Indycar 2018 - News and Discussion

Including the Indy 500 and all junior series leading up to IndyCar
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#721

Post by Cheeveer »

Bottom post of the previous page:

That's impressive by O'Ward.
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#722

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

Honda won't supply Alonso IndyCar entry (But Chevy might)

Say bad things about your benefactor and it will come back and bite you later in life.. (especially if you go and drive for another maker in WEC)

It seems that Alonso's Indycar plans will need a bit of a rethink. Nando might take a Chevy to the....
Double Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso's 2019 IndyCar plans have hit an engine-supply impasse, with Honda no longer an option for a potential McLaren entry.

Despite repeated public assurances that Alonso's acrimonious history with Honda during F1 return with McLaren would have no impact, certain elements of Honda are understood to be against supplying an Alonso-fronted team.

Andretti Autosport is the firm favourite to affiliate with McLaren if it commits to the series full-time, but Alonso's 2018-spec IndyCar test with the team was conducted without Honda branding (pictured above), while team boss Michael Andretti insisted "Honda has no issues with Alonso".

Alonso competing in the World Endurance Championship with Honda's rival Toyota is understood to be a further complication.

Earlier this year, Honda F1 boss Masashi Yamamoto told Autosport a decision would be made by HPD in America, rather than the overall brand.

An HPD spokesperson reiterated to Autosport that "Alonso is one of the premier racing drivers of this generation, and we very much enjoyed working with him at the 2017 Indianapolis 500.

"Having Alonso as a driver would be an obvious benefit for any team or manufacturer."

Another element that could prevent a Honda tie-up is the fact that the manufacturer is stretched in its engine supply to existing teams, with a surge of interest from new prospective entries in 2019 a further challenge after it admitted it is at "near capacity."

McLaren CEO Zak Brown told Autosport that the situation regarding IndyCar remains fluid.

"You don't decide on this kind of venture lightly, especially not when we would plan it to be the start of a long-term commitment [to IndyCar]," he said.

"We've been very flattered and moved by the enthusiasm we've seen and read about, from the IndyCar series and its fans, to having McLaren back in the series, and maybe Fernando too.

"But there are a lot of moving parts that need to fall into place and we're very methodically going through the processes, so we hit the ground running, if or when we commit to IndyCar.

"Getting everything finalised is what we're working on now, and it's not something that can be hurried."

Chevrolet options
If McLaren decides to commit to IndyCar with its expected path of an Andretti affiliation, it could still sign for a Chevrolet engine supply even though the American squad is a Honda customer.

Ahead of 2018, Andretti considered a Chevrolet switch but opted to remain with Honda. However, a growing relationship with the Chevrolet-powered Harding Racing could be a solution.

McLaren could work out of Harding's base with a mix of Andretti and its own staff, in order to prevent information from rival engine manufacturers swapping hands, although one rival team owner told Autosport: "It's hard to believe either manufacturer would approve."

Other solutions suggested include an affiliation with Ed Carpenter Racing for the 2019 Indianapolis 500, before Honda would offer an olive branch for a '20 full-season once Alonso's WEC commitments end.

It is also possible that Andretti could make a switch to Chevrolet power in the near future, a move that would worry Honda ahead of new engine regulations for 2021.

Autosport approached Chevrolet's director of motorsports competition Mark Kent about the idea of Alonso, McLaren and Andretti Autosport wearing Bowties in the near future.

"The addition of Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso to the IndyCar driver roster is an exciting possibility for the series," he said.

"We previously enjoyed success with Andretti Autosport, including winning the driver's championship with them [and Ryan Hunter-Reay] in 2012.

"Therefore, if the opportunity presented itself, we would certainly be open to discussions with Andretti Autosport regarding them again partnering with Chevrolet."
Autosport article from : https://sports.yahoo.com/honda-won-apos ... 14235.html

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#723

Post by MonteCristo »

Yep. Harding is the answer.

Andretti is helping them with their engineering at Sonoma. O'Ward's result isn't just him (mostly him though!) - the car is better as well.
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#724

Post by John »

What, being a dick for years might come back to bite you? Who would have known, eh Fernando?
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#725

Post by kals »

John wrote: 5 years ago What, being a dick for years might come back to bite you? Who would have known, eh Fernando?
viewtopic.php?p=344701#p344701

:whistling:
kals wrote: 5 years agoOr to put it into Alonso speak...

Image
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#726

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

kals wrote: 5 years agoOr to put it into Alonso speak...

Image
:agreepost: :whistling:

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#727

Post by kals »

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#728

Post by Antonov »

Scott Dixon has sealed his fifth title!
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#729

Post by John »

kals wrote: 5 years ago
Good to hear that he's looking for a full recovery, and even get back in a racecar. If he had been told he'd never walk again, I don't think he'd use those words.

Also, well done Dix. Was the race worth watching?
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#730

Post by MonteCristo »

Well done Dixon. Quite an achievement.

@John: The first 1/3 of the race was rubbish. The middle 1/3 of the race was fantastic. The final 1/3 of the race was so-so.

Good to hear about Wickens, from Wickens. Hopefully he recovers as soon as possible, even if he doesn't drive again.
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#731

Post by kals »

MonteCristo wrote: 5 years ago @John: The first 1/3 of the race was rubbish. The middle 1/3 of the race was fantastic. The final 1/3 of the race was so-so.
This, good summary of the race. As Sonoma races go it is worth a watch, maybe just catch the 30 min highlights on YouTube. As for a title decider it was pretty crap. It was always going to be a stretch for anyone to beat Dixon.

Pretty incredible to see Dixon achieve his fifth title. That probably says more about the strangle hold that Ganassi have had on the Indycar series over the past 15 or so years. Since Panther won their two titles in 2001 and 2002 it's been an almost Ganassi whitewash:

2003 onwards...

Ganassi - 8 titles
Andretti - 4 titles
Penske - 4 titles

And let's remember that in 2006 Wheldon finished on equal points to Hornish (lost title on win countback) and in 2007 Dixon had the title won until the final last few hundred yards. So that's conceivably 10 titles in 16 years.
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#732

Post by Cheeveer »

and since 2013, Dixon has barely had a teammate. So most of that is on his own even. He's the best Indycar driver since, well, when did Foyt peak? 1964? Simple as.

Next year Rossi might be polished enough to pull it off. And Newgarden not being as on-and-off. And RHR not as inconsistent. And Rahal being less talk and more game.
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#733

Post by SFIN1972 »

Dixon did a great job this year to earn his fifth title, but Rossi was so exciting to watch this year.
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#734

Post by kals »

Cheeveer wrote: 5 years ago and since 2013, Dixon has barely had a teammate. So most of that is on his own even. He's the best Indycar driver since, well, when did Foyt peak? 1964? Simple as.
Not being a Dixon fan I realise I'm being unfairly harsh on him.

There's no doubt he's definitely the best in the field today plus he's won titles and races despite Ganassi switching engine suppliers a couple of times. But let's not downplay how significant Ganassi has been in his success. Same goes for Dario. That combination has been next to unstoppable in the past 16 years.
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#735

Post by jimclark »

kals wrote: 6 years ago Well without Alonso this year Indycar needed to find a sideshow from somewhere (*joking...*).

It will be interesting to see how Danice gets on. These are very different cars to the last ones she drove. Danica's last Indycar race was that fateful day in Las Vegas over 7 years ago.
Michkov wrote: 6 years ago As far as gridfillers go they could do worse
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