Despite starting towards the rear of the field and going through early troubles in the GMR Grand Prix, Marcus Ericsson had a strong drive to the checkers.
The No. 8 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda team earned a fourth-place finish after a chaotic race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Ericsson was apart of the disarray as he spun early and had major damage to the rear wing.
Ericsson initially started the two-hour timed event (with 75 of the originally scheduled 85 run) in 18th. Once the opening pit-stops came and the field switched to the alternate (red sidewall) Firestone tires, he moved up into the top 15.
After the incident, the 31-year-old Swede was relegated to 25th for the Lap 10 restart.
“It was one of those days,” Ericsson said, via Peacock. “Crazy race, with pretty much everything happening for us. My car was really good in the wet though. I was making some really good progress in the beginning, got spun around and got that damage. And had to replace the rear wing and seal that damage on the rear of the car.
“We were struggling in the dry because of it, but then we were really off strategy so they did a good job there, the guys on the pit-wall. Then when I saw the rain coming for the end I was really excited because I felt like my car was really good in the rain. It gave us an opportunity.”
Considering the tricky conditions, Ericsson was one of multiple drivers who fought their way back to the front. Many noted that the aeroscreen was giving visibility issues.
“It was really hard,” he said. “With the sealant that they have on the oval here, it makes it really tough with the spray. So especially in the end there on the restart, you couldn’t see anything almost on the straights. So that made it really tough, but no it was good I made some good moves, some good overtakes in the end, it counts and that was important for the championship.”
It was the first top five for Ericsson in two races as he opened the season with back-to-back top 10s. This result bumps the CGR pilot to eighth in the championship standings.
“Very happy to see Honda winning again, finally,” Ericsson said. “They’ve been pushing hard lately and three cars in the top four is really good boost for all of us in Honda, going into the (Indianapolis) 500 as well.”
