Rossi says Verstappen’s Indy 500 snub is a ‘cop-out’

IndyCar racer and former F1 driver Alexander Rossi believes Max Verstappen’s safety argument about the Indy 500 is a “cop-out”.

Rossi reckons the argument presented by Verstappen for not targeting an attempt at motorsport’s Triple Crown is not a strong one.

Verstappen, as a Monaco Grand Prix winner, has ticked off one of the three events that make up the unofficial Triple Crown, with IndyCar’s Indy 500 and the World Endurance Championship’s Le Mans 24 Hours making up the other two events.

Verstappen revealed over the Monaco weekend he has no interest in taking part in the Indy 500, saying he did not feel like “risking his life” or picking up an injury to his legs by racing in the prestigious annual oval battle.

His comments were mirrored by those of Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, both of whom also ruled out any interest in taking part in the race once their F1 careers have come to a close.

Rossi, a former F1 driver who turned to IndyCar after losing his seat when the Manor team collapsed in 2016, said the perspective of the F1 drivers is understandable.

Max Verstappen's P3 in Monaco was only the second time in his last 26 race finishes that he's ended up outside the top two

The other was Hungary 2021, finishing P9 after he was heavily damaged in *that* first-lap shunt…

Remarkable consistency #F1 pic.twitter.com/0bYpL4tVuH

— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) June 6, 2022

“I was that guy as well,” he said on Sky F1’s Any Driven Monday programme.

“I think, when you are on a trajectory for Formula 1 and your entire world revolves around F1, it’s a sad state in the sense that other racing really doesn’t exist to you.

“It’s such a single-track focus you have in order to get there. I was the same way – I knew