IndyCar champ Simon Pagenaud gets new life at Cadillac F1, but aftermath of career-ending crash persists

Former IndyCar champion Simon Pagenaud is embracing a return to motorsport with Cadillac F1 over two years after his career-ending crash. The French driver has been entrusted with the responsibilities of a simulator driver for the American team before its F1 entry in 2026.

Pagenaud saw his IndyCar career abruptly end in mid-2023 after a violent crash during a practice session at Mid-Ohio. He was on a fast lap, going around 185 miles an hour on the back straightaway. In a freak accident, his brakes failed, and his No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda went airborne, flipped multiple times in the wide runoff area, crashed into the barrier, and came to a rest upside down.

Trackside marshals came to his rescue, and the 2019 Indy 500 winner walked out of the car on his own strength. However, the after-effects of that violent crash forced him to retire from IndyCar and racing overall.

Simon Pagenaud recalled that moment in a recent day-in-the-life type YouTube video by General Motors and Cadillac F1.

"It's tough, yeah," Pagenaud said, recalling the crash. "Sorry, I'm emotional. It's just tough to be at the top, at the top top, and you know, having such a quick fall. I was 185 mph. I hit the brake pedal as I usually would at the end of the straightaway, and the brake pedal was all the way to the floor, no brakes."

"I think if it would've been different, it would've been my fault. But the fact that something broke outside my control, that trust is gone forever. Three hours later, I started having vision issues, vertigo issues, which unfortunately put a halt to my IndyCar career so far," the Frenchman added.

Simon Pagenaud's biggest exploits in IndyCar came with Team Penske between 2015 and 2021. In his second year with the team in 2016, he won the IndyCar championship with five wins in the season, and three years later, in 2019, he earned the biggest victory of his career at the 103rd Indy 500.

He returned to Team Penske in 2024 as an advisor and mentored Scott McLaughlin at the last two Indy 500s.

Simon Pagenaud describes the recovery after being 'nauseous' at first Cadillac F1 sim session

Simon Pagenaud at the 107th Indianapolis 500 - Practice and Qualifying - Source: Getty

Simon Pagenaud's return to racing with Cadillac F1, even though it was on a simulator and not a real F1 car, was challenging. The former IndyCar driver felt a variety of symptoms, some of which were lingering effects of his 2019 crash.

In the YouTube video by General Motors and Cadillac F1, Pagenaud said:

"The first day on the simulator was rough. There were a lot of flashes in the eyes, high migraine, motion sickness, nauseous, losing track of memory. So that's how it was at first. But over time, things became a bit clearer."

The 41-year-old is one of the most important resources that Cadillac F1 has employed ahead of its 2026 F1 debut. The team doesn't have a real car to test with, and the simulator data is the best source of learning for the General Motors-backed team.

Simon Pagenaud's "methodical" approach to racing and elite skill of knowing exactly what's happening with the car were appreciated by the Cadillac F1 sim staff and engineers. The former Team Penske driver, who emphasized that he is "not done with racing," will be the pivotal cog that contributes to how well the car performs when Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas pilot their respective Cadillac F1s in the 2026 preseason tests.