2022 IndyCar Season: Official Discussion Thread

in the UK SkyF1 has the Indycar full live races. They switch to Tom Gaymor to commentate during the American commercials. I don’t know how you guys cope with it. I get annoyed the Sky F1 has commercials during F1 Free Practise considering the cost, I wouldn’t cope if there were ads during the race.

That sure was an exciting race! I have just started watching Indycar again (I stopped watching when Mansell quit). I don’t like the Ovals much but the road course racing is great. I’ve been watching and following F1 since I was a kid in the 70’s. I’ve always thought of Indycar as second rate compared to F1 and I suppose as far as the technical side it really is. In Indycar though there is so much more excitement (they actually overtake each other :grinning:). It seems like the cars are a lot easier to drive than F1 cars and there is some margin for small errors that don’t exist on the F1 cars. Any way I’m really enjoying it!

Glad you’re enjoying it. I’ve heard interviews with several ex f1 drivers that said the Indycar is harder to drive than the F1 cars, they just have a lot less downforce and are easier on the neck. Grosjean commented that one thing he really enjoyed with Indycar, was that they can actually change the handling of the car to suit him, rather than being told to just drive the car he was given in F1.

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For sure they have less down force the wings seem tiny, more like F1 of old! Yeah F1 cars are designed for the most part to be set up a certain way or you just wouldn’t be able to get the lap time out of it. I think any Indycar driver going to F1 is going to struggle with that big time. I was watching Colton Herta in that last race as I know his name is being touted with a possible move to F1. All I can say is that he will have to change his driving style considerably, he did some great overtakes in that race but F1 overtaking is a different ballgame (except DRS passes).

Pato O’Ward in my mind is the guy that should be getting the push. When he tested the McLaren last year, he went fastest in the first session, even faster than Nick De Vries in the Mercedes.

testing is weird, and F1 is weird. It’s hard to know how someone will deal with the F1 circus.

Sure, the circus would be a huge change for them, but there is no reason to believe that a top indycar driver couldn’t get to grips with an F1 car from a driving stand point.

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Here’s a little brain candy: 25 Wierdest Racing Sports from Around the World

Usually these aren’t great but this one is pretty intersting and your superkarts come in at 13. My favorite is the model t + Pig transport race done every year in Oregon.

"At the firing of a starter pistol, drivers must start a Ford Model T from the early 1900s with a hand crank, then grab and lift a 20-pound live pig from a bin on the side of the circuits front straight before completing a lap, at which point they take the pig out and grab another. Of course, all of this must be done without the animal escaping from the vehicle. The first person to complete three laps with three different porcine passengers is the winner. "

Enjoy.

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Superkarts and weird don’t go in the same sentence as far as I’m concerned:) Good description in the blurb below the photo though. And in the photo my old team mate Phil Featherstones Raider kart which he builds and sells! I will be going to a practice day and driving that kart next time I’m back in the UK! Sorry for getting off subject here :roll_eyes:

I would agree that there are a few forms of Motorsport on there that aren’t that odd (trophy trucks etc). I guess that to the general public, it’s kinda bonkers.

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Elbows out today, man-o-man, that was both awesome and catastrophic at the same time.

27th to 3rd for Will Power, holly hell!

Andretti Motorsport will be on Jerry Springer later duking it out, lol.

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The SST race was much cleaner than the Indycar race today, with just some bumping on the last lap. They are just so much fun to watch.

Complete implosion for Andretti cars today. Provided some “holy sh*t” moments for us.

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Wow silly season already providing drama.

McLaren is doing some genius marketing moves with the INDYCAR team. These drivers are getting a ride in a now very competitive INDYCAR team and they get the bonus of some F1 connections and even testing opportunities. Given F2 is becoming a bottleneck dead end, Zak Brown has realized that he can attract the biggest talent in INDYCAR by giving these opportunities and F1 access with some cross-pollination. Those connections have to be super enticing to any top-tier open-wheel driver, especially ones like Pato, Rossi, and Palou who’s F1 dreams never fully blossomed.

AMSP is a powerhouse in INDYCAR now.

Guess this probably means Rosenqvist to Formula E then

"A McLaren Racing press release stated: “Alongside his racing duties next year, Palou will also test with the McLaren F1 Team as part of its 2021 MCL35M F1 car testing program with fellow drivers Pato O’Ward and Colton Herta.”

That sounds like a good seat to have! Good luck to Mr. Palou and maybe this means we see him in f1 someday?

The issue now is that McLaren have SO many options, it’s difficult to pick who actually has a real shot at getting an F1 seat and who is just getting to drive the previous year car for some testing.

Ricciardo and McLaren said they are committed through 2023. Pato has said he would absolutely jump if the opportunity came up, as I’m sure all the McLaren IndyCar guys would. But you’ve also got the F1 grid moving around. Lando is there long-term so it’s going to be hard for McLaren to choose between everyone.

I would imagine the first priorities for the F1 seat are already within the F1 sphere. These Indy guys are likely not totally real contenders yet. Many of them already had their chance in the European ladder.

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Fascinating read with some interesting theories. Maybe Palou is F1-bound after all, assuming Danny Ric leaves.

Those are 3 seriously good IndyCar drivers. I’d love to see those 3 slug it out.

They each choose 1 car from Zak Browns collection to drive 1 Lap in Monaco.