Former Indy 500 winner: 'Think Verstappen's safety argument is a cop-out'

The Red Bull Racing driver says he does not want to risk his life in the 'dangerous' Indy 500. He calls it 'insane' what the drivers do there, although he does respect the participants. Rossi, himself active in IndyCar since 2016, does not understand Verstappen's words.

Rossi on Verstappen

"In a sense, it's more dangerous, maybe," Rossi began to say in an interview with Sky Sports F1's Any Driven Monday. 

"But we had four crashes and didn't have a car splitting in half: you can't say that about the Monaco Grand Prix. I think the safety argument is a cop-out. Those answers don't surprise me but that doesn't mean that I agree with them."

Still, Rossi recognises himself a bit in Verstappen. The American was always focused only on making it to Formula One, and so he always left IndyCar aside. In the end, the now 30-year-old driver appeared in only five Grands Prix and eventually decided to return to his home country. Rossi himself won the prestigious 2016 Indy 500.

"I was that guy as well. I knew what the Indy 500 was but I didn't really ever pay attention to it. But when you come and have the opportunity to do it, it truly is an incredibly special event – not just in motorsport but globally, it's the largest single-day sporting event on earth," Rossi added.

Hill lonely at the top

The only driver who has managed to capture the 'Triple Crown' is Graham Hill, father of Damon Hill. In 1966 he won the Indy500 at Indianapolis, six years later he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Hill managed to capture the Monaco Grand Prix no less than five times (1963, 1964, 1965, 1968 and 1969).