Beyond the Flag
Fansided

IndyCar: 5 reasons Alexander Rossi’s move was completely acceptable

By Asher Fair

SONOMA, CA - SEPTEMBER 15: Alexander Rossi, driver of the #98 NAPA Auto Parts Honda, sits in his car during practice for the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma at Sonoma Raceway on September 15, 2017 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Robert Reiners/Getty Images)
SONOMA, CA - SEPTEMBER 15: Alexander Rossi, driver of the #98 NAPA Auto Parts Honda, sits in his car during practice for the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma at Sonoma Raceway on September 15, 2017 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Robert Reiners/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 6
Next
ST PETERSBURG, FL – MARCH 30: Takuma Sato of Japan driver of the #14 ABC Supply A.J. Foyt Racing Honda (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)
ST PETERSBURG, FL – MARCH 30: Takuma Sato of Japan driver of the #14 ABC Supply A.J. Foyt Racing Honda (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images) /

Slippery track surface

All race long, the paint at the end of the front straightaway made it tricky for drivers to control their cars heading into turn 1. There were other issues with the track surface throughout the rest of the course as well.

In fact, Scott Dixon, who somehow managed to rebound and finish in 6th place despite being penalized for the incident I am about to discuss, tried to make a pass heading into turn 1 on lap 36 of the race and slammed into the back of Takuma Sato’s car, sending Dixon’s car airborne for a split-second.

Here is a video of that accident.

Sato also managed to rebound and finished in 12th place following this incident.

When Alexander Rossi made the move to pass Robert Wickens in turn 1, he lost control of his car when the two cars got to be side-by-side as a result of the paint on the track’s surface — and, of course, the marbles that Wickens forced Rossi into upon his attempted defense of the lead.

If anything, Rossi’s side contact with Wickens, which certainly wasn’t an intentional nudge like it is being made out to have been, saved him from going off the track.

I don’t know why it’s so hard to understand that it wasn’t Rossi’s choice to “move” Wickens out of the way. Try driving a car at 150 miles per hour on a slippery surface with or without other cars around you. You’re not going to be worrying about how you can intentionally wreck someone at that point.

We literally just saw Rossi lose control of his car a few laps earlier in a different section of the race track when he was pursuing Wickens for the race led, which prompted the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports team to celebrate prematurely.

Yet on the final restart of the race, Rossi was still in 2nd place despite that issue, so as referenced in a previous slide, he had every right to go for the win even though it involved taking a risk by attempting to pass Wickens on a slippery track surface. Him losing control of his car could have happened to anyone, as we saw with Dixon early in the race.