Marco Andretti accepts Takuma Sato's apology after 2022 Indy 500 qualifying conflict
Marco Andretti had an issue with Takuma Sato during Indianapolis 500 qualifying, but that has passed.
Sato's initial qualifying effort Saturday was disallowed because he remained on the track — rather than pulling into pit entrance lane in Turn 3 — and interfered with Andretti, who was getting up to speed for his qualifying attempt.
Andretti ended up with a qualifying run of 226.108 mph, putting him 30th, due to a mechanical issue on the second run of his lap. He moved up to 23rd at 230.345 mph on his second run.
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“Yeah, but that (first) run would have been screwed anyway because we had a big plenum explosion, so that run was going to be bad anyway," Andretti said Monday. "At the time, we didn't (know if we'd get to run again) because the rain was coming, but we got lucky to at least move up a few rows there (when the rain held off).”
Andretti also said he appreciates that Sato texted him an apology.
“He's the nicest guy in the world," Andretti said. "No, he sent me a paragraph apologizing, and he said, 'Once they told me you were coming, I thought it better not to move.' I said, 'Well, yeah, that's probably good because I was hoping he wasn't going to go left and then we actually crashed on our qualifying run.' Yeah, I had to start that run a little slow, but that wasn't the issue with that run.”
Sato got in another qualifying attempt Saturday before bad weather cut short the session. He earned a spot in the Fast 12 and will start 10th in Sunday's race.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indy 500 2022: Marco Andretti accepts Takuma Sato apology
