2022 IndyCar Team Preview: Arrow McLaren SP

We are moving back toward the front of the grid with the fourth IndyCar Team Preview. Arrow McLaren SP had a breakout season of sorts in 2021. After a solid 2020 season with Patricio O'Ward, the pairing went a step further in 2021. O'Ward picked up his first career victory and then scored his second. He led the championship for a few rounds and was a regular top five finisher. Unfortunately, O'Ward did not get the same top results late in the season, and damage suffered at Long Beach dropped him to third in the final championship standings.

While O'Ward led the way, his new teammate Felix Rosenqvist struggled in his first season with AMSP. Rosenqvist couldn't match his teammate's finishes, and a bad accident at Belle Isle sidelined the Swede for a few races. AMSP has kept this combination together with championship aspiration being obtainable, but it will require going a step further for all parties involved.

2021 Arrow McLaren SP Review

Wins: 2 (Texas, Belle Isle II)

Poles: 3 (Barber, Belle Isle I, August IMS road course race)

Championship Finishes: 3rd (Patricio O'Ward), 21st (Felix Rosenqvist), 31st (Juan Pablo Montoya), 42nd (Kevin Magnussen)

Patricio O'Ward - #5 Arrow Chevrolet

After ending 2020 as one of the most promising young drivers, O'Ward started 2021 asserting himself as a driver of the present, taking pole position at Barber. He led the opening stint, but tire preservation was his weak point and he finished fourth. Tires were a struggle at St. Petersburg, and he finished 19th. 

At Texas, O'Ward kept up his oval form and opened the weekend with a third-place finish. The next day, O'Ward ran at the front, and his aggressiveness paid off. He was able to take the lead in the final 25 laps and took his first career victory. 

His love-hate relationship with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course continued with a 15th-place finish, but on the oval, O'Ward was a contender. He spent most of the race at the front and led. He was never too far from the lead but didn't quite have enough and finished fourth. The results remained positive at Belle Isle. Another pole position came in race one, but the frenetic nature of that race dropped him to third. He was looking at a top five finish in race two before a pair of late cautions. O'Ward had the legs late and made up positions. He worked his way to second and overtook Josef Newgarden with three laps to go for the lead. O'Ward held on to become the first repeat winner of the season. 

Top ten finishes followed at Road America and Mid-Ohio, but Nashville was a tough day and a pair of penalties limited O'Ward to 13th. He was on pole position again for the second IMS road course race, but again did not have the tire life when it mattered most and finished fifth. 

A runner-up result at Gateway gave him the championship lead and fortunate chaos at the start of Portland moved O'Ward from the back of the top ten to the lead at the start. He looked set to control the championship. But cautions and pit strategy went against O'Ward, and he dropped to 14th as Álex Palou won the race. At Laguna Seca, O'Ward was fifth, but Palou was second. O'Ward still had a chance at Long Beach and qualified ahead of Palou. But opening lap contact in the hairpin from Ed Jones derailed his title hopes and subsequent gearbox issues were the final nail in the coffin

Numbers to Remember:

12.6: Average finish on street courses in 2021.

39.473: Top five finish percentage in 38 starts.

2013: The last season to feature driver not from one of the "Big Three" teams in the top three in the championship before O'Ward did it last season. Before O'Ward, it was Simon Pagenaud with Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports.

What does a championship season look like for him?

O'Ward picks up where he left off in 2021. He doesn't have many, if any, off days. He wins early and he wins often. He starts the season with a victory at St. Petersburg or at least a podium result. He wins at Texas again. This time he pulls out at least a top ten finish in Long Beach and then he gets another podium in Barber.

In May, he gets at least a pair of top five finishes, and he has a top five in Belle Isle. He wins at Road America, finishes in the top ten at Mid-Ohio and Toronto. He wins one of two Iowa races and is in the top five of the other race. Either way, he extends his championship lead before arriving to Nashville. 

He gets a top ten in Nashville, a podium result at Gateway and then closes the season with top ten results in Portland and Laguna Seca because that is all he will need, and he will not have to be all that flashy.

What does a realistic season look like for him?

A championship is very realistic for O'Ward. He nearly had a hand firmly grasp on the trophy last season when Álex Palou slipped up and it looked like it was going to be O'Ward championship early at Portland. Then that race took a turn, O'Ward fell back, Palou moved forward, and the Mexican driver was chasing the Spaniard for the final two races.

O'Ward didn't make many mistakes in 2021. If anything, his worst results were out of his control. He hasn't been a liability on track at any point in his IndyCar career. That isn't going to change now. He could put together a five-victory, eight-podium, 13-top five finish season with every race ending in the top ten or him having only one result outside the top ten. 

Arrow McLaren SP is up for the challenge and kept up with Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske for the entire 2021 season. O'Ward was ahead of the Penske quartet for practically the entire season until the final race went sideways. 

There is room for improvement, notably tire management, but O'Ward can conquer that. If he does, he will be far more dangerous than he was last year, and everyone else will need to be close to perfect to take the title.

