Rinus ‘VeeKay’ van Kalmthout achieved his best ever result in the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday. The 25-year-old Dutchman finished sixth at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway after a chaotic and nerve-wracking race. This improved on his previous best finish from 2021, when he finished eighth during his first participation in the iconic oval race. Felix Rosenqvist claimed his first victory in the Indy 500.
Read more Max Verstappen keeps pushing for changes: ‘I know what pure racing is’
The Indy 500 started relatively calmly, with Alexander Rossi and Alex Palou leading the way. ‘VeeKay’ started from the eleventh position and even briefly took the lead during the first neutralization, caused by an incident between Ryan Hunter-Reay and Katherine Legge, as many competitors went to the pits. A new caution, this time after problems for Ed Carpenter, mixed up the strategies again. ‘VeeKay’ chose a different approach and therefore drove for a long time outside the usual pit cycle, which caused him to regularly appear at the front and then fall back again.
Midway through the race, a top result still seemed far away as the Dutchman was around nineteenth position. Meanwhile, the race was stopped several times due to rain showers and crashes. The weather played a major role on the super-fast oval circuit. A technical problem for Will Power also caused a caution, after which approaching thunderstorms even temporarily led to a red flag. After the restart, however, VeeKay managed to fight his way back impressively towards the top ten, while consolidating his position behind Mick Schumacher.
Read more Helmet of Gilles Villeneuve breaks records, fetches millions at auction
Long stint
In the final phase, Van Kalmthout chose a long stint and succeeded in saving a full pit stop. This earned him valuable places, although saving fuel also cost him speed compared to drivers with a more aggressive strategy. Up front, David Malukas seemed on course for the victory for a long time, while Felix Rosenqvist also joined the fight. With a few laps to go, a heavy crash by Caio Collet again caused a neutralization and erased all differences.
At the restart, ‘VeeKay’ showed himself particularly strong. The Dutchman shot straight up to fifth position, before a crash by Mick Schumacher again caused a caution. This led to a one-lap sprint to the finish. Malukas seemed to have the best chances, but Rosenqvist took full advantage of the slipstream and took the victory by just 0.023 seconds. ‘VeeKay’ had to give up one position in the absolute final meters but still crossed the line impressively in sixth place in his seventh participation in the Indy 500.
Read more Schedule GP Monaco: This is when the sessions start
Read everything about the GP Canada here
