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| Despite more success, Alexander Rossi exits 2019 still searching for a championship |
Rossi again found himself at the front of the grid on a regular basis and proved to be one of the championship players all the way through the finale. Despite a few dominating performances and frequent quality finishes, Rossi again saw the Astor Cup handed to another man when the season came to a conclusion.
What objectively was his best race?
Rossi won two races in 2019, Long Beach and Road America. Both were beat downs.
It was Rossi's second consecutive Long Beach victory and it was somehow better than his 71 laps led from pole position the year before. Rossi led 80 of 85 laps. It was a race that was never in doubt. He won by 20.2359 seconds over Will Power.
At Road America, he led 54 of 55 laps from second on the grid. If it weren't for Graham Rahal staying out an extra lap on his final stint Rossi would have led every lap and it would not have been close. This wasn't a race where Rossi stayed in front with the field on his tail but unable to get pass him. Rossi pulled away. No one came close to Rossi after about lap one and he took victory by 28.4391 seconds, coincidentally, over Power.
What subjectively was his best race?
It is not one of his victories. It is the Indianapolis 500. Rossi very well could have two Indianapolis 500 victories by now, perhaps three even. He has gelled to the 500-mile race discipline the same way Juan Pablo Montoya did 20 years ago.
This year at Indianapolis was another spectacular showing from Rossi and though he did not come home with the victory he had a memorable drive for the second consecutive year. It wasn't the 32nd to fourth performance he had in 2018 but Rossi controlled this race from second position in the latter half. When it became apparent that the Honda engine had superior fuel mileage, Rossi took control and it got him the lead. He pushed the Chevrolets of Simon Pagenaud, Josef Newgarden and Ed Carpenter to run faster than the Chevrolets would like and it flipped the field into Rossi's advantage.
Rossi could run at a pace the Chevrolets could match but not sustain and for a brief moment Rossi was pulling away but one caution changed everything. We will never know what would have happened if Graham Rahal and Sébastien Bourdais made it through turn three on lap 174 of the Indianapolis 500. At that point, it appeared Rossi, who overcame two re-fueling issues on pit stops and entered turn one with one hand flailing out of the cockpit in anger at Oriol Servià, was going to leave the Team Penske cars and Carpenter in his dust and then the caution neutralized the advantage.
The final 14 laps were an elegant battle between Pagenaud and Rossi. The caution laps conserved enough fuel for Pagenaud to go ten-tenths in the stretch. Rossi did all he could to hold the advantage but Pagenaud got out front in turn three on the penultimate and broke the draft every chance he got. The marathon became a sprint and Rossi was left to settle for second.
What objectively was his worst race?
The Grand Prix of Indianapolis, where Patricio O'Ward ran into the back before Rossi before the green flag, causing damage that forced Rossi to stop on lap one and lose multiple laps and all he could manage was a 22nd place result.
What subjectively was his worst race?
The final seven races because after that dismantling of the field at Road America Rossi didn't lead another lap all season.
The title was his for the taking. Josef Newgarden was not that much better over the final seven races. He won at Iowa but he did not have another podium finish. Rossi had two podium finishes in the final seven races and on four occasions he finished ahead of Newgarden but when it was time for Rossi to grab control of the championship battle he didn't.
In Rossi's defense, he could have flipped things at Pocono but his race didn't make it through turn two of lap one but even then he had six other chances. The only race the team should be kicking itself for coughing up points is Gateway. Boneheaded pit strategy cost Rossi a definite top ten finish and brought him home in 13th. Newgarden only finished seventh that night.
Portland was set up for Rossi to take advantage with Newgarden failing to advance from the first round of qualifying but Rossi followed it up with failing to advance from round two. He could have put the car on the front row and put ten positions between him and Newgarden but it didn't happen. He went from seventh to third but Newgarden went from 13th to fifth. It didn't help that Newgarden was gifted six positions from cars taking each other out.
At Laguna Seca, Rossi couldn't get to the front and Newgarden started on Rossi's rear wing and was fine staying there. It didn't matter though. Rossi could not get higher than fourth and then he lost spots to the charging Power and Felix Rosenqvist.
Rossi corrected many mistakes from the 2018 season that cost him that championship but he lost a little off his fast ball and he just didn't have it for the title in 2019.
Alexander Rossi's 2019 Statistics
Championship Position: 3rd (608 points)
Wins: 2
Podiums: 7
Top Fives: 11
Top Tens: 14
Laps Led: 182
Poles: 2
Fast Sixes: 7
Fast Twelves: 9
Average Start: 5.6875
Average Finish: 6.3529
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| Another good but not great year for Ryan Hunter-Reay |
After putting up a hard fight to retain the number one spot at Andretti Autosport in 2018, Hunter-Reay took a step back in 2019 and conceded the role of team leader to Rossi. Hunter-Reay again failed to find himself on the top step of the podium for the third time in the last four seasons.
