statement of that.

Former or current F1 drivers combined to lead 117 of the 200 laps on Sunday. In fact, Takuma Sato, a former F1 driver himself won the actual race. Last year, a former F1 castoff Alexander Rossi won himself and would have won again this year if not for a refueling issue for the 2nd year in a row..

Fr driver Fernando Alonso, led 27 laps and if not for an engine blowing with 21 laps-to-go, he could have won.

Rossi, led 23 laps and finished seventh but had the fastest car – his chances ruined by an incompetent refueling crewman.

Former F1 driver Max Chilton, led a race high 50 of the 200 laps and came home fourth.

Former F1 and semi-retired driver Juan Pablo Montoya finished sixth.

These guys are talented and could dominate if in the right situation in F1. Instead, they came to the U.S. and made this already talented IndyCar field even more talented.

This is a good thing not as bad as the media would make it sound. These guys are just that good.