Marco Andretti offers advice after rookie's 'legendary moment' at Indianapolis 500 qualifying
"Trust yourself," Andretti said. "Respect the speed if something doesn't feel right."
Even if things didn't feel right, everything went right for Prema Racing's rookie driver Saturday.
Shwartzman finished sixth fastest with an average speed of 232.584 mph, putting himself in a prime position heading into Day 2 Sunday. According to Shwartzman, his top speed hit 231 mph on Fast Friday.
"This morning I went to my engineer and asked, 'What do you think, how fast are we going to go with a cooler temp?' And he said two more (mph). I said, 'Damn, that's optimistic.'
"The first lap, I said, 'I'll floor it and whatever happens, happens.' I saw 233 (mph) and said, 'Oh, he is right, the car is fast,'" Shwartzman said Saturday after qualifying for the Fast 12.
Shwartzman did not expect to perform that well. His goal was to complete the four qualifying laps and wanted to use Saturday to build confidence in his ability to drive his car and maintain control.
'Ram my head through drywall': Conor Daly comes up just short of top-12 qualifying finish
The 25-year-old admitted that he lost rear on the third and fourth laps. Shwartzman said he needs to work on balancing the car so that it will hold flat on the final two laps Sunday.
Before joining IndyCar, Shwartzman established himself in formula racing. The 2019 FIA Formula 3 champion called the atmosphere at Indy 500 qualifying 'very special' and said it was 'incomparable' to European motorsport.
'It was the toughest qualifying of my career because four laps, one slight mistake and you're done,' Shwartzman said. 'When you go out, it's full focus, and you have not even a slight second to relax, whereas normally in European qualifying, you have a moment to breathe. It was a big challenge, but I'm happy that I managed to complete all four laps.'
Fast 12, Rows 5-10 are set: Indy 500 qualifying results from Day 1
Shwartzman was also happy for his team. Prema, known for its decorated formula racing program, joined IndyCar in 2025. Callum Ilott is also racing for the Italian-based team. The Englishmen finished 23rd Saturday.
'It's the first (top 12) for the team and here in Indy, so it's a legendary moment for us,' Shwartzman said. 'The team, the engineering, the mechanics, everything was step by step, not rushing things and making sure everything was right, and I think that's where it paid off (today).'
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