"And yet… AND YET… no hint of hesitation": Will Buxton reveals shocking obstacles that Robert Shwartzman had to overcome to secure Indy 500 pole

FOX Sports lead IndyCar commentator Will Buxton has revealed that Indy 500 pole sitter Robert Shwartzman did not have a backup car for the historic racing event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this year. The broadcaster lauded the rookie for showing no hesitation whatsoever and claiming the pole.

Shwartzman shocked the motorsports world when the Israeli driver landed himself in pole for the 109th running of the Indy 500, becoming the first rookie in over 42 years to achieve this feat. The 25-year-old has matched Teo Fabi's achievement in 1983, and is only the third ever rookie to grab the top spot in 'The Greatest Spectacle in Racing'.

FOX Sports lead IndyCar commentator, Will Buxton, shared another detail about Shwartzman's incredible achievement, which made the feat even more impressive. On Monday, the Briton wrote on X that he had a chat with Shwartzman, where he came to know that the Prema driver did not have a backup car for the Indy 500.

"Just had some amazing and insightful time with Indy 500 pole sitter Robert Shwartzman. Incredibly, he has no backup car. Every lap, every run on the limit, set in the full knowledge he can’t afford to wreck. And yet… AND YET… no hint of hesitation," wrote Buxton.

IndyCar allows its teams to have backup cars, and the top teams with big budgets all have this luxury available to them, especially at big events like the Indy 500. Prema, a rookie team in the sport this year, seemingly does not have a backup car to use in case of a wreck.

Shwartzman will start this year's Indy 500 alongside two-time winner of the event, Takuma Sato and Arrow McLaren's Pato O'Ward on the front row. Championship leader Alex Palou starts from sixth, while defending Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden has been demoted to the back of the field, after his #2 Penske car failed to pass the technical inspection before qualifying.

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Will Buxton shares throwback story, featuring Robert Shwartzman, after the rookie secured Indy 500 pole

Robert Shwartzman with the Prema team after claiming pole position for the 2025 Indy 500 - Source: Getty

Will Buxton shared a hilarious throwback to celebrate Indy 500 pole sitter Robert Shwartzman’s achievement, recalling how they were singing Notorious B.I.G. songs together in the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix. The Briton joked that neither of them would’ve thought that the Prema rookie would go on to take pole for one of motorsport’s most iconic races just a year later.

Sharing the story from a year ago via X on Sunday, Buxton shared that the moment now felt surreal to him, even claiming that 'it was all a dream'.

"Honestly, when @ShwartzmanRob and I were dropping Notorious BIG lyrics to each other on a pre show warmup in the Zandvoort F1 paddock last year and you’d told us I’d be calling him to pole at the Indy500 the next year, neither of us would have believed you. It was all a dream."

Buxton was working as a presenter for F1 TV during the 2024 season, before moving over to join FOX's coverage of IndyCar from this year onwards. Robert Shwartzman was also part of the F1 paddock as Scuderia Ferrari's reserve driver last year.