Six laps — that was all Robert Shwartzman had on Day 1 of practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after his team, Prema Racing, struggled to prepare the cars for him and his teammate Callum Ilott.

It seemed that the rookie team and driver, who each had almost zero oval experience, would only see a continuation of the problems that had affected them throughout the first five races of the year. However, they were able to make steady improvements through each practice session.

Day two was a confidence builder for Shwartzman, who completed 84 laps, but speed didn’t seem to be there, sitting 28th and 32nd fastest on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. However, the Russian-Israeli driver achieved a top-ten position in the best four-lap averages on Fast Friday.

Nevertheless, getting into the Fast 12 on Saturday in solid sixth position was beyond anyone’s expectations for Shwartzman and Prema – not even for the man himself.

“I honestly did not expect it to go that well. We were gradually improving the car step by step. After such a good run this morning, I thought, ‘Okay, this car is really fast’,” said Shwartzman, analyzing his performance.

“Obviously was really tricky. It’s the toughest I think qualifying of my career. Four laps consecutive, focus, one slight mistake and you’re done. Yeah, definitely it was a big challenge for me.”

“I’m happy that I managed to complete all four laps. We’re going to top 12. I think it’s also a good thing it’s the first one of the team. We finally got a top 12, it’s here in Indy. Quite a legendary moment for us. Pretty happy.”

Robert Shwartzman, Prema Racing

Photo by: Penske Entertainment

Shwartzman had reached a lap average of 231.295 and eclipsed the 230mph mark during his four-lap mock qualifying run on Friday. When recalling his qualifying attempt on Saturday, he talked about a conversation with his race engineer, Joao Ginete, about how fast he could go in cooler conditions: “I guess two miles an hour,” he answered.

“The first lap I do, I was like, I floor it. Whatever happens, happens. I see 233. I was like, ‘He was actually right’. The car actually is fast, okay.”

“Yeah, I managed to hold it for two laps. We were a bit too aggressive with balance. I started to lose a bit the rear. It was sketchy in the third and fourth lap. I just need to survive, just finish it.”

“At the end I think overall it just gave me the boost and understanding that the car is really fast. Honestly, going into the corner, the car is just holding on. I was feeling it a bit yesterday, from the free practice. The car seems to be good. We can actually put it.”

“Today it just showed the car is really there. Obviously we still need to do some work to catch the top guys. I want to believe that we can battle for the top six tomorrow.”

There is nothing that compares to Indy 500 qualifying

Shwartzman has a European racing background, having won the Formula 3 championship and finishing second in the Formula 2 championship. He served as a Ferrari F1 reserve driver from 2021 to 2024 and participated in six practice sessions during Grand Prix weekends. However, he said that qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 is unlike anything he has experienced before.

“It’s not comparable. Honestly like with Alex (Palou), he also comes from Europe, it’s pretty clear that this is very special qualifying. You never feel the same emotion.”

“I was actually never really worried about qualifying in my entire life. Even when I drove F1 car practicing, I was calm. Sometimes you can have this worry in races whenever you’re starting from pole, normal worry. Here yesterday night, We have a decent car, it’s my first qualy, four laps, I have to stick to it.”

“Honestly, when you go out, it’s full focus. Not even a slight second you have to relax. Normally in European tracks or qualy, you have a moment of just breathe. Here it was one single breath, go, that’s it.”