Felix Rosenqvist - #7 Arrow Chevrolet

After a good, but not great, sophomore season with Chip Ganassi Racing, Rosenqvist moved to AMSP looking to spark his IndyCar career in year three. Unfortunately, that spark set off an explosion in race one. Rosenqvist was caught in the opening lap incident and settled for 21st. Things were better, but not spectacular at St. Petersburg, finishing 12th. 

He could have finished in the top five in the first Texas race if it was not for accident avoidance in the pit lane, swerving into the grass to avoid Marcus Ericsson, who only had three tires on the car. Rosenqvist was forced to settle for 13th. Coincidentally, Rosenqvist lost his right rear tire after it was not properly secured in the second Texas race and finished 16th.

Rosenqvist was 17th and 27th in the two Indianapolis races. He led the Indianapolis 500 late with his aggressive fuel-save strategy, but he was 11 laps short. In the Saturday Belle Isle race, Rosenqvist's throttle stuck in the middle of turn six and he accelerated straight into the tire barrier, knocking the concrete barrier backward. The race was red-flagged for a lengthy period. He was taken to hospital and released the next day. However, he would miss the Sunday race and the Road America race that followed. 

Back in the car at Mid-Ohio, Rosenqvist was spun on the opening lap at the start and finished 23rd. His first good day came at Nashville, an eighth-place result, but he was in contention for a top five. It was not the start of a strong finish to 2021. He would finish sixth at Portland but was 13th or worse in the other four of five races to close out the year.

Numbers to Remember:

10: Top ten finishes in his rookie season in 2019.

7: Top ten finishes in the last two seasons (28 starts)

7: As in seventh best average finish among IndyCar regulars in 2019.

18: As in 18th best average finish among IndyCar regulars in 2021.

What does a championship season look like for him?

Rosenqvist, combined with his new engineer, the legendary Craig Hampson, knock it out of the box from the start. The #7 Arrow McLaren SP team takes victory off the crack of the bat in St. Petersburg, a solid top ten day follows in Texas, before another podium result in Long Beach and a top five in Barber. 

He takes his second victory in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis before having his best Indianapolis 500 with at least a top ten finish. He is on the podium again in Belle Isle, making it a perfect three podium visits in three street course starts. He wins again at Road America and has a top five in Mid-Ohio before getting another top five in Toronto and managing two top ten finishes in Iowa.

In Nashville, his street course prowess continues, and he gets his fourth victory of the season. He keeps his nose clean and finishes in the top ten at Gateway. He puts himself in a solid position for the championship at Portland with another top five result, but he ends with a flourish, his fifth victory of the season at Laguna Seca.

What does a realistic season look like for him?

The last two seasons have been rough for Rosenqvist, and 2021 was hopefully rock-bottom for the Swede. It wasn't just being thoroughly defeated within the AMSP battle, but Rosenqvist was banged up and missed two races. 

We have all seen enough from Rosenqvist to know he is better than 21st in the championship. A bounce back is more likely than him struggling again. Hampson taking the helm on the timing stand should help significantly, and Hampson alone could make Rosenqvist a championship contender. But I think this team will settle for top ten in the championship with at least one victory and being closer to O'Ward. 

 

It is going to be hard to beat O'Ward. Even if Rosenqvist repeated his rookie season in 2019, I am not sure that would be enough for Rosenqvist to top his teammate. Rosenqvist must save his ride and show he can at least be an adequate second driver in the team, one that AMSP cannot replace. He can achieve that. It's not the most glamorous thing ensuring a number two role, but it can save his career from a tailspin.  

A victory would go a long way, but if he is regularly in the top ten, challenging for a top ten championship position and shadowing O'Ward most of the year, Rosenqvist will earn a third season with this organization.

The 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season begins on Sunday February 27 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. NBC's coverage will begin at noon ET.

IndyCar Wrap-Up: Arrow McLaren SP's 2021 Season

The eighth IndyCar Wrap-Up dives into Arrow McLaren SP. After years of talking about becoming IndyCar's fourth best team, AMSP finally showed some results that were worthy of that claim. Not only did the team get back to victory lane, it was in the championship fight until the final day of the season against the big boys from Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske. 

Patricio O'Ward cannot complain much about his season

Patricio O'Ward

The 2020 IndyCar Rookie of the Year was expected to break out in 2021, and the Mexican driver indeed broke out. From the first race of the season, O'Ward was a presence at every race. Constantly starting and running at the front, O'Ward went from a young driver looking for his first victory to a first-time championship contender, including leading the championship with three races to go. However, while majority of the days were glorious for him, O'Ward needed a few more to earn IndyCar's ultimate prize.

What objectively was his best race?
O'Ward won two races, his first was in the second race of the Texas weekend. The second was the second race of the Belle Isle weekend.

What subjectively was his best race?
Texas was a good showing, where O'Ward led 25 laps and he took the lead after he was able to run at a quicker pace before his final pit stop and he came out ahead of Josef Newgarden, but it is the second Belle Isle race. O'Ward was going to finish in the top five, but late cautions gave him second life.

