Sebastien Bourdais has set his sights on getting back behind the wheel for Dale Coyne Racing in the Verizon IndyCar Series by the end of the season as he begins his recovery from injuries sustained in qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.

Bourdais crashed hard during his third lap on the first day of qualifying for the Indy 500, sustaining fractures to his pelvis and right hip.

Following surgery, Bourdais was eventually discharged from IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis just four days after the accident, and appeared at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday for the '500 to meet the media and support the Dale Coyne Racing team.

Speaking ahead of the race, Bourdais said that he is aiming to be back racing for the IndyCar season finale at Sonoma on September 17, but understands his recovery will not be a quick one.

"I'm doing good enough to be here, so that's great," Bourdais said. "It's great to be out of the hospital environment. I've never really faced that before. It's great to feel normal right now and to be able to walk around and see some familiar faces and see a lot of friends.

"[There is] just a lot of pain management. That's the biggest thing. With a lot of pain killers, I can do a lot, and I don't feel so sharp when they wear off.

"It's just going to be a long process. I can't put any weight on my right leg for another five weeks. So it's just going to be patience and trying to make sure I'm ready when it matters.

"I'm shooting for the end of the season in Sonoma. That's just a good target for me to have something in the mind.

"For me, it's just important to make sure that I stay in good spirits. Physically I'm doing well, and I have no intention to let this incident stop my career or anything.

"It's even more important to come back before the end of the season because otherwise it's going to be a long off-season with a lot of questions and uncertainty and everything.

"We had a really quick car at Sonoma, so I'm keeping the hopes that I will be able to race there and to be competitive. It kind of kick-starts 2018 with some good races and get the spirits of the team where they need to be."