Ferrucci “returns the favor” to Grosjean with the warm-up incident at the Indy GP

The two left the pit lane close together and initially drove an installation lap when, a few moments later, they were driving side by side and leaving no room for each other coming out of Turn 11. Coming from the inside, Ferrucci managed to get past Grosjean’s Juncos No. 77 Hollinger Racing Chevrolet as they approached turn 12 traffic.

A replay showed Ferrucci raising his hand over the windshield of his No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet and giving the 38-year-old Swiss-born Frenchman a middle finger salute.

Ferrucci finished ninth in the session, while Grosjean finished 13th^Th.

As the 30-minute session ended, Ferrucci mentioned that there was some payback dating back to the final lap at Barber Motorsports Park.

“Man, he ran into me during warmups at Barber for no reason,” Ferrucci, 25, said.

“And I’m simply returning the favor, my friend. It’s no longer Formula 1; You can hit people with these cars and everything will be fine.

“You want to turn it into me when I have the inside? I don’t train. I’m sorry. I had the corner and that’s his fault. If he doesn’t like it, come here and talk to me about it.”

Ferrucci was quick to point out that there is nothing that predates the incident at Barber Motorsports Park, but he isn’t going to tolerate being pushed around either.

“No, that’s kind of where it started,” Ferrucci said.

“Honestly, I don’t really have any problems with the guy. He’s a nice guy, but on the track you have to have a little more respect for your competitors.

“It doesn’t make sense for me to complain about myself at Barber. This time I’m inside. It’s my corner and you want to turn into me, so be it. But like I said, I don’t train.”

In today’s lap of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.439-mile, 14-turn track, Ferrucci will start in 16th place^Th and Grosjean 23^approx.

For his part, Ferrucci expects the close racing to continue this afternoon for all 85 laps.

“I think we will be able to pass,” Ferrucci said.

“This track is notorious for offering good racing, not only on the speedway but also for the GP. We will see.

“It will be tight out there. It’s very close. The field of participants is very narrow this year. Everyone is so good. There are hardly any deviations. You more or less exploit other people’s mistakes.”