Danica Patrick drops her verdict on Robert Shwartzman rewriting Indy 500 history with PREMA

Robert Shwartzman rewrote history at the Indy 500 qualifying. The Russian-Israeli driver's eye-staggering lap was commended by former IndyCar driver turned pundit, Danica Patrick, who posted a story on Instagram to share her amazement.

The qualifying for the Indy 500 saw the takedown of the Team Penske trio as Scott McLaughlin's car was written off due to a crash earlier in the day. Meanwhile, Josef Newgarden and Will Power's cars failed the technical inspection, which saw the Mooresville-based squad lose the chance to fight for pole later.

This helped reduce the relegation zone seemingly by half, but Robert Shwartzman appeared to be on a stellar pace as he qualified third initially. This secured him a chance in the Fast 6, where the rookie driver stunned the paddock by posting the fastest average lap speed.

The PREMA Racing driver claimed the pole position and became the first rookie since Teo Fabi in 1983 to achieve the massive feat. Witnessing this on ground-zero, the former IndyCar driver shared her reaction to Shwartzman's achievement, and wrote on her story:

"Rookie on the provisional pole with a new team! Wow!"

Danica Patrick's Instagram story on May 18 | Source: Instagram/@danicapatrick

On the other hand, Patrick rewrote history when she drove in IndyCar, becoming the first female driver to lead a lap at the Indy 500. She later claimed a podium finish in 2009, helping her CV build stronger among the female drivers.

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Danica Patrick once shared how she has traversed the difficult landscape of racing and other sectors in her life

Danica Patrick at the F1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Though Danica Patrick has achieved a lot in her racing career, she had to battle through multiple hurdles on her way to becoming a racing driver. Subsequently, after she retired in 2018, she ventured into various other sectors to continue her legacy.

However, success was not always easy to come by. Regardless of this, the 43-year-old kept her head down and learned from her past experiences to motivate herself. She shared last year, via Forbes:

"I felt like everything should have picked up from where I left off in my last career, and that it would be as successful as I was on the track. Just because I can drive a race car, doesn’t mean I can make good wine. It sounds silly looking back to think that it would just transition over but you have to build it up.

"Obviously my job was stressful but as far as mental health, I feel super grateful that I just didn’t have a lot of those anxieties or spirals where I struggled. Whenever I had times that were harder and I had doubt in myself, I would have to remember the things I had accomplished."

Patrick is among a large list of presenters for the Indy 500 this year, as she was at the FOX panel in the early sessions during qualifying.