On May 29, 2022, Marcus Ericsson was on top of the IndyCar world, having just driven 500 miles faster than anyone else on the planet.
At 31 years old, Ericsson earned his first Indy 500 victory. Not long before, he had been having trouble finding his footing in Formula One.
Ericsson joined F1 in 2014 and lasted for five seasons, but he never won a race. In fact, his best finish was an eighth-place run in 2015, and he had just 11 top-10s in his five-year stint there.
But today, he's in IndyCar lore.
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"The problem in F1 is it's about being in the right car and right team to win. In F1, the same guys win. In F1, all the guys build their own car. So if you're a big team with a lot of resources, it's easy to build a very good car. If you're a small team with less resources, it's more difficult," Ericsson told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. "So over five years, I was on smaller teams and never got a chance to show what I could do. So IndyCar came up as an option, everyone has the same option, and you can set it up for you as a driver. Waking up on race day knowing I had a chance to win was something I really missed in Formula One."
Of course, no matter what circuit Ericsson is running, winning is difficult. There aren't milk, beer and champagne showers in victory lane for no reason. For Ericsson and racers alike, it's a mental game, knowing that you will lose much more often than you win.
"It is very tough, and it's one of the biggest challenges with racing. I would say it's that mental side of things and always sort of believing in yourself, pushing yourself forward and staying tough and sort of staying confident," Ericsson said. "That's a constant challenge that we all go through. Racing, golf, even if you win a lot, you win rarely. It's a special thing, it takes a lot of mental toughness to perform at a high level every weekend and go through that season after season."
"In the past, I was very results-driven, I want to have this many wins and this many podiums in a year," he added. "But I've learned in my career that that's not a great way of focusing. Sometimes, there are things outside of your control that's happening. In racing, there are so many things that can go wrong. So I try to focus on my own performance. I want to have as many weekends where I felt like I performed at my best. And due to other circumstances, your best may only be a fifth-place finish, but that was your maximum that day. That's something I've learned throughout my career. And be honest with yourself - did I get the most out of myself today?"
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One way Ericsson does get the most out of himself, though, is by taking Allegra, a brand which he will be representing at this year's Indy 500. It's a partnership that is perfect timing given allergy season, but it also makes a world of a difference on the track.
"Zero percent brain interference, staying sharp, non-drowsiness, those are the keys to not only in the race car but a day in the life. And to represent them at the Indy 500 is really cool," Ericcson said. "It's perfect timing. Everyone on my crew is using it to stay sharp, because every split-second in racing matters."
Ericsson knows that better than anybody - he led on the final lap of the Indy 500 in 2023 as well, but crossed the finish line second.
"When we're racing 200-plus miles an hour, you need to be mentally there all the time. It's so important for someone like me to be able to do that and not drift away. The mental side is always something I've focused on, because the higher you are in any sport, but racing in particular, the mental strength can make a difference between winning and losing," he added. "People don't realize how tough it is to drive our cars. He hit up to five Gs, and that focus to stay laser sharp for two or three hours is definitely challenging. You're drained, body's drained, mind's drained, it's really tough."
The racing spectacle is now less than two weeks away, and Ericsson knows exactly what he has to do to bring home the victory again.
"The month of May is all about winning. This is our Super Bowl - winner takes all. I need to have a car that's beneath me, take it step by step, patience is the name of the game," he said.
"It's a long month before we get to race day. And hopefully the Allegra car will be in victory lane."
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