Tag: Andretti Global

Not So Quick Toronto Thoughts

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Toronto was arguably the most entertaining race since the Indianapolis 500. We had a driver out front all day while chaos reigned behind him. Neither numerous cautions nr a late red flag deterred Herta from a long overdue victory.

Total dominance by a driver and his team. Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood were the class of the field at Toronto today. While Herta won, Kirkwood did an equally fine job running interference for his teammate.

We have seen drivers lead several sessions during a race weekend, but they did not win the race. I don’t recall a driver leading every session plus winning the pole and the race. What dominance by Colton Herta and Andretti Global.

Herta ended his 41 race winless streak. He has been so close all year. Today the breaks fell his way.

Herta has won two of the last three poles.

Why Palou Won’t be Caught for the Title

The opportunity for Alex Palou’s three closest pursuers was ripe for the taking. Palou started 18th due to a questionable qualifying penalty. Will Power started ninth, Scott Dixon rolled off 15th, and Pato O’Ward lined up 14th. All looked to make big gains on the points leader.

We have seen this movie before. Power had the best opportunity to slice into Palou’s lead, but a penalty for avoidable contact on lap 81 dropped him to 12th.

Palou finished fourth and increased his lead to 49 points. Days like this strengthen my belief that Palou will win the title, but it will be close and may come down the final pit stop at Nashville.

Bad Day for Team Penske

In addition to Power’s troubles, Josef Newgarden started seventh and had worked his way up to third. An issue on his second stop put him deep in the field. Newgarden had worked back into the top 10, but overshoot a corner. He rejoined the race, but could only get back to 11th.

Scott Mclaughlin had the fastest Chevy all weekend, and he aqppeared to be the one car that could challenge Herta. Going side by side with Will power on lap 77, Power moved into his teammate, putting the New Zealander into the wall.

Safety

For the second week in a row, praise must go to the aeroscreen and the AMR Safety Crew.

Santino Ferrucci got airborne and into the fence, and he landed upside down like his teammate Sting Ray Robb did at Iowa. Ferrucci was unhurt. Nolan Siegel also got airborne but landed on all fours.

The safety fencing held up during Ferrucci;’s contact. It bent but flexed right back into position.

Notes

Recognition needs to go to Theo Pourchaire and Toby Sowery. Pourchaire started 26th after flying from France yesterday and driving on a track he had never seen. He finished 14th.

Sowery drove in just his second Indycar race. He started 21st, avoided the carnage, and finished 15th.

Rinus VeeKay has three consecutive top 10s. he was eighth today, fifth in race 1 at Iowa, and ninth race 2.

Juncos Hollinger racing has improved their qualifying results and are starting to show some good race results. Bothe Romain Grosjean and Agustin Canapino made the second round in qualifying. Grosjean finished ninth today.

Indycar is on an NBC imposed break for the Olympics. Then series returns August 16 and 17 at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Herta Takes Toronto Pole as Andretti Sweeps Front Row

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Qualifying results for the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto were obvious since Friday. Colton Herta had the fastest car, and his teammates weren’t far behind.

Herta won the pole for tomorrow’s race, and teammate Kyle Kirkwood will start next to him. Marcus Ericsson did not quite make the fast Six after suffering an engine issue on Friday,

Herta also won the pole for Race 1 in Iowa last week

“We just need to (do) the same,” Herta said of maintaining his advantage on the 11-turn, 1.786-mile temporary street circuit. “This (car) has been a rocket ship all weekend (and) really has (been) the past few races. Luck hasn’t turned our way for a win yet, and I’m hoping it’s here tomorrow.”

Bad luck in races as plagued the 26 car all season, but tomorrow looks like Herta’s best chance for a win this season. The Andretti team is winless in 2024.

Strange Brew

Scott McLaughlin is the only driver in the top five of the standings to advance to the Fast Six. Alex Palou starts 18th, Will Power starts ninth, Scott Dixon starts 15th, and Pato O’Ward starts 14th.

Palou had gone quick enough to advance, but he was penalized for impeding O’Ward. The two time series champion was trying to get around a slower car when O’Ward approached on a hot lap. I didn’t think Palou had anywhere else to go, but race control didn’t consult me on this one.

Thus, we have a starting field with some fast cars that will try to move though a talented field on a tight track. It should be a fun race.

Special shoutout– Theo Pourchaire, who travelled virtually since midnight Eastern time to get to Toronto to fill in for Alexander Rossi. His first laps on this track, which he had never seen, were qualifying laps. Pourchaire will start 26th, which was pretty much expected, but what an effort.

It’s more proof that race car drivers are wired differently from you and me.

Results

500 News: Livery, Sponsor, and Driver Announcements

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Karherine Legge r4turns for4 the 108th running of the indianqapolis 500 with Dale Coyne Racing. Legge will drive car 51 with sponsorship from e.l.f.., a cosmetics company. Legge drive for Coyne in 2007.

The livery for Conor Daly’s car was revealed yesterday. Sponsored by Polkadot, a blockchain company.

According to the press release, “Polkadot is positioned to serve as the powerful, secure core of Web3. (Its) decentralized governance places the community at the center of decision-making processes; every holder of the Polkadot token (DOT) has a voice towards shaping the platform’s future direction.”

My technological illiteracy is such that I’ll just say I’m happy that they are sponsoring Conor and leave it at thtat.

Marco Andretti’s livery also occurred yesterday. The 98 car has sponsorship from Mapei.

Coming up- a practice update at the end of the veterans session and a story on PREMA joining Indycar.

