Watch the Indycar crash video as Devlin DeFrancesco is sent into the air after getting t-boned by Benjamin Pedersen
Today, the 2023 Indycar Series season opens their 2023 season. The season opens on the tight streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.
Watch the St. Petersburg crash video below.
A large field of 27 cars are starting the race.
Scott Dixon ran Felix Rosenqvist wide into turn three. Rosenqvist ran out of track and bounced off the outside wall.
With a broken machine, Rosenqvist was slow and stacking up the field behind him. Many drivers checked up, Helio Castroneves ran into the back of David Malukas as he checked up. Santino Ferrucci got into the back of Castroneves, turning him in front of the field.
As Helio spun across the track, Delvin DeFrancesco was collected. Both cars sat sideways at the exit of a blind turn three.
Benjamin Pedersen came around the corner with nowhere to go. He drove right into the side pod of Delvin DeFrancesco. DeFrancesco went from a dead stop to all four wheels launched into the air. The car came back down, right side up.
Helio Castroneves walked away from his car with a limp.
The red flag was quickly deployed. Cleanup is currently underway.
The race is ongoing and is set to be restarted shortly.
Scott Dixon comments
Firstly, just hope everybody was ok,”Scott Dixon said in an interview with NBC during the red flag.
“Secondly, Felix is my best friend man. I feel really sad that we made contact there. The area into 2-3, it kinda funnels. The wall comes in.”
“Honestly, I thought I was clear. I felt a small lump. Then, I obviously saw in the mirror that he kinda backed up the traffic. Thinking it might have been a slightly bigger hit than I thought for him. I feel really bad for Felix.”
Dixon added, “We never want to see that. Again, I reiterate, I hope everyone was ok.”
Felix Rosenqvist comments
“Yeah, I felt like he didn’t see that I was there,” Felix Rosenqvist stated.
“It’s kinda hard to see on the camera but the wall comes back, on the left. I never expected him to serve out and take a normal racing line because we were side by side.”
“It sucks.”
“We’ve raced here many times before. Sometimes, it just happens. I hope everyone is ok. One car was in the air there. Hopefully, he’s ok.”
Rosenqvist added, “It’s street racing, we have to give each other room. Maybe it’s something we have to talk about. But, it’s hard racing in the car.”
Delvin DeFrancesco comments
Despite being the only car airborne, Delvin DeFrancesco was the first driver to exit the care center.
“Yeah, I’m fine. A really hard knock and not the way we wanted to start the season,” DeFrancesco stated.
“We had our concerns with turn three. We made Indycar very aware as there were multiple incidents there, all weekend it’s been slippery. That was the scenario that happened.”
“I saw Helio on the brakes and spinning in front of me. There was nowhere to go. I saw the No. 55 coming and I was like, ‘Yeah, this is going to be a big one.’ I braced up and got ready for it.”
DeFrancesco added, “It was a wild ride.”
Indycar Race Results: March 5, 2023 (St. Petersburg Grand Prix)