With two late restarts, O'Ward jetted through the field. With three laps to go, he took the lead with a pass on Newgarden, who had led every lap to that point. O'Ward had to pass some of IndyCar's best just to get to Newgarden. In such a hectic and tight environment, no one was stopping O'Ward in those closing laps.

What objectively was his worst race?
The bad news, it was the final race of the year, where O'Ward was spun on the opening lap in the hairpin at Long Beach after Ed Jones was overaggressive. Within 20 laps, O'Ward ground to a halt with a mechanical issue. The team repaired the car as best as it could and he was classified 27th, the worst finish of his IndyCar career.

What subjectively was his worst race?

It is hard to go beyond Long Beach, but for how competitive O'Ward was this season, many races slipped away due to poor tire management. 

The season started with O'Ward on pole position, but he could not conserve his tires early and after leading the first 25 laps, he fell out of the lead and never challenged for the top spot again. At St. Petersburg, he started sixth, but the balance was never there and he quickly fell down the order to finish 19th. He had the same problem at Portland, where he was gifted the top spot when pole-sitter and championship rival Álex Palou blew the chicane, as did Scott Dixon and Alexander Rossi. It was set for O'Ward to potentially strengthen his grip on the championship lead, but he had to stop early for tires and dropped down the order, ultimately finishing 14th.

He also had a dismal performance at Nashville, where he drew two separate penalties, including one for contact with Alexander Rossi entering turn four, the dagger to an already difficult day. 

Patricio O'Ward's 2021 Statistics
Championship Position: 3rd (487 points)
Wins: 2
Podiums: 5
Top Fives: 9
Top Tens: 11
Laps Led: 118
Poles: 3
Fast Sixes: 3
Fast Twelves: 10
Average Start: 8.3571
Average Finish: 8.3125

It was a curious season for Felix Rosenqvist

Felix Rosenqvist

After two conflicting seasons at Chip Ganassi Racing, Rosenqvist moved to Arrow McLaren SP in a surprising move. The Swede was the 2019 IndyCar Rookie of the Year, and he scored his first victory in 2020, but his overall performance dipped. Things did not get better in Rosenqvist's new outfit.

What objectively was his best race?
Rosenqvist was sixth at Portland after starting fourth, but Rosenqvist was one of the many driver to blow the chicane at the start and shuffle to the back of the field early. However, an early pit stop after being moved to the back of the field, combined with the cautions allowed the strategy to get Rosenqvist back to the front.

What subjectively was his best race?
Nashville was the best race Rosenqvist drove all season. He should have finished in the top five as he kept up with the leaders, but he lost positions late as his tires were gone and he settled for eighth.

What objectively was his worst race?
Rosenqvist led 14 laps in the Indianapolis 500, including with eight laps to go, and yet he finished 27th, one lap down. It was a roll of the dice on strategy, hoping to save fuel and get a caution late to steal victory. Unfortunately, there was no way he was going to save enough fuel to make it to the finish even with a caution. It wasn't a good day for him to begin with, but this was his one chance in IndyCar's biggest race.

What subjectively was his worst race?

It is hard to beat the one that sent you to the hospital. Rosenqvist had a throttle stick going through turn six at Belle Isle and he slammed into the tire barrier, knocking the concrete barrier backward. The good news is Rosenqvist was not seriously injured, but he was not cleared to race the next day and he missed the next race at Road America as well.

 

Felix Rosenqvist's 2021 Statistics
Championship Position: 21st (205 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Top Fives: 0
Top Tens: 2
Laps Led: 14
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 2
Fast Twelves: 3
Average Start: 12.5
Average Finish: 16.357

An Early Look Ahead

There are many reasons to be encouraged about AMSP's future, but change will come quick if half the team does not pick up its results. 

O'Ward will need to have a strong follow up season, but he is not the concern. Rosenqvist entered IndyCar and looked to be a future star in 2019. At the end of 2021, we have a shadow of Rosenqvist's 2019 season currently in the series. 

I thought Rosenqvist would have relatively competitive results in his first year with AMSP, but he was rarely on the same page as O'Ward. Knowing AMSP's quick trigger, releasing James Hinchcliffe hastily after 2019 and giving up on Oliver Askew before 2020 was even complete, it is a little surprising it is riding with Rosenqvist, but Rosenqvist has to get results in 2022 or he will not return for a third season. Nico Hülkenberg tested for the team, but the German has said he will not pursue any IndyCar opportunities, and Stoffel Vandoorne plans on testing for AMSP. The organizations is already holding auditions. 

We saw the team has what it takes to run with the big boys. It does have to clean up its strategy and set up. For as much praise the team received, it let many races slip away. Too often O'Ward would have one bad stint and it would cost the team four or five positions. The team's difficulty with tire balance easily cost the team two races. Flip those, especially Portland, and O'Ward is champion. 

For how good O'Ward ran, he only led more than 25 laps in one race, Portland, and he never led the most laps in a race. 