F1’s Greed and Tone Deafness Foils Andretti Bid

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In a move that may cost F1 some of the popularity they have built in the USA, Formula 1 yesterday rejected Andretti/Cadillac’s bid to join the globetrotting circuit. The outrage among fans worldwide spread through the social media world.

The reason, couched in PR speak, is nothing but pure greed. The current teams don’t want to split their revenue another way. F1 doesn’t think the Andretti name will help them as a series. What?

From their statement:

“While the Andretti name carries some recognition for F1 fans, our research indicates that F1 would bring value to the Andretti brand rather than the other way around,”

Arguably one of the most recognizable names in racing around the world won’t add to the prestige of their series? 

The announcement also mentioned concerns about how competitive the team would be. Obviously, they don’t remember Minardi or Caterham or currently Haas and Williams.

It was so kind of F1 to invite Andretti to try again in four years.

Andretti’s response:

“Andretti Cadillac has reviewed the information Formula One Management Limited has shared and strongly disagree with its contents,” the statement read.

Andretti and Cadillac are two successful global motorsports organizations committed to placing a genuine American works team in F1, competing alongside the world’s best. We are proud of the significant progress we have already made on developing a highly competitive car and power unit with an experienced team behind it, and our work continues at pace.

“Andretti Cadillac would also like to acknowledge and thank the fans who have expressed their support.”

Meanwhile, the FIA, who wants Andretti in the series, implies that this is not over,

I see a lot of turmoil this F1 season. I probably will not go out of my way to watch a race this season. F1 is tone deaf, but they are not completely clueless.

I think this morning’s announcement of Lewis Hamilton going to Ferrari in 2025 was intentionally done as a distraction to the Andretti decision.

Andretti Autosport Rebrands as Andretti Global

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Editor’s note-Beginning with the 2024 season, Andretti Autosport will be known as Andretti Global, as the release below explains. My thought- The new name takes away from what the company does as a racing enterprise. Andretti global could be any worldwide corporation- an investment firm, a real estate development firm, a legal office-but Andretti Autosport defines what they do. Anyway, congratulations to the Andretti group on another step forward in their many racing ventures.

Here is the announcement:

09.05.23

Andretti Autosport to Rebrand as Andretti Global

—INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 5, 2023) – Andretti Autosport, a Championship-winning motorsports organization, today announced a major rebranding initiative that will see the international organization adopt the branding of Andretti Global, the identity previously named as the parent company to the U.S.-based race team.

As a brand that is built on a foundation of racing excellence, the new Andretti Global name will unite all aspects of the organization under a single identity, more closely aligning with the team’s already-established legacy. Andretti Global currently operates in eight motorsports platforms racing across six continents with an appetite to expand its worldwide footprint into other major motorsports series.

Along with the name change, the current Andretti Autosport shield will be replaced with the Andretti Global logo. As each of the 2024 racing seasons get underway, fans can look forward to a new digital experience from the most trusted name in motorsports with the rebrand additionally bringing a new structure to the team’s social media presence.

Andretti Formula E will be the first of the Andretti Global teams to take on the new branding as the reigning Drivers’ World Championship team kicks off Season 10 with testing in October.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, ANDRETTI GLOBAL

“I’m proud of what Andretti Autosport has accomplished over the years, and all the memories that have come with so many special moments. Just as proud as I am of our past, I’m equally excited about our future. As we continue to expand and build a global racing institution, our goal is to be engrained in the culture of our fans, teams and partners. This rebrand is a major milestone in our team’s journey, but we are only getting started. We are determined to achieve success and confident that there are big things in store for Andretti Global.”

DAN TOWRISS, PARTNER, ANDRETTI GLOBAL

“The words Andretti and motorsports are synonymous, and I’m impressed and excited by the worldwide fanbase and reach of the Andretti name. I’m proud to be working with Michael and his team to build that name and legacy into an even stronger brand that reflects our ambitions and values. We are committed to excellence, and I believe our work will benefit our fans and partners around the globe.”

Andretti/Cadillac: Upping the Ante for F1 Bid

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Greetings from The pit Window’s winter headquarters in sunny Florida. As I predicted in my last blog, big news broke while I was traveling. It never fails.

Andretti Global, Michael Andretti’s F1 organization, has entered into an agreement with GM with the Cadillac brand. The partnership is an attempt to bolster the Andretti F1 bid. GM is trying to grow their brand world wide. Andretti also has an agreement with Renault to use their power plants. A Cadillac branded engine may not appear until 2026, assuming Andretti gets an entry in the world championship series.

While it appears the FIA and President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has opened a period of interest for future entries. He seems ready to welcom the Andretti/Cadillac team to Formula 1.

The FOM, the association of team owners, however, is not as enthusiastic about a new team. They talked about a new entry meeting a standard of competitiveness. Have they noticed Williams or Haas the last few years? Do they remember Minardi? I’m pretty sure Michael Andretti will come in with a first class operation. Like most new teams, there will be growing pains the first few years, but I see the Andretti team scoring points by its second year.

If Formula 1 wants to run three races a year in the United States, they are going to need a team from the United States before the novelty wears off. Drive to survive won’t last forever. Haas is hard to relate to as an American team.

How can Andretti’s entry into F1 help Indycar? It is a longshot, but if Colton Herta drives for the F1 team, but still runs the Indianapolis 500, there could be a boost. The better chance for exposure is having the F1 broadcasters mention that Andretti’s Indycar team will be racing later the same day.

I hope tat F1 allows Andretti to enter their world. think it is