Helio Castroneves came up just short in his attempt to win a fourth Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, losing out to Takuma Sato by just 0.2011 seconds at the end of 200 gruelling laps around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The Team Penske driver led nine laps but was unable to head the field when it matters despite his best efforts, and revealed that he was somewhat disappointed not to be able to deny Sato the victory, but the result at least gave him the points lead in the championship.
Castroneves’ continues to love driving around the 2.5-mile oval at Indianapolis, and has vowed to come back in 2018 to try and add to his three previous victories again.
“What a race,” said Castroneves. “Yes, a little bit disappointed but at the same time we did a phenomenal job.
“Team Penske did a great job preparing the No. 3 Shell Fuel Reward Chevrolet that was pretty good. But unfortunately towards the end there, we just didn’t have enough.
“Honda was pulling strong power. With a combination of good pit stops and with a good balance of the car, we were able to finish second. With that, we take the lead of the championship and I feel there is always a positive story in this race.
“Good job to Takuma Sato and Andretti Autosport for their result. Next year we’ll come back strong.”
