Ed Carpenter didn’t hold back after his Indianapolis 500 came to an early end, blaming Takuma Sato for what he called an “unwise” move during the opening restart.
The Ed Carpenter Racing owner-driver was knocked out just 27 laps in, after contact with Sato sent his No. 33 Chevrolet spinning into the outside wall at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Carpenter’s frustration was clear straight away, and he later explained why he felt Sato was at fault for the incident.
Ed Carpenter furious with Takuma Sato after early Indy 500 crash
The incident happened during the first restart, with Carpenter caught three-wide between Will Power and Sato heading into Turn 1.
As they approached the corner, Sato moved down and made contact with Carpenter, who spun into the wall while Sato continued without damage.
Afterwards, Carpenter said Sato should have handled the situation differently.
“Takuma tried to make it three-wide into Turn 1 on the restart, which was unwise. Not only did he do that, he squeezed me down like I was not going to be there,” Carpenter said.
“Really disappointed, so early in the race. For two veterans like that, a 2x champion, I expect way more out of him.”
The crash ended Carpenter’s day immediately, matching the worst Indianapolis 500 finish of his career.
Ed Carpenter Racing suffer disastrous Indy 500
The crash was just the start of a miserable afternoon for Ed Carpenter Racing, as all three team entries failed to finish the race.
Alexander Rossi and Christian Rasmussen both retired later on, capping off a triple DNF for the team despite a promising Month of May build-up.
Carpenter later revealed at the Indy 500 Victory Celebration that he and Sato had spoken about the incident and managed to “pseudo-hug” it out.
Sato, for his part, said after the race that he didn’t realise they were three-wide going into Turn 1, and only learned of Carpenter’s frustration during post-race interviews.
While Carpenter’s race ended early, the 2026 Indianapolis 500 went on to deliver one of the closest finishes in history, with Felix Rosenqvist beating David Malukas by just 0.0233 seconds.
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