IndyCar is a difficult series. I thought O'Ward would be a top five championship driver this year, but fall from fourth in the championship. He actually ended up jumping to third. O'Ward could be the 2022 champion or he could end up tenth in the championship and neither would be a surprise. There is a world where Álex Palou and Josef Newgarden stay in the top five of the championship while Scott Dixon, Colton Herta, Will Power, Graham Rahal, Alexander Rossi, Romain Grosjean and Simon Pagenaud all jump up ahead of the O'Ward in the championship. IndyCar is that close. I don't expect O'Ward to fall that far, but it is not completely inconceivable. 

We have seen in two full seasons O'Ward can compete anywhere. He won at Texas and he won at Belle Isle. In 38 starts, he has nine podium finishes and 15 top five finishes. Those nine podium finishes have been on five ovals, three street courses and a road course. His top five finishes are seven on ovals, five on road courses and three on street courses. There really isn't a weakness in terms of discipline. The weakness is tire management, but he does not put himself far from the top, meaning even when he stumbles the results do not look that bad. If the team cleans that up, results will get better.

Looking a little further down the road, AMSP has been open to expanding to three cars. O'Ward should be set for the next four or five years. He is testing a Formula One car in December, but I don't think he will be in the McLaren F1 program anytime soon. O'Ward will face increased competition should the team expand. McLaren is taking this program seriously. It could pull in any of a number of drivers from other series. It could be Vandoonre. It could be another driver from Formula One, Formula E, Super Formula or the World Endurance Championship to name a few other series. We are already seeing Alexander Rossi slide from top Andretti driver to second and possibly third in the organization. In a few years, O'Ward could be a similar boat. 

Until we come to that, AMSP is coming off its best season dating back to its time as Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. For all its talk over the last two years, it must back up its 2021 results more than any other team.

2021 IndyCar Team Preview: Arrow McLaren SP

Our second IndyCar Team Preview takes us to the team that demands the most attention: Arrow McLaren SP. With the McLaren name back on the grid full-time, the team brought in two young drivers and past Indy Lights champions Patricio O'Ward and Oliver Askew. 

Both drivers started well and were on the podium early in the season. O'Ward's run of form continued throughout the season and he was knocking on the door of victory on multiple occasions. He did fall short, but he did pick up a top five championship finish. Askew suffered an accident in the Indianapolis 500 that left him with concussion-like symptoms and forced him out of the car for two races. The relationship between the Askew and the team soured. The two sides closed out the 2020 season together, but both knew they would not remain together in 2021. 

O'Ward returns for 2021, but he will have a new teammate, as Felix Rosenqvist joins the organization. 

2020 Arrow McLaren SP Review

Wins: 0

Best Finish: 2nd (Road America II)

Poles: 1 (Road America II)

Championship Finishes: 4th (Patricio O'Ward), 19th (Oliver Askew)

2021 Drivers:

Patricio O'Ward: #5 Arrow Chevrolet

O'Ward's first full season was tremendous and it was the season the organization needed in its first year with McLaren onboard. 

Things started slow, but the results were encouraging. O'Ward was 12th in his first run at Texas but he followed it with eighth-place finishes in each of the next two races. Then he took a somewhat surprising pole position for the second Road America race. He controlled that race and appeared set for his first career victory. The costly decision might have been taking the alternate tire on the final stint. Felix Rosenqvist had been quicker at the end of every stint and the alternate tire lost more speed in the closing laps. Rosenqvist got within striking distance and took the lead with a lap and a half to go. O'Ward had to settle for second. 

At Iowa, O'Ward was fourth in the first race and 30 laps led. In the second Iowa race, O'Ward was showing speed for a podium finish, and possibly competing for a victory, but a botched pit stop cost him, and he had to settle for 12th, one lap down. 

One year after failing to qualify for the Indianapolis 500, O'Ward made the race and climbed forward over the 500 miles, finding himself in the top ten. He was the second-best Chevrolet all race and he finished sixth, earning him Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year honors. He closed out the oval season with two phenomenal runs at Gateway. He led 94 laps in the first race and looked set for victory until Scott Dixon beat him out of pit lane on the final round of stops and he dropped to third. In the second race, O'Ward started strong, but ultimately fell behind Josef Newgarden and finished second again. 

He ended the season with three top ten finishes in the final five races. His only bad race was mixed in there, a 22nd in the first Harvest Grand Prix race when he had a pit lane penalty for crossing the blend line and then had a few off-course excursions. His season ended with an opportunity at St. Petersburg as a few of the top running Andretti Autosport entries ran into trouble. O'Ward picked up a handful of positions and finished second, behind Newgarden and ahead of champion Scott Dixon.

Numbers to Remember:

204: Laps led in 2020, the most laps led for a driver not to win a race since James Hinchcliffe's 217 in 2016 driving for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.

205: Oval points in 2020, fourth-most.

14: Races finished in 2020. O'Ward was one of three drivers running at the finish of every race last season. 

12: Times as the top AMSP starter in 2020.

10: Times as the top AMSP finisher in 2020.

Predictions/Goals:

The goal is to take that next step from fourth in the championship. There is less real estate moving up, but O'Ward has to shoot for it. With the depth of this grid, cracking the top three of the championship is a monumental task, even McLaren is on the door. 