What objectively was his best race?
Hunter-Reay was the third-place finisher in two races. The first was at Austin, where Hunter-Reay started in the top five and he ran fourth most of the race before the only caution moved Hunter-Reay into a podium position when Will Power and Alexander Rossi were shuffled back.
The other was at Mid-Ohio, where Hunter-Reay moved from tenth to third. He was able to run a little more aggressive strategy and jump his way to the front.
What subjectively was his best race?
It has to be Texas, a race where Hunter-Reay led 90 laps, the only race Hunter-Reay led all season.
Hunter-Reay ran aggressive and was going for a four-stop strategy because of tire falloff but the tires did not fall off as expected and he was not going to get the number of cautions needed to help him make it. He reached a point of no-return but, unfortunately, did not capitalize on the Zach Veach caution like Newgarden did. Hunter-Reay didn't hedge and make his extra pit stop under caution. He stayed out and while Hunter-Reay ended up making his final stop under one of the later cautions, Newgarden won while Hunter-Reay could only make a late rally to fifth.
What objectively was his worst race?
Surprisingly, Hunter-Reay, who has made a career of having mechanical gremlins bite him at the wrong time, had only one retirement due to a mechanical issue all season and it was an engine failure in the season opener at St. Petersburg. It left him with a 23rd place result.
What subjectively was his worst race?
I think there is a good case for Texas because Hunter-Reay probably had the best car that night and misplayed the strategy. However, I will give Portland a mention because he started in the top five and made a boneheaded mistake defending his teammate Rossi into turn one. He was so focused on his mirrors and defending that he missed his braking point, locked up and took out Jack Harvey.
Harvey was done. Hunter-Reay was able to continue but lost multiple laps due to repairs and because of a penalty but his mistake also gifted another two positions to Newgarden, allow the Penske drive to get little closer to Rossi in the championship. Rossi didn't needed that. Rossi was in a three-on-one situation when he needed a wingman most.
Ryan Hunter-Reay's 2019 Statistics
Championship Position: 8th (420 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 2
Top Fives: 6
Top Tens: 10
Laps Led: 90
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 3
Fast Twelves: 8
Average Start: 9.875
Average Finish: 10.588
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| Times were tough for Marco Andretti |
This was Andretti's 14th season in IndyCar and it was another tough season for him. This was the fourth consecutive where he did not score a podium finish. It was the second season in the last four where he did not score a top five finish. This was the third time in the last four seasons he finished outside the top ten in the championship. It has been over eight years since his most recent victory.
What objectively was his best race?
Andretti had sixth place finishes on two occasions. The first came at Austin where he started 20th and the second was in the second Belle Isle race, where he started 19th.
What subjectively was his best race?
The second Belle Isle race was better than Austin. Andretti was a mover at Belle Isle. He made passes early and really worked his way into the top ten and that sixth place finish.
The difference between that and Austin is the one caution at Austin definitely benefitted Andretti greatly and inflated that finish a tad bit. At Austin, Andretti may have gotten a top ten but ninth or tenth at best. That caution gave him a few more spots. He still had to hold on and bring the car home in sixth but Belle Isle was the better drive of the two.
I do think it is important to note that Andretti had five top ten finishes in 2019 and those five top ten finishes were these two finishes in sixth and then three finishes in tenth at Texas, Toronto and Gateway.
What objectively was his worst race?
It was 26th at the Indianapolis 500, a race where Andretti got the set up wrong and fell like a rock from the start.
What subjectively was his worst race?
It is Indianapolis but for more than the bad result. It is Indianapolis because of everything that was riding with this year's race.
It was the 50th anniversary of Mario Andretti's only Indianapolis 500 victory. Marco had a tribute livery to the 1969 Indianapolis 500 winning STP Brawner Hawk his grandfather drove. The car was revealed on The Today Show. Marco qualified tenth and in less than five laps it became clear this dream result was not going to happen.
I think qualifying tenth made it worse because Andretti had the pace. It was not inconceivable the morning of the 103rd Indianapolis 500 that Marco Andretti could pull off an iconic and timely victory. It was not a crazy bet. However, it was over in the opening minutes of the race and not in a bad way. The car did not fail on Andretti; it just didn't have the legs.
This is actually a problem that has kind of followed Andretti. We have not seen him have a solid oval race where he is at the sharp end of the field in the last four seasons.
