Former Marussia driver Alexander Rossi hits back at Max Verstappen for calling one of the crown jewels Indy 500 dangerous.
The Indy 500 is one of the most prestigious events in all motorsports. That’s why along with Monaco Grand Prix and 24 Le Mans, it’s a part of the crown jewel.
This year, both Monaco GP and Indy 500 races happened on the same day. Ahead of the race in Monte Carlo, F1 drivers were asked whether they’ll be seeking an opportunity to race in Indy500.
Drivers like Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez passed on the opportunity. Meanwhile, current world champion Max Verstappen also said he doesn’t have the desire for the crown jewel and won’t be ever competing in that format.
“I’ve no desire to chase the Triple Crown – at least, not IndyCar,” said Verstappen. “I don’t need to risk my life there and potentially injure myself, your legs, whatever.”
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Max Verstappen gets a strong response
Not impressed by the take of F1 drivers on IndyCar, former F1 driver and now IndyCar racer Alexander Rossi replies that at least in his sport, the cars don’t split into halves.
Rossi is referencing Mick Schumacher’s crash in Monaco, where his car got split into two. He claims that Verstappen’s safety claim is just a ‘cop out’.
“In a sense, it’s more dangerous maybe, but we had four crashes and we didn’t have any cars splitting in half,” he said. “You can’t say that about the Monaco Grand Prix, right? I think the safety argument is kind of a cop-out.”
Rossi further said that his Andretti Motorsport teammate Romain Grosjean would be the right person to talk about it. Grosjean moved to the States after his stint with Haas came with a horrendous fireball crash.
“I think Romain is someone that’s really good to talk to about it,” he said. “Obviously, he had his incredibly dramatic and scary incident in Bahrain a couple of years ago.
“He thought long and hard about what he was going to do with his future and he shared that his passion for motorsports and racing has been renewed with a new car and he feels completely safe in the cars.”
“It’s all relative, I think, at the end of the day, so those answers don’t surprise me, but that doesn’t mean I agree with them.”
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