He was not directly poor before – but now Marcus Ericsson has another 3.1 million reasons to rejoice in the victory in the Indianapolis 500 this weekend.
It was the victory check in dollars, corresponding to 30 million kronor, and it is the only time since Helio Castroneve’s victory in 2009 that the winner has been awarded more than 3 million dollars.
– It is still difficult to take in. It is the biggest race in the world, it is something we have worked so hard for and that we all dream of, says Marcus Ericsson about the victory at a press conference.
Both the total prize pool of 16 million dollars and the winning money were record highs in the Indy 500 context.
It was also the first time in three years that the classic race was held for packed stands, 325,000 spectators.
The victory also meant that Marcus Ericsson took a shot up from eighth to first place in the overall Indycart table.
He himself states that it has been tough to come to the USA from Formula 1 as a driver for one of the worse stables, used to getting far back in the field.
– People probably did not think much of me. I had to work hard, learn American racing. I moved here and spent my whole life trying to become an Indycar and Indianapolis 500 champion, he says to Indystar.