He is going to have to beat Dixon and Newgarden, likely Will Power and Alexander Rossi, and it would be no surprise if Simon Pagenaud, Colton Herta, Graham Rahal and Ryan Hunter-Reay were all up there as well. O'Ward could have a better season than 2020 and finish worse in the championship. He could win a race or two and drop to sixth or seventh. 

O'Ward had a rather spotless season. A few more bad days could creep in and they don't have to be of his making. A victory feels almost certain, but as we saw with Rosenqvist, winning in your sophomore season doesn't mean it will be an improvement from your rookie year. He doesn't have to improve his championship position to have a successful season. 

O'Ward should be gunning for that first career victory, but if he picks up another four podium finishes, leads another 100 laps and ended up somewhere in the top eight of the championship and top AMSP drivers that is a sufficient season. I don't want to make sixth in the championship a failure for him. AMSP has a habit of being quick on the trigger. The last thing we need is O'Ward being target practice.

What does O'ward need to do in 2021?

Win a race.

Lead more than 50 laps on road courses. 

Make it out of the first round of road/street course qualifying in at least eight races.

Felix Rosenqvist: #7 Arrow Chevrolet

Rosenqvist opened the 2020 season with an incredible drive at Texas. While Scott Dixon led the way, Rosenqvist made his way to the front and was up to second. He was pushing Dixon in the closing laps as they negotiated traffic. Rosenqvist had a chance at victory and went for it, but with slick track conditions, Rosenqvist spun and went from a runner-up finish to out of the race in 20th. 

He qualified in the top ten for the first six races, but the finishing results did not necessarily match the qualifying pace shown. He dropped to 15th in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and he had a mechanical issue in the first Road America race relegate him to 18th. 

The bounce back he needed came in the second Road America race. He started seventh and moved forward. He was behind O'Ward but was making up ground in each stint. A slow pit stop knocked him back in the middle of the race, but he had enough time to erase the deficit. With the pace Rosenqvist had, he could not afford to put a wheel wrong over that final stint. Rosenqvist closed in and with fresher tires he passed O'Ward in turn seven on the penultimate lap. He picked up his first career victory and it was Ganassi's fourth consecutive to start the 2020 season. 

The victory did not spark his season. An attempted two-stop strategy backfired in the first Iowa race and he was a non-factor in the second Iowa race. He was 12th in the Indianapolis 500, but was mostly anonymous in this race. He strung together top ten finishes at the first two Gateway races and the first Mid-Ohio round. He qualified fifth for the second Mid-Ohio race, but was taken out on the opening lap when Santino Ferrucci re-joined the circuit mid-corner. 

He picked up a top five in the first Harvest Grand Prix race, but his season ended with an average second Harvest Grand Prix race, and a flat tire in St. Petersburg knocking him down to 18th.

Numbers to Remember:

6: Races finished off the lead lap in 2020. Rosenqvist also finished off the lead lap in six races in 2019.

11: Races with laps led in 31 starts.

3: Races with double-digit laps led.

31: The most laps he has led in a race is 31, which came on debut at St. Petersburg in 2019.

3: O'Ward led more than 31 laps in three races in 2020.

Predictions/Goals:

The team with a short fuse has hired a driver that went from sixth to 11th in the championship, saw his average finish drop by 2.5 position and whose number of laps led were nearly a third of what it was the year before. 

I can imagine Rosenqvist being another one-and-done driver at AMSP. I don't think that will be the case, but I would hardly be surprised if that happens. 

It is called a sophomore slump for a reason and careers ebb and flow. Rosenqvist picked up a victory, but he struggled with consistency. In half the races in 2020, his finishing position was worse than his starting position. He showed the pace in qualifying, starting 11 races in the top ten, but he had finished in the top ten in only four of those races. That is a big area where he has to improve. He has to take sixth place starting spot and turn it into a third or second. And he has to take a top five starting position and contend for a victory. 

In his first year with AMSP, Rosenqvist cannot afford for O'Ward to become the clear number one driver. Rosenqvist needs to immediately push his teammate for top spot in the organization. That will improve his job security and likely increase his overall championship finish. From watching O'Ward and Askew, AMSP should provide quick cars for Rosenqvist. His qualifying average should be fine. We need to see Rosenqvist have a dominant day. Rosenqvist has led 71 laps in his career. O'Ward led 204 laps last year alone and he led the most laps on two occasions. 

It is tough to see both AMSP cars cracking the top ten in the championship. I think one of them will miss out and I am leaning on Rosenqvist being on the outside again, but not far out. 

What does Rosenqvist need to do in 2021?

Finish better than his starting position in at least ten races. 

Qualify in the top five in at least six races. 

Led at least 90 laps and lead at least 40 laps in one of those races.

The 2021 NTT IndyCar Series season will begin on April 18 at Barber Motorsports Park. NBC will have coverage of the season opener. 

