2022 NTT IndyCar series - News, gossip, bantz and the rest

[Everso Biggyballies]

Bottom post of the previous page:

Palou may not race in 2023

Not sure how much of this is stuff from Felix's Christmas list but he seems to think h might still be running a McLaren / SPAM in Indycar next year, with suggestions Palou might not race at all next year due to his confused contractual situation and the outcome set to be decided in the Courtrooms.

Following the Toronto IndyCar race, Rosenqvist suggested what many observers within IndyCar circles believe to be true: that the looming contract dispute between Palou’s two potential suitors will not be resolved quickly or painlessly.

“I don’t know what’s going on there,” FR admitted. “At the moment it doesn’t sound like Alex is going to race at all.

“It’s up to lawyers and stuff. Honestly, it’s not my business at all. I think it hasn’t really changed anything. This whole deal went down months ago. I didn’t know all the details of it that I know now, but nothing has actually changed.”

So thats Pato and Rossi sorted we know that, but maybe Felix wont be destined to return to racing milk floats after all. He, along with Palou both have these non specific contracts outline their actual roles within the McLaren Group are not formalised. Obviously the plan for Palou was Indycar with the occasional play in F1 cars which would have had Felix going electric, but maybe that is all still a state of flux. Felix says he is settled in Indycar, has upped his act and thats where he wants to be.

“I’ve made my point that I’m very happy with the team. I think we worked hard the last two years to kind of build up a very strong team. We have good strategy, good pit stops. I think I’m able to extract the most out of the car most weekends now."

“I think if you asked me at the end of last year, obviously it would have been a different answer. But right now, I’m just very happy where I’m at. I think I would be crazy if I said I wanted to go somewhere else. I want to be where I’m at right now.”

He admitted that his IndyCar future rests in the hands of Zak Brown. “He’s the man who is making the moves. It’s probably going to take a couple weeks before we know more. Hopefully Toronto changed something. My ambition is to keep proving it that way.

“I think if Zak was sure I was going to FE, he would have already said it. I’m going to take that chance. If there’s a chance for me to be here next year, I’m going to try to prove I can do that.”

Seems like this one isnt going to be sorted quickly, and unfortunately Felix's (Indycar) future seems to be potentially in the hands of Chip and Zak's lawyers and a judge. In the meantime a few more podiums wont do him any harm.

Could we even get a situation where the judge says Palou legally is tied to CGR as far as Indycar is concerned, and cant drive for SPAM in 2023. I cant see if that was to happen that Palou would be parked in a McLaren FE. That would be when Zak would get his chequebook out and buy out Palou's contract from Chip. Chip wont run Palou even if he wins the legal right to.

Maybe (likely?) it wont even go to court and Zak will just drop a sack of cash on Chip's desk one day.

Lets get really hypothetical and could Felix be part of the deal? Chip needs someone with some runs on the board and I cant think who is free at year end atm

Maybe I have had too many coffees today!

Just as we put the popcorn away its back out again.....

[Cheeveer]

While I think that Felix would be okay with such a move, his manager Stefan Johansson too, I am not sure Zac and Chip would want to make any sort of deal with each other. On the other hand, why not bury the hatchet like this?

[John]

Felix is too good to rot away in FE. But I've no idea if Chip would even welcome Felix back into the 10 having already vacated it once. Realistically though, had Felix not snapped a driveshaft at Texas and suffered an engine failure at Mid-Ohio he would be sitting comfortably in the top-five now which would make the notion of him getting booted out of the team and shipped to FE even more absurd.

There's a number of ways this could go:

- Palou to ASPM and Felix gets the boot
- Palou sits on the sidelines for a year, Veekay or Kanaan replaces him in the 10, Felix stays at ASPM
- Ricciardo gets booted out of the F1 ride, Palou heads there instead, Felix stays in the 7, McLaren has to deal with two contract disputes
- Same as above but Danny heads to the 7 and Felix gets relegated to FE duty
- Palou sucks it up for a year and stays in the 10, Felix stays in the 7

And probably some other multiverse theories that I've overlooked.

[John]

https://racer.com/2022/07/19/blomqvist- ... -with-msr/

More Swedes? Hell yes.

[Vassago]

Blomqvist might be the "slowest" of the Swedes though. I'd rather pick Felix over him.

[MonteCristo]

https://racer.com/2022/07/19/talks-over ... ontinuing/

Yoda the only one in the sights to be a third engine manufacturer.

But the news there isn't too optimistic.

[John]

A third OEM is key to reduce the pressure on Honda and Chevy. I hope Penske pulls it off.

