Conor Daly rates Indy 500's superiority over F1 with Takuma Sato's 94G crash as example

Juncos Hollinger Racing driver Conor Daly, along with the other 33 confirmed entries for the 109th running of the Indy 500, participated in the open test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 33-year-old recently commented on Takuma Sato’s crash at the Indy 500 open test.

Former Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato announced his entry for the greatest spectacle in racing with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. As a result, the Japanese driver participated in the open test at the IMS from April 23 to April 24. Unfortunately, Sato met with a major accident on Day 2 of the test.

Takuma Sato was setting the timing sheets on fire during the boost session on the second day, which stimulated qualifying performance. However, just a few laps in, the Japanese driver lost control of the car while coming out of a turn and hit the barrier at 200+ mph. The impact was recorded at 94Gs, and the medical car came out.

Conor Daly discussed the same in the latest episode of the Speed Street podcast. The JHR driver detailed the comparison between an IndyCar and an F1 car, highlighting the Indy 500 superiority and how Sato was able to walk away from the crash with just a few bruises.

“If you saw that onboard video, I'm actually super glad they put that onboard video up of the crash. 94G impact, right? Crazy, that's a ton. People freak out in Europe land when an F1 crash is like 25Gs,” said Conor Daly (24:40 onwards).

“Sato smacked the wall, 95Gs. Like, yep, we're good, dog. Like, I mean, this is just, it's a completely different realm of physical and personal capability at the Indy 500 over anything else in the world. It's crazy,” he added.

Takuma Sato thanked IndyCar, chassis manufacturer Dallara, and the IMS on X (formerly Twitter), the day after the crash, as he was able to walk away from such a high-speed crash without any major injuries.

Daly, on the other hand, penned his own reactions to his Day 2 outing at the Indy 500 open test sessions.

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Conor Daly satisfied with “solid” Day 2 at Indy 500 open test

Conor Daly during the IndyCar Indy 500 open test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Source: Getty

Conor Daly finished P21 in the boost session on Day 2, but recorded better pace in the second session of the last day. The JHR driver finished P4 during the afternoon session on Day 2, a session that was mainly focused on race runs. Daly updated the same on X as he wrote:

“Pretty solid afternoon session for us. P4. We obviously know never to read too much into testing and practice here but felt good getting a lot accomplished as a team @juncoshollinger. Tough out there in traffic! Can’t wait for May @TeamChevy #indy500 ”

The Indy 500 is on the horizon, with race day being just three weeks away. The race is on Sunday, May 25, with the action beginning in the third week of May.