Marco Andretti's 2019 Statistics
Championship Position: 16th (303 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Top Fives: 0
Top Tens: 5
Laps Led: 0
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 0
Fast Twelves: 3
Average Start: 16.625
Average Finish: 14
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| Zach Veach's results went in the wrong direction in 2019 |
Veach returned for his sophomore season in IndyCar and unfortunately for him he did have a slump. His championship finish dropped three places from 2018. His average starting position was a spot and a half worse than 2018. His average finish was 1.7 spots worse than his rookie year. He had three retirements after finishing every race in 2018 and he had only six lead lap finishes after having eight as a rookie.
What objectively was his best race?
It was a seventh place finish at Iowa where Veach's car got better with each lap of the race and he climbed from 20th to seventh.
What subjectively was his best race?
Iowa was the only race where Veach was racy all season. It is the only race that stands out where Veach was passing people and going forward.
He did have eighth place finishes in both Belle Isle races and in the first one he spun on the final pace lap and threw away a seventh place starting position and had to rally to eighth. In the second race Veach started third and he fall back a bit but finished eighth.
Despite all of that, Iowa is the only race where Veach really left an impression in a positive way.
What objectively was his worst race?
It was 29th in the Indianapolis 500 when Veach was one of too many innocent bystanders who had their races disrupted because of Graham Rahal and Sébastien Bourdais coming together in turn three. To be honest, it is not like Veach lost a great result because of this incident. He was not really mentioned all race up to that point.
What subjectively was his worst race?
There are a few options here. The first I will mention is Austin because he started ninth and spun off on lap one and never could rally. It also didn't help that he lost a lap and then damaged his wing after contact with Scott Dixon.
Another bad race was Texas, where Veach was likely going to finish in the top ten and then brushed the wall, similar to what he did last year. He had a strong car and took himself out before it had really got dark at the track.
The final one I will mention, and this isn't Veach's fault at all, is Portland because Veach qualified 11th and he was taken out in turn one when Graham Rahal ran into him from behind. It is more of a what might have been for Veach and having a race stolen after a matter of seconds.
Zach Veach's 2019 Statistics
Championship Position: 18th (271 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Top Fives: 0
Top Tens: 3
Laps Led: 4
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 0
Fast Twelves: 2
Average Start: 15.875
Average Finish: 15.765
An Early Look Ahead
Looking back at the numbers, Rossi was about equal to Newgarden. Both drivers had seven podium finishes and 14 top ten finishes and Newgarden had 12 top five finishes to Rossi's 11. The difference was Newgarden got four victories to Rossi's two and Rossi twice finished second to Newgarden. Now, the championship did not come down to that. We could flip Rossi and Newgarden in the first Belle Isle race and Texas and Newgarden still would have taken the title but Rossi was there.
A problem was the rest of the team because Rossi had no wingman in the closing races. When it came time for someone to get between Rossi and Newgarden at Laguna Seca Rossi had nobody. All three Penske cars were at the front of the grid and made it very difficult for Rossi to take the title. The rest of the Andretti cars were barely inside the top ten or outside of it altogether.
The team took a step in the wrong direction in 2019 and it has to get its footing for 2020. Colton Herta will officially be under the team umbrella after the merger with Harding Steinbrenner Racing but the team needs Hunter-Reay to find his footing and get back to being a contender for race victories. The team needs one of Andretti or Veach to become a regular top ten finisher.
Hunter-Reay turns 39 years old in December. Andretti will only be 33 years old when next season starts. It is not the oldest team on the grid but it does need its drivers to step up because of the top six teams in the championship there were three of three Penske entries and two of two Ganassi entries and Rossi was the lone Andretti entry carrying the flag.
This team can turn it around but if it doesn't in 2020 I think changes will be coming in 2021. After all, Veach is in a contract year and a sophomore slump was the last thing he needed.
The fight between Rossi and Herta will be interesting. For the last two seasons we have pegged Rossi as the next new IndyCar champion and he has gone to the finale in both years with hopes but left with no hardware. Herta had one of the most memorable rookie seasons since Juan Pablo Montoya in 1999 and he very well could be a championship contender at 20 years old in his sophomore season.
It is setting up for Herta to steal Rossi's thunder. It would be crushing to see Rossi, after two seasons of being one of the best on the grid, lose the championship to Herta in Herta's first season as Rossi's teammate. Crueler things have happened in this world and in IndyCar but the introduction of Herta to the Andretti stable only increases the pressure on Rossi but I think that is a good thing.
We have seen Rossi rise to the occasion and take over the number one driver role at Andretti Autosport. If anything, adding Herta will only make Rossi stronger. It will give Rossi that running mate to keep him honest. Herta will push Rossi and Rossi will have someone to chase when Herta has the better car at a given racetrack.
Rossi and Herta could be a pair that steals too many points from one another and leads to another Penske or Ganassi title or it could lead to an Andretti Autosport driver winning the championship for the first time since 2012.
