Robert Shwartzman reveals extent of PREMA crew's injuries after his Indy 500 pit lane crash

Robert Shwartzman has shared details about the injuries that members of his PREMA Racing pit crew suffered after his Indy 500 mishap. The IndyCar rookie, who surprisingly started the race on pole, had an issue with his rear brakes while coming in for a pit stop on lap 87.

As a result, he drove into the wall and his crew while turning in for the pit stop, and took them out like bowling balls, as the commentator described it. One crew member was taken away on a stretcher with a suspected foot fracture. Shwartzman's race ended there, as the collision with the wall also broke the steering arm on his No. 83 Chevrolet.

Ahead of the Detroit Grand Prix this weekend, Robert Shwartzman elaborated on the aftermath of the incident and the injuries it caused to his crew, with one suffering a toe fracture.

"It was a scary moment. I'm happy that all the guys in the team are fine because my first impact was very strong on the wall. But luckily it was the wall and not somebody's feet, and that would've been really scary. It happened so quick, like in one second," Shwartzman told IndyCar reporter Bob Pockrass.

"So the most important thing is that all the guys are safe. Just one guy had a broken toe. Yeah, just taking care of him. He's recovering now. All other guys had bruises and bumps, a bit of soreness, but I was really happy at the end that nobody got seriously injured."

Shwartzman's pole position gained him an extra 12 points in the IndyCar championship. He stands 23rd out of 27 full-time drivers in the standings after six races, with PREMA teammate Callum Ilott further back in 26th.

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Robert Shwartzman reflects on emotional rollercoaster at Indy 500 ahead of Detroit GP

Robert Shwartzman drives his No. 83 Chevy at the 109th Running Of The Indianapolis 500 - Source: Getty

Robert Shwartzman created history on day two of Indy 500 qualifying. He became the first rookie since Teo Fabi in 1983 to win pole position for the Greatest Spectacle of Racing, and that too, with a novice team in its first year in the American open-wheel series.

Ahead of the Detroit Grand Prix, the Israeli-Russian driver assessed his first Indy 500 weekend, which started on the biggest high but had an anticlimactic end.

"Overall, it was a mix of emotions. Like really high up, then a bit low with the race, but overall, I'm happy because we managed to do a history moment. We won first pole position in Indy, and it was the most important pole position of the year. We showed everyone that, even though being a rookie and struggling with the car performance, we can still achieve big things," he said.

In the first practice session on the Detroit street circuit on Friday, Shwartzman completed a session-high 35 laps, with a best lap time of 1:03.2055. He was the 19th-quickest driver, with teammate Callum Ilott two places ahead in 17th.