IndyCar Wrap-Up: Arrow McLaren SP's 2020 Season

The 2020 NTT IndyCar Series season has finally finished, and we can now start reviewing what was an extended and exhausting season. Typically, we start our reviews at the bottom of the IndyCar championship and end with the championship winners, but instead, we are starting with the team that wants the most attention. That is Arrow McLaren SP. So here you go AMSP, you get to be first.

After a longer wait, Patricio O'Ward's first full IndyCar season was stout

Patricio O'Ward

After a pair of part-time seasons, O'Ward got his first full-time run and he was fantastic. He was runner-up in three races and picked up his first career pole position. He had the fourth most laps led in IndyCar this season and he picked up the team's best championship finish in seven years.

What objectively was his best race?
A runner-up finish from pole position in the second Road America, another runner-up finish in the second Gateway race and O'Ward ended his first full season in IndyCar with a runner-up finish at St. Petersburg.

What subjectively was his best race?

The first two runner-up finishes stand out for O'Ward, but I think the Road America race edges out on top because it looked like he was set to get his first career victory and it took a flawless final stint from Felix Rosenqvist to take that victory away from him. Rosenqvist had the better tires and O'Ward didn't have the pace down the stretch. 

Frankly, O'Ward's third place finish in the first Gateway race was better than his runner-up finish in the second Gateway race. In that Saturday race, O'Ward led 94 laps, the most on the day and was beat when Scott Dixon had a slightly better pit stop. The only reason why O'Ward wasn't second was a daring pass from Takuma Sato on the outside entering turn one. 

What objectively was his worst race?
The first Harvest Grand Prix race, where he ended up 22nd and one-lap down. 

What subjectively was his worst race?

That Harvest Grand Prix race is the only blemish on his season, but the second Iowa race deserves some recognition, because O'Ward was looking at a podium finish before a slow pit stop cost him. He spent most of that race near eventually race winner Josef Newgarden despite starting 12th. I still believe Newgarden wins that race even if O'Ward has his best pit stop of the season, but he sacrificed being in the position to pounce in case Newgarden slipped up with one poor pit stop.

Patricio O'Ward's 2020 Statistics
Championship Position: 4th (416 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 4
Top Fives: 6
Top Tens: 10
Laps Led: 204
Poles: 1
Fast Sixes: 1
Fast Twelves: 2
Average Start: 10.412
Average Finish: 7.571 

Things took a turn in the wrong direction for Oliver Askew midseason

Oliver Askew

The year started well for the 2019 Indy Lights champion and Askew picked up his first career podium finish in his fifth career start. He had three top ten finishes in his first six starts. However, he did not have a top ten finish in his final six starts of the season with an accident in the Indianapolis 500 taking him out of the car for two races due to concussion-like symptoms. After that accident, the relationship with AMSP soured and Askew's tenure with the organization will end after one season.

What objectively was his best race?
A third-place finish in the first Iowa race. 

What subjectively was his best race?

The first three oval races deserve a mention for Askew. 

He started the season with a strong run from 20th to ninth at Texas and he was the top rookie on the night, even ahead of his teammate O'Ward. 

Then you had the first Iowa race, where he drove into the top ten and then back into the top five after pitting on the wrong side of the caution for Will Power's accident. He drove up to third after being caught behind the eight-ball. We have seen this before in IndyCar and Josef Newgarden did something similar at Milwaukee in 2014. A drive like that isn't a fluke.  

The second Iowa race, Askew was again competitive. He led ten laps before the final caution caught him out and he had yet to make his final pit stop. He lost some ground but made some passes late to get up to sixth. 

What objectively was his worst race?
His accident on lap 92 of the Indianapolis 500 dropped him to a 30th-place finish.

What subjectively was his worst race?

There is only one correct answer and it is the Indianapolis 500 because of the concussion-like symptoms that led to him stepping out of the car for the Harvest Grand Prix weekend and then led to his dismal from the team. 

Prior to that accident, Askew had led four laps, he spent 33 laps in the top five and his average running position was 15.153 in his Indianapolis 500 debut.

St. Petersburg deserves a mention, because he knew it was his final race with AMSP, he was in the top ten for almost the entire race and then one incident in turn ten ended the hopes of a good finish to the season, a good finish that Askew needed.

Oliver Askew's 2020 Statistics
Championship Position: 19th (195 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 1
Top Fives: 1
Top Tens: 3
Laps Led: 14
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 2
Fast Twelves: 2
Average Start: 15.0
Average Finish: 15.916

An Early Look Ahead

Let's hold off on next year for a second, because Arrow McLaren SP has established a reputation not being a driver friendly team. 

Last year, James Hinchcliffe was hung out to dry when he had a year left on his contract in a multifaceted conflict between the team and Hinchcliffe. First, Arrow was upset about Hinchcliffe's appearance in ESPN The Magazine's Body Issue and wanted him removed from the team. Second, the team switched to Chevrolet, but would not release Hinchcliffe and was set to make him sit on the sidelines for the entire 2020 season, before finally releasing him when the music had stopped, and all the full-time rides were taken. 

This year, it was Askew's release on the heels of his concussion-like symptoms, and a conflict over the driver's health and well-being. Askew did not feel 100% comfortable saying he had to step out of the car, knowing it would hurt his employment status. 

