Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: IndyCar

  • Lundgaard joins IndyCar

    Christian Lundgaard has joined Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team in IndyCar full-time for 2022 onwards as he has signed a multi-year deal.

    Lundgaard made a big impression in his debut in August as he qualified 4th and finished 12th at Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

    Lundgaard who is apart of the Alpine academy is currently sitting 11th on 43 points in the drivers championship in F2, he still has a reaming six races left (2 rounds) before his focus switches to IndyCar.

    The 20 year old said: “I’m very excited to join Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in IndyCar. They are a fantastic team who made me feel very welcome earlier this year when I made my debut in the series. They are the perfect choice and I’m happy to join them on this next chapter in my career. I was very much open minded when I raced at Indianapolis in August and the experience then only grew my hunger to give it another go, so to have the opportunity as a full-time professional racing driver is a privilege.”

    “I can only thank Bobby, Piers and the team, as well as my investors and Alpine for putting it all together. I’m determined to repay that faith with on-track performances beginning when the season starts in February. For now, though, my focus is on finishing the Formula 2 Championship before fully committing to taking on IndyCar. I can’t wait for the experience to begin.”

    Bobby Rahal, the co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing said: “I’m very pleased that Christian will be joining us for the next several years. His performance on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway certainly surprised everybody. For him to do the job he did was tremendous and certainly beyond our expectations. With a little more time under his belt, I think the performance would have been even stronger. Everyone within the team was very pleased and it created a lot of excitement and positive reactions from the fans on social media and online as well as a positive buzz in the paddock.”

    My Opinion-

    This is a great move for Christian, he done very well in his debut, and i’m looking forward to see what he can do next year in IndyCar and future years after that. I won’t be surprised if other F2 drivers go this way in the future as their isn’t enough spots to facilitate all of the drivers who come through the feeder series.

  • Herta to F1?

    There is currently lots of gossip going round about the last seat available for next year in the Alfa Romeo and it seems now that IndyCar driver, Colton Herta is now a possibility…

    This comes as Michael Andretti is getting ready to purchase Alfa Romeo, and the link between Andretti and Herta is that Herta drives for his IndyCar team.

    Andretti hasn’t kept it a secret that if the ‘right opportunity’ came along to buy a team he would and that team is supposedly Alfa Romeo. Herta’s main sponsor Gainbridge would join Andretti Autosport to “take over” the F1 team, which pushes Herta in line for the seat even more.

    Who is Colton Herta?

    Looking back in Colton’s career he has won the Pacific Formula F1600 in 2013, in 2015 he finished 3rd in the MSA Formula Championship. 2016 was a year for him as he joined Carlin for the Euroformula Open Championship and finished 3rd, he also competed in the Spain Formula 3 Championship and finished 2nd.

    LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 26: IndyCar driver Colton Herta driving the #26 car, wins the 2021 Acura Grand Prix Of Long Beach on September 26, 2021 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Greg Doherty/Getty Images)

    In 2017 and 2018 he competed in Indy Lights and finished 3rd in 2017, 2018 he finished 2nd. Since 2018 he has been competing in IndyCar, with him finishing 3rd in 2020 and 5th this year. Colton is the youngest-ever winner in IndyCar history at the age of 18.

    Danica Patrick has said that now F1 is becoming more popular in the US, with having an American F1 team, and Netflix series Drive To Survive. There just missing an American driver. She thinks that having an driver like Herta would only make it more popular.

    Pato O’Ward also believes that Herta has ‘everything to be successful’ in Formula One. “He is a very talented, very fast individual, and I think he’ll have no problem. He’s going to be fighting up there, if he is given the right car. There’s no doubt in my mind. Not that it’s going to be a struggle, but everything has its path of learning, but given the right time, he’ll be just fine.” Pato said.

    The only thing stopping Colton Herta from having that f1 seat is his super licence, he needs at least 40 points and his currently got 32… Could this be a possible move for him in 2023? His only 21 so his still got a long way to go in his career…

  • Ilott to debut IndyCar

    Some news which recently got announced is that Callum Ilott, is set to make his debut in IndyCar this weekend.

    Ilott, was the runner up to Mick Schumacher in the Formula Two 2020 world championship, he unfortunately didn’t get a seat in F1, however his kept himself busy…

    Callum, who is part of the Ferrari driver academy is also one of Alfa Romeo’s reserve drivers, he is also a test driver for Ferrari. Callum also takes part in competing in sports car races including the 24 hours of Le Mans where he finished 3rd.

    However he has now been given the opportunity to race in IndyCar this weekend. He will be driving for Juncos Hollinger Racing.

    “I am pleased and excited to be announcing I will be racing with Juncos Hollinger Racing at Portland,” Ilott said. “This will be my first time in the NTT IndyCar Series and running in the United States, which will be a bit of a change from running on the European side. I am looking forward to working with the team during this first phase of their development. I would like to thank the Ferrari Driver Academy for allowing me to take this opportunity and for Ricardo Juncos and Brad Hollinger for bringing me on board the team.”

    My Opinion-

    I think this is good for Callum, it could be a full time thing if he doesn’t get an F1 seat this year. It seems he just excels in everything he does, which isn’t a bad thing at all and he should count himself very lucky to get opportunities like this and i’m sure he does!

    However, I would like to see him in F1 and we all know there are seats up for grabs this year…

  • Lundgaard to make debut in IndyCar

    Alpine junior Christian Lundgaard is getting his first taste of IndyCar this weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. He will be driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

    This opportunity comes for Christian as he tested for the team a few weeks ago and RLL said that it was an eye-catching test with the team which has led him to this incredible opportunity to develop his racing skills and career. “We were very pleased with the job that Christian did at our recent test at Barber Motorsports Park and are looking forward to seeing him perform at Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” said Bobby Rahal, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with David Letterman and Mike Lanigan. “It’s going to be a new experience and a big challenge due to the lack of practice time compared to other races.”

    “I’m super excited to try Indy Car next week,” said Christian Lundgaard, who will pilot the No. 45 Honda-powered entry. “I’ve been very fortunate so far in my career to drive some incredible race cars and I’m looking forward to officially adding INDYCAR to that list.”

    Lundgaard is currently driving for ART Grand Prix in Formula Two this year and is currently 12th in the standings. Last year he finished 7th in the Formula Two championship.

    Could this maybe be a look towards the future if he doesn’t get a seat in F1? I’m very much looking forward to seeing how he does in IndyCar though!