Beyond the Flag
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New Champion Simon Pagenaud Talks An ‘Incredible Day’

By Brittany Frederick

Confetti adorns the car and helmet of Simon Pagenaud after his victory on Sunday. Photo Credit: Chris Owens/Courtesy of IndyCar
Confetti adorns the car and helmet of Simon Pagenaud after his victory on Sunday. Photo Credit: Chris Owens/Courtesy of IndyCar /
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Simon Pagenaud is the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series champion, and after his win Sunday spoke of his “incredible day” and long road to the top.

Sunday was the culmination of a roller coaster ride for Simon Pagenaud. The Frenchman has, in just two seasons, gone from the most sought-after free agent leaving Schmidt Peterson Motorsports to having his future doubted in his first year with Team Penske and now sits atop the entire league as the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series champion.

Pagenaud dominated the 2016 GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma to put an exclamation point on his near unstoppable season. His No. 22 Team Penske Chevrolet led all but nine laps in Wine Country, giving him his fifth win of the year.

He also captured the Verizon P1 Award for his seventh pole position – more than triple the number earned by any other driver this year.

Afterward he was understandably elated – and even a bit emotional – as he spoke to media outlets including Beyond The Flag about not only his success this weekend but the year that’s been a long time coming.

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“It was a great and interesting day really,” he said at the post-race press conference. “The HP car has been phenomenal all weekend. It’s been actually an easy weekend for us where everything, just played out really well.

“I decided to take the best start I could. My opinion was that if I was aggressive at the start and try to leave the crazy mess behind me, I wouldn’t get hit or anything like that. I tried to take my future and destiny by being aggressive and going as fast as I could.

“Clearly we had a phenomenal car, very dominant car today. We could do that while saving fuel at the same time. We kind of covered everything we needed.”

Not to say that he expected to just coast his way through the 85-lap race, with Pagenaud expressing his disappointment that championship rival – and teammate – Will Power had his chances spoiled by a gearbox issue that left him far behind in 20th place.

“Obviously I saw Will slowing down, which I wanted this fight to go all the way,” Pagenaud said. “It was a bit of a relief, I have to say. I feel sorry for his luck today. But I’ve had my fair share of bad luck this year, too, with mechanical issues.

“I think it’s fair to say it was a fair fight. We both fought one and two for a while. Must have been a good show. I hope it was. But then when I saw him slow down, I thought, I think this is really good.”

This championship wasn’t just about winning the title for Simon Pagenaud. It was also about getting the monkey off his back, showing that he was still the Simon Pagenaud we raved about when he drove for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports,  and just doing what every driver wants to do at least once in their lifetime.

“When you join a team like Team Penske, they deliver the best cars. They provide you the best equipment out there. As a driver, it’s your job to do the best job possible,” he explained. “When you’re against Power, [Helio] Castroneves and [Juan Pablo] Montoya, these guys are the benchmark. It’s about getting the most out of yourself because obviously we all have the same cars.”

“Last year was tough,” he added. “But it was unfair to imagine a transition would be that easy, especially with a new team. It’s the first time that [team owner] Roger [Penske] and Tim Cindric have fielded four cars in IndyCar. We had to assemble a completely new team from people that were working on other teams, people working on other cars within the team.

“It’s just like a football team. You have to make that chemistry, make sure that the chemistry is going to be the best. It took a while. It took us a while. It wasn’t easy. It took me a while to get used to my new environment and know what I could do and could not do.”

Now he’s done what every IndyCar driver strives to do, and done it in pretty spectacular fashion. With more than half a year’s worth of work done, the trophies handed out and the questions answered, he took a moment just to enjoy a hard-earned victory.

Next: 3 Things We Learned From IndyCar's Grand Prix of Sonoma

“What I’m thinking about right now is it’s been a long career,” Pagenaud reflected. “You start, seven years old. You go through a lot. I remember my first race in France in a go-kart. It was raining. I had my visor open because I had the wrong helmet. I still have that picture at home. The ground I’ve covered since is quite incredible.

“I just feel so blessed to be a human that has been able to live his dream and get to this. I basically accomplished all the dreams I had,” he concluded. “Obviously the Indy 500 is next. But this was my kid’s dream, so I’m very emotional inside even if it doesn’t show. Maybe it will show tonight a bit later.”

You certainly can’t blame him. In one season Simon Pagenaud rocketed to the top of IndyCar by winning almost a third of the races and almost half of the poles – and there’s nothing that says he can’t do it all over again next year.