A big shift must have happened that the team decided after 11 races Askew was no longer in the plans for 2021, especially if Askew made four starts while not in the right headspace after his Indianapolis 500 accident. 

Let's clear the air about Askew before the narrative is driven that he was not up to snuff...

Prior to the Indianapolis 500, he was 12th in the championship on 115 points, the top rookie and ahead of Conor Daly, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Jack Harvey, Takuma Sato, Charlie Kimball, Zach Veach and Marco Andretti. He had finished ahead of O'Ward in three of those first six races. Then Askew had his accident and the results took a nosedive.

Askew has room for improvement. His only top ten starts were fifth in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and tenth at St. Petersburg. The only times he qualified ahead of O'Ward were the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and the second Mid-Ohio race, when O'Ward spun and brought out a red flag and had to start at the rear of the field. O'Ward was in the top ten of the championship from the Grand Prix of Indianapolis onward and he was in the top five from the second Road America race onward. 

O'Ward was the better driver, but Askew was not a liability on the racetrack. We have seen worse drivers on track this season. Askew is 12 starts into his IndyCar career. He is just getting started and what we saw from Askew is unlikely to be all he has as a driver. 

Does anyone remember Josef Newgarden's rookie year? What about Dario Franchitti's or Hélio Castroneves' or Takuma Sato's? All four of those drivers struggled, had plenty of retirements and only Castroneves picked up a top five as a rookie, a second at Milwaukee. All four of them have gone on to win championships and Indianapolis 500s. If they were all given as short a leash as Askew, IndyCar history would look a lot different. 

AMSP is chewing through drivers very quickly. O'Ward has signed an extension and that is rightfully earned. He had a great year, one the AMSP organization has been looking for quite sometime. Though AMSP's youth experiment did come off as a success, the team gave up on Askew before the 2020 season concluded. 

Out of the blue, the team found its new driver for 2021: Felix Rosenqvist. When it was long believed AMSP would search out a veteran or even make a splash and bring the likes of Sergio Pérez into the series, the team took an IndyCar sophomore, fresh off his first career victory but who saw a dip in results. I still believe Rosenqvist has potential, if in the right environment. Nothing suggests AMSP is the nurturing environment that will allow a driver to make a mistake or two and develop.

Hiring Rosenqvist is really irrelevant, because the story is not about the drivers and results. The story is about a team waiting for a driver to make one misstep to cut line and send them sinking to the bottom of the ocean and no one will be surprised when O'Ward or Rosenqvist is cut loose. Let's not forget the team still has Robert Wickens on the books. That will likely end with Wickens being dropped at some point and it will not be a pretty look. Unpopular decisions have become AMSP's M.O.

This team has been shooting to become one of the "Big Four" teams in IndyCar with Penske, Ganassi and Andretti the last few seasons. While O'Ward did crack the top five in the championship, AMSP again did not pick up a victory and the overall results are coming up short of a "Big Four" level. Meanwhile, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing won the Indianapolis 500, won a race for a sixth consecutive season and had both cars finish in the top ten of the championship after being regular top five and top ten finishers this season. Forget making it into the "Big Four." AMSP is fighting for fifth, and there is at least one other team that has a greater claim to fifth than AMSP. 

AMSP wants attention, and it is getting it, for better or worse, but that attention is not for victories and mixing it up with the three pillars of 21st century IndyCar. It is again for thin-skinned management sending another driver to the curb for what we all know is not purely on-track results. We anticipate the knee-jerk reaction in a year's time and soon we will not blame drivers if they start avoiding the organization entirely. 

2020 IndyCar Team Preview: Arrow McLaren SP

The second 2020 IndyCar team preview will look at the team with the biggest identity change of the season. Schmidt Peterson Motorsports is dead. Alive is Arrow McLaren SP. McLaren's full-time IndyCar expansion is a re-brand and switching the team from Honda engines to Chevrolet engines.

Gone are James Hinchcliffe and Marcus Ericsson, the drivers that spent five and one seasons with the team respectively. The two drivers combined for zero victories, two top five finishes and 11 top ten finishes in 2019. Entering is one driver whose 2019 IndyCar season was much shorter than it should have been and has lost his rookie year eligibility and the other driver is the reigning Indy Lights champion.

2019 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Review
Wins: 0
Best Finish: 2nd (Belle Isle II)
Poles: 0
Championship Finishes: 12th (James Hinchcliffe), 17th (Marcus Ericsson)

2020 Drivers:

Patricio O'Ward: #5 Arrow Chevrolet
After winning the 2018 Indy Lights championship and finishing ninth on his IndyCar debut at Sonoma, it appeared O'Ward's 2019 season was set for a big coming out party. Unfortunately, the Harding Steinbrenner Racing deal fell through before the team could get to preseason testing.

