Indycar rookie shocks paddock to win Indy 500 pole

PREMA Racing driver Robert Schwartzman celebrates his first career pole at the 109th Indianapolis 500 (Photo by Grace Hollars/IndyStar)

Indycar rookie Robert Schwartzman for Prema Racing shocks the Indycar paddock, collecting his first ever pole position for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 with a four-lap average speed of 232.790 MPH and the first for Prema Racing in the NTT Indycar series. Schwartzman is the first rookie to win the pole position since Teo Fabi in 1983 with Forsythe Racing, the first time in 43 years. Robert Schwartzman shares the front row for the greatest spectacle in racing with two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Takuma Sato, who won the crown jewel back in 2017 and 2020, and Pato O'Ward.

Robert Shwartzman during Indianapolis 500 Practice (Photo by Chris Owens, Penske Entertainment)

When Schwartzman was asked how he was able to claim P1 at the end of qualifying, he stated "I was like, 'This is a dream; it can't be true. 'I can't thank PREMA and Chevy enough, 'coming here for my first oval race, 'I would never expect it to be in this position. 'It's unbelievable." There were a lot of questions during the pre season about how fast PREMA would be, entering their first year in the NTT Indycar series this year. Before joining the NTT Indycar series, PREMA most notably competes in other Series such as the FIA Formula 2, and Formula 3 championship.

Robert Schwartzman waving to the crowd as he celebrates his P1 award for setting the fastest time for Pole Position at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 109th Indianapolis 500 (Photo by: Tyler Ward, Tyler Ward/For IndyStar)

During the offseason they signed Robert Schwartzman, and Callum Illlott, driving the Number 83 and 90 Chevy powered cars respectively. Prior to these signings, Callum Illott previously raced for Juncos Hollinger Racing in the 78.

However, Robert Schwartzman has had quite the motorsports journey. Prior to this year, he competed most notably in the FIA World Endurance Championship in the Hypercar class with AF Corse (2024), served as a Formula 1 reserve driver for both Scuderia Ferrari (2022 & 2024) and Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber (2024). Schwartzman also competed in Formula E (2022-2023) with DS Penske, and in the FIA Formula 3 Championship (2018-2019), and FIA Formula 2 championship (2020-2021) over the course of his motorsports career.

As Schwartzman stated, with this being his first ever oval race in his career, this will be a true testimony for the 25 year old, Russian-Israeli driver as he will take the green flag for next Sunday's Indianapolis 500 mile race.