A star was born Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Robert Shwartzman, a 25-year-old Russian-reared Israeli driver who has never competed in an oval race, outran and then outlasted a host of NTT INDYCAR SERIES veterans to become the first rookie to win the pole for the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge since Teo Fabi in 1983.
Prior to Fabi, Walt Faulkner was the last rookie pole winner in 1950. Before that, the rookie to top qualifying was Jean Chassagne in 1914, but he got the top spot in a blind draw. The rare occurrence had the crowd at IMS roaring with approval as Shwartzman secured this stunning upset.
“Honestly, it’s unbelievable,” said Shwartman, the first driver from his country to compete in this event. “I was just processing it, and I still can’t believe it. It’s just a dream.
“I was just thinking in my dreams, fantasizing about how it would feel to take pole position in Indy 500. How is the vibe? Then I was like: ‘Yeah, Robert, get back to reality. You have a new car, new team, you are a rookie. How can you expect to be in this position? It’s just in your dreams.’
“But still I was keeping that tiny dream deep inside like, ‘Maybe, maybe.’”
Shwartzman said he couldn’t even remember that last time a crowd cheered for him. After five races this season, he stands 24th among 27 drivers in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES standings.
Entering qualifying, Shwartzman wasn’t even thought to be a contender for the top half of the 33-car field. He turned only six laps in Tuesday’s practice, had the 28th-fastest lap Wednesday and ranked 32nd after Thursday’s practice before jumping up to 13th on Fast Friday presented by Turtle Wax. He said his lap times weren’t “good looking” because the group behind the No. 83 PREMA Racing Chevrolet was simulating the most consistent qualifying laps it could rather than toiling in the draft, as others often do.
Perhaps it shouldn’t have been a surprise that Shwartzman had the sixth-fastest lap Saturday in Day 1 of PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying. But winning the pole? No one called that.
Adding to the story is that Shwartzman drives for PREMA Racing, which is competing in this event for the first time. PREMA became the first new team to win Indy’s pole since Mayer Motor Racing, which took the honor with Tom Sneva in 1984.
Here’s irony: PREMA, like Fabi, is Italian, and it was founded in 1983, the year Fabi bested his field at IMS. Shwartzman also drives car No. 83.
Pato O’Ward, last year’s “500” runner-up who qualified in the third position, called it “an amazing storyline” for the 109th Running.
“They are the rookies of rookies on ovals,” he said. “It is phenomenal what they did.
“Obviously, they do look surprised, but Indy is full of surprises.”
While Shwartzman is new to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, he has been on Formula One’s radar for years. He has driven at nearly every level of the European single-seaters, winning the FIA Formula 3 Championship for PREMA in 2019. Two years later, he was the runner-up to current Formula One points leader Oscar Piastri in Formula 2 (also for PREMA). He has been an F1 reserve driver for Ferrari in recent years, tested a Formula E car for DS Penske and co-drove with Robert Kubica in the World Endurance Championship.
Chip Ganassi Racing was the first to consider Shwartzman in the U.S., offering him a test at Sebring International Raceway in fall 2023. Shwartzman said his first memory of Indy came as a young driver attending F1’s Monaco Grand Prix.
“It was so much more exciting (than F1),” he said. “I was just, like, ‘Damn, until the last turn you don’t know who is going to win.’ I was being like: ‘OK, this guy is fast, he’s going to win, and then all of a sudden, no, he’s getting overtaken and then another guy and another guy. The rotation is always changing.’”
He called those races “proper battles.”
Now, he is here, getting cheered by people who had never heard his name just a few months ago. Next week, an IMS crowd of more than 300,000 and a worldwide television audience will watch him take the green flag in a historic moment.
For what it’s worth, Shwartzman is the only driver in this field to have released a song. Under the name of Shwartzy, “ACTIVE” debuted in July 2023.
Many of those working on Shwartzman’s No. 83 PREMA Racing Chevrolet are new to the INDYCAR SERIES, but many have considerable experience. Shwartzman’s driver coach is Ryan Briscoe, who won the pole for the 2012 race among his 10 career starts. It was Briscoe who stressed to the newcomer this weekend that it’s natural to be nervous in such a big moment, advice Shwartzman appreciated and thought helped.
Shwartzman’s lead engineer is Robert Gue, who has now helped engineer two other “500” pole winners (Alex Tagliani in 2011 and James Hinchcliffe in 2016).
“This is going to be the most special,” Gue said. “(Shwartzman) has a natural feel for the car, and he has the ability to feel changes. He has incredible talent. For the first time qualifying, this is mega awesome.”
That’s how stars are made.