Kyle Larson cautious despite positive Indy 500 test: "Don't think I could take green flag"

Kyle Larson pressed the need for more practice heading towards the Indy 500, feeling he still hasn't done enough laps behind the wheel.

Larson will participate in the Indianapolis 500 in May for the first time with Arrow McLaren and had the opportunity to practice in the car recently. He put in over 40 laps but feels that much practice remains for him. He stated that if the race was held a day after his first practice session, he wouldn't be able to finish it.

"I mean, I don't think that I could take the green flag tomorrow. So no, I still feel like there's a ton left to learn. And although I still learned some the other day, like I said, I don't know how it's going to represent itself to racing conditions."

The Indy 500 is an annual race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It's part of the IndyCar Championship and has been running since 1911. It is contested for 200 laps, making up the total 500 miles length, hence the name.

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Kyle Larson sets second-fastest time in Indy 500 test

Although Larson mentioned that he needed more practice in the car before participating, he was seemingly quite competitive during the second practice session. He set a 00:39.755 lap time at 226.38 mph, making it the second-fastest lap time behind Josef Newgarden.

Nevertheless, Kyle Larson remained adamant about getting more practice in before the race. He also mentioned that he was stuck in "traffic" during the session,

“The first time I got in traffic, I think my tires still had good grip, so I was surprised. It didn’t feel that different in traffic. Then the last time, I was building understeer, and Newgarden got by me and I was super tight behind him."

“I’m just trying to learn all that and process all that and knowing what I can do in the car to cope with that. I’m just trying to figure out any bit of race craft today, which I know is tough. Just get notes in my head and all that.”

Although he was the 2021 Cup Series Champion, Larson is a rookie in the Indy 500. There are six other rookies taking part in that 500-mile lap race.