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On May 29, 2022, Marcus Ericsson was at the top of the Indycar world, after driving 500 miles faster than anyone on the planet.
At 31, Ericsson won his first Indy 500 victory. Shortly before, he had struggled to find his foot in Formula one.
Ericsson joined F1 in 2014 and lasted five seasons, but he never won a race. In fact, his best finish was an eighth place in 2015, and he had only 11 TOP-10 in his five-year stay there.
But today, he is in Indycar Lore.
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Marcus Ericsson celebrates the victory of the Indianapolis 500 on May 28, 2022, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Grace Hollars / Indystar / USA Today Network)
“The problem in F1 is that it is a question of being in the right car and the right team to win. In F1, the same guys win. In F1, all guys build their own car. So, if you are a large team with a lot of resources, it is easy to build a very good car. If you are a small team with less resources, it is more difficult,” Ericsson told PK Press Club in a recent interview. “So, for five years, I was in small teams and I never had the chance to show what I could do. So Indycar came as an option, everyone has the same option, and you can configure it as a driver. Waking up the day of the race knowing that I was lucky to win was something that I really missed in formula.”
Of course, regardless of the Ericsson circuit, winning is difficult. There is no milk, beer and champagne showers in Victory Lane for no reason. For Ericsson and the runners, it’s a mental game, knowing that you will lose much more often than you win.
“It is very difficult, and it is one of the greatest challenges of the race. I would say that it is this mental side of things and always in a way in a way in you, by pushing you forward and remaining difficult and in a little confidence,” said Ericsson. “It is a constant challenge that we all go through. Racing, Golf, even if you win a lot, you rarely win. This is a special thing, you need a lot of mental tenacity to perform at a high level every weekend and spend this season after the season.”
Marcus Ericsson posed with the Borg-Warner trophy on May 29, 2022, after winning the Indianapolis 500. (Grace Hollars / Indystar / USA Today Network)
“In the past, I was very focused on the results, I want to have so many victories and as many podiums in a year,” he added. “But I learned in my career that it is not a great way to concentrate. Sometimes there are things outside your control that happens. In the race, there are so many things that can go wrong. So, I try to focus on my own performance. I want to have so many weekends where I felt like I felt my best.
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However, Ericsson draws the best party of himself, it is by taking Allegra, a brand that he will represent at the Indy 500 of this year. It is a partnership that is a perfect timing given the allergies season, but it also makes a world of a difference on the track.
“Interference of the zero brain percent, while remaining clear and non-Drowssiness, these are the keys not only in the racing car but a day in life. And representing them at the Indy 500 is really cool,” said Ericcson. “It’s a perfect timing. Everyone on my crew uses it to stay lively, because each fraction of a second in the race is important.”
Ericsson knows it better than anyone – he also led in the last Tour of Indy 500 in 2023, but crossed the second finish line.
Marcus Ericsson teamed up with Allegra to keep him lively and concentrated while he fights for another Victory of the Indy 500. (Scott Heins, Allegra graciousness)
“When we run more than 200 miles on time, you have to be mentally there all the time. It is so important that someone like me can do that and not go away. The mental side is always something on which I have focused, because the more you are high in any sport, but in particular, mental force can make a difference between winning and losing,” he added. “People do not realize how difficult it is to drive our cars. It has struck up to five GS, and this orientation to stay in a clear laser for two or three hours is definitely difficult. You are drained, the drained body, the drained spirit is really difficult.”
The race show is now within two weeks, and Ericsson knows exactly what he has to do to win the victory again.
Marcus Ericsson kisses the Borg-Warner trophy on May 29, 2022 to celebrate the victory of Indianapolis 500. (Grace Hollars / Indystar / USA Today Network)
“The month of May is to win. It’s our Super Bowl-the winner takes everything. I need to have a car below me, to make it step by step, patience is the name of the game,” he said.
“It’s a long month before spending the day of the race. And I hope the Allegra car will be in Victory Lane.”
