No podium finish for Armaan after engine problem

The first Indian to race in the celebrated Indy500 weekend, the Chennai youngster was representing Team Team Fan Force United-JK Tyres.

Armaan was well placed for a podium finish in his very first outing there after a strong finish in the official test in which he was just 2 tenths of a second off pole position.

Going into the qualifying, which is just 2 timed laps, the engine straight away was down by 4 miles per hour. Despite this, Armaan's aggregate time over 2 laps managed to put him 10th on the grid.

However, when the flag went green, the average speed per lap dropped from 187 to 182 mph and a couple of laps later, the engine blew up in white smoke.

 

The race was marred by a high speed crash involving five cars with one of them being the FFU 2nd car driver by Emerson Newton John. The 100-mile race ended with Esteban Gurreri taking the chequered flag.

"It's hard to say much right now. I was really on top of the world after the test as given that it was my first ever outing on the Indy Oval and being just 2 tenths of pole, I was really looking forward for a podium finish.

"It is really disappointing when you get let down by a blown engine and there is nothing you can do about it," said Armaan.