Indy 500 winner says any IndyCar driver can compete in F1: 'would rock it'

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Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden says IndyCar drivers can compete in F1
29 May at 21:00
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  • Toby Nixon

Back-to-back Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden has said that any IndyCar driver could be very competitive in Formula 1. The American is the sixth driver to have won two Indy 500s in a row since the race's inauguration in 1911. When asked if he could race in F1, Newgarden jokingly replied on the Pat McAfee Show "Absolutely, any of us could, we would rock it."

Josef Newgarden's career so far:

'The Greatest Spectacle in Racing' took place on May 26 and was won by two-time IndyCar champion Josef Newgarden. The Team Penske driver has been in IndyCar since 2012. He's won 30 races and has 53 podiums and 17 poles in his 202 races so far. 

Newgarden previously expressed his feelings towards Formula 1. Speaking to AutoWeek in 2022, he said: "The older I've gotten, the more I've been in racing and watched Formula 1, I don't know if it's somewhere I really want to race. It doesn't look as much of a driver's championship to me. It's a very impressive championship, it always has been. It's something I would certainly like to do. I'd like to drive everything that I could to have the experience. Then I'd have more first-hand knowledge to really speak on it."

Former F1 drivers in the Indy 500:

Former F1 drivers Romain Grosjean, Marcus Ericsson, Takuma Sato and Alexander Rossi took part in the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500. Historically, Fernando Alonso, Mario Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Emerson Fittipaldi, Jacques Villeneuve and Juan Pablo Montoya are just a few of the iconic names who have participated in the race. Fittipaldi, Villeneuve, Montoya and Andretti have all won the race. Two-time Formula 1 world champion Graham Hill is the only driver to have completed the triple crown, winning the Monaco Grand Prix, the Le Mans 24 Hours and the Indy 500. 

F1 prospects in IndyCar:

2023 F2 champion Theo Pourchaire is now an Arrow McLaren IndyCar driver. The Frenchman didn't participate in the Indy 500 and was instead replaced by ex-Ferrari academy driver Callum Ilott. Patricio O'Ward, who came agonisingly close to winning the race, is a McLaren test and reserve driver. The Mexican is on the precipice of breaking into Formula 1, but there is currently no space for him at McLaren.

Former Alpine academy driver Christian Lungaard is also in IndyCar, as well as Colton Herta, who was on the verge of taking Nyck De Vries' Alpha Tauri seat in 2023 if it wasn't for a lack of super license points. Alex Palou, IndyCar's reigning champion, was a McLaren test and reserve driver in 2023, and a lawsuit from employer Chip Ganassi prevented him from joining the Woking-based outfit full-time