Ericsson, Blomqvist, Fittipaldi out in Turn 1, lap one crash

Tom Blomqvist had been perfect throughout his rookie runs in practice and qualifying at the Indianapolis 500, but all that changed at Turn 1 on lap one of the race when the Meyer Shank Racing driver drove the No. 66 Honda well below the track surface and onto the grass which spun his car, sent it backwards into the wall, and collected Marcus Ericsson, whose No. 28 Andretti Global Honda went for a brief flight before crashing down and hitting Blomqvist.

Both drivers got out of their cars under their own power—Ericsson was livid—and both cars appeared to be damaged beyond immediate repair.

Following them, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Pietro Fittipaldi was attempting to slow to avoid the crashing cars, but had Arrow McLaren’s Callum Ilott—starting last after his car experienced a technical issue—fired down the inside of the No. 30 RLL Honda and made side-by-side contact with his No. 6 Chevy. Fittipaldi made light rearward contact with the wall and Ilott looked like he and his car were unscathed.

“It’s unbelievable,” Ericsson said. “I don’t know what to say.”

IndyCar reported Fittipaldi was seen by its medical team and announced he was released on lap 80.