Max Chilton led a race-high 50 laps of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, and achieved his career best Verizon IndyCar Series result of fourth, with the Briton feeling comfortable whilst leading throughout the event.
The Chip Ganassi Racing driver led at the final restart at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway but found himself shuffled down to fourth in the final seven laps, with the Briton feeling that his #8 Gallagher Honda was better suited to running up front than in traffic, which made it hard to battle back against Takuma Sato, Helio Castroneves and Ed Jones ahead of him.
Chilton was happy however to be in contention for the win until the very end, especially as he dropped a lap down early on, and will leave Indianapolis with much more confidence for the races ahead.
“The Gallagher Honda was struggling a lot early in the race and we even went a lap down,” said Chilton. “But we kept our heads down, kept going and got a break. I don’t think anyone has ever won this race without a little bit of luck.
“When we did end up getting out front, the car was really quick, and you can see why this place is so special and so electric in that moment. I held Sato off with everything I had, but when the cars gang up behind you they get a massive run and you can only do so much as the leader.
“As soon as they got past I wasn’t as confident in the dirty air. So to come from a lap down to lead and have a chance to win here at Indy is a massive accomplishment for the whole team.”