[MonteCristo]

A third OEM is key to reduce the pressure on Honda and Chevy. I hope Penske pulls it off.

Also a safety net in general.

Haven't heard anything about either Chevy or Honda looking to move on. But you just need a change at the top of either organisation or a need to cut costs, and all of a sudden there's only one; we're a spec series, and half of the teams lose a bit of financial support.

[MonteCristo]

Another silly season update from Marshall Pruett. A bit more interesting this time.

https://racer.com/2022/07/22/pruett-ind ... july-2022/

Some highlights:

If there’s an F2 driver running in the top 10 this season who lacks an existing link to a Formula 1 team, they’ve likely been in touch with a few IndyCar teams and inquired about testing in the offseason or going straight to racing next season.
...
The top name I hear as being interested in IndyCar and is also drawing interest from IndyCar teams is Brazil’s Felipe Drugovich, who leads the F2 championship. Another is New Zealand’s Marcus Armstrong, who holds sixth in the F2 standings with two wins so far, including a victory at the last event in Austria. Beyond breakaway Indy Lights championship leader Linus Lundqvist, I don’t hear the rest of the current class mentioned with similar excitement by IndyCar teams, and that’s why F2 drivers are drawing extra attention in the U.S.
...
The hot rumor in early June was that Indy Lights sophomore Benjamin Pedersen was headed to the No. 14 (to replace Kirkwood), and the mentions of the Danish-American driver graduating to IndyCar with Foyt on a multi-year deal continue to grow.
...
As for the third Foyt entry that ran through Mid-Ohio, I’ve heard nothing of late to suggest the No. 11 Chevy is coming back as a part- or full-time car. One item of interest, however, is the aforementioned F2 driver Marcus Armstrong, who the Foyt team tells me is meant to test for them once the IndyCar season concludes in September.

[Everso Biggyballies]

Re the Palou schimoz is it starting to get personal in Ganassiland? (Opinion: I dont think so)

Palou’s access to Ganassi IndyCar data restricted

Some seem to be seeing drama but I dont personally see it as anything unusual, certainly not when in a situation where a driver is known to be moving on. Its to me just an advance 'Gardening Leave' scenario. What has happened is that Palou no longer has access to any data when away from the circuit. He still has access at a race meeting. He cant access data from home for instance.

To me thats a common sense thing from CGR and one that gives more indication that regardless of legal wranglings benefitting CGR over Palou's service his future beyond a race by race basis/ end 2022 at CGR is done. We knew that anyway really.

Not sure if its coincidence or what but Palou's #10’s naming rights sponsor for this weekend at Iowa is Ridgeline Lubricants, rather than the usual NTT Data.

[MonteCristo]

https://racer.com/2022/07/26/andretti-e ... y-in-2023/

DeFrancesco shaky at Andretti.

Not sure if he'd be able to land elsewhere (Foyt, etc) if money isn't an issue (and rather pace is).

[John]

The 29 sits 23rd in the owners circle points. I think the top-22 gets paid? DDF has been woefully slow all year by Indycar standards but reasonably fast for a guy who finished 6th out of 9 full time cars in IndyLights in 2021, over 200 points adrift of Kirkwood.

[John]

https://racer.com/2022/07/27/ganassi-team-sues-palou/

CGR sues Palou

More:

[Everso Biggyballies]

Hmmmm interesting. A team suing a driver whist said driver still races for them. That novel. In fact if I was a betting person I would be thinking Hmmmm as to whether Palou. will still be driving with CGR for the balance of this year. Unless Palou has not actually signed to option that CGR say they have, and which I imagine he would need to have signed. I guess it is all down to the wording of the option clause Ganassi has.

Seems like McLaren may not have been that thorough in their due diligence cchecks on Palou. If Macca have taken a yeah its all sweet im clear to sign from Palou as Gospel it strikes me a a bit slack. But its all hypothetical and hearsaay without knowing the contract / extension wording and provisos

Im sort of getting over the endless taste of popcorn.

[DoubleFart]

Where does it say they're suing Palou? It says they're taking legal action, but the statement is all positive about him, but negative about McLaren. Sounds more like they're going after McLaren for initiating the contract to me

[John]

Where does it say they're suing Palou? It says they're taking legal action, but the statement is all positive about him, but negative about McLaren. Sounds more like they're going after McLaren for initiating the contract to me

I stole the wording from the racer.com article above. There's been a court case filed in Indiana by CGR against Palou, so they're most definitely dragging him to court.