O'Ward missed the season opener but Carlin swept in to salvage O'Ward's season, handing him a ride for 13 races in 2019. He picked up right where he left off, qualifying eighth at Austin and spending much of that race pushing for a top five finish before settling with an eighth place result. He had a trying race at Barber but started ninth at Long Beach and finished 12th. The Grand Prix of Indianapolis saw O'Ward pick up a penalty at the start for running into Alexander Rossi before taking the green flag. Despite this set back, he still cycled to the front only for the team to get the tire pressures wrong when switching to wet tires and dropping to a 19th place finish but he did pick up fastest lap in the race.

During the first portion of the IndyCar season, O'Ward had been courted to Red Bull Junior Team. Off the heels of that announced, O'Ward entered his first Indianapolis 500 practice week and it started with electrical issues keeping him from completing rookie orientation on day one. He suffered an accident early in Thursday practice. Qualifying pace was not there on Saturday and on Sunday, O'Ward fell short, failing to qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.

At Belle Isle, O'Ward would start seventh and eighth in the two races but finish 14th and 11th respectively. His next race would be Road America, where he started 13th and finished 17th.

The week after Road America, O'Ward made his Formula Two debut at Red Bull Ring, substituting for the suspended Mahaveer Raghunathan. The day after the Austrian weekend it was announced O'Ward would replace Dan Ticknum in Team Mugen in the Super Formula championship. He had 14th place finishes at Fuji, in a torrential rainstorm, and Motegi. At Okayama, O'Ward had a strong race and finished sixth. With O'Ward unable to obtain the number of Super License points necessary to compete in Formula One in 2020, Red Bull dropped O'Ward prior to the Super Formula finale at Suzuka.

Numbers to Remember:
7: Starts in 2019, all with Carlin.

7: Times O'Ward was the top Carlin qualifier.

5: Times O'Ward was the top Carlin finisher.

8: Starts in O'Ward's IndyCar career.

0: Oval starts in O'Ward's IndyCar career.

Predictions/Goals:
I think O'Ward has to at least perform to the level of the 2019 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports drivers.

It wasn't O'Ward's fault his original 2019 plans did not come to fruition. If he did end up running a full season with Harding Steinbrenner Racing who knows where he would have fell in a rookie class that saw Felix Rosenqvist end up sixth in the championship, Colton Herta win two races and end up seventh in the championship and where Santino Ferrucci was the most successful rookie on ovals.

O'Ward did accomplish quite a bit in his abbreviated 2019 season. He showed flashes of brilliance again but also had down moments while also dealing with the distraction of the Red Bull junior program.

With his sole focus on IndyCar, O'Ward's results should be promising but there must be some lingering worries when considering Schmidt Peterson Motorsports' lack of strong championship finishes and McLaren's mistakes.

A victory may be out of grasp but AMSP ascends from at best the fourth Honda team to the second Chevrolet team. If a non-Team Penske Chevrolet is going to win a race in 2020 it will likely come from AMSP, boding well for O'Ward.

The goals should be at least three top five finishes, more than SPM had for the entirety of 2019. He should also pick up at least nine top ten finishes. Those numbers would fall in line with what Herta put up in 2019. The one thing O'Ward must do differently is not rack up as many retirements as Herta. Herta was seventh in the championship with seven retirements. If O'Ward can score three top five finishes, nine top ten finishes and have the other finishes be somewhere between 11th and 15th he will end up in the top eight of the championship.

Oliver Askew: #7 Arrow Chevrolet
After winning the 2017 U.S. F2000 championship and finishing fourth in the 2018 Pro Mazda championship, Askew moved up to Indy Lights to drive for Andretti Autosport for 2019.

The season started with a third place finish in race one at St. Petersburg and Askew won pole position for the second race of the weekend. He led the first lap of the race but in turn two on lap two contact with Rinus VeeKay put Askew into the barrier, ending his race.

Askew responded at Austin, sweeping both races from pole position both times and leading 35 of 40 laps over the weekend. The two victories gave Askew the championship lead. He had finishes of second and third at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis but it dropped him to second in the championship, a point behind VeeKay.

In the Freedom 100, Askew started eighth but worked his way to the front and battled with Ryan Norman for the victory. Askew took the white flag in first but lost the lead to Norman later that lap. Coming to the checkered flag, Askew drafted up the inside of Norman and won the race by 0.0067 seconds.

Askew entered Road America with an 11-point championship lead but after finishes of fifth and third he left only three points ahead of VeeKay. He was runner-up to Aaron Telitz in the first Toronto race but after VeeKay and Telitz got together in the second race Askew swept through to take the victory and extend his championship lead to 25 points.

Askew had a perfect weekend at Mid-Ohio, he won each race from pole position and led every lap in both races. He followed this with another victory from pole position at Gateway. Finishes of second and third at Portland meant all Askew had to do to clinch the title was start both Laguna Seca races. He ended the season with finishes of fourth and second.

Numbers to Remember:
31.25: Winning percentage in 48 Road to Indy starts.

10: Different tracks won at in Askew's Road to Indy career. All ten tracks are on the 2020 IndyCar schedule.

0: Number of IndyCar races Florida-born drivers have won all-time. Askew was born in Melbourne, Florida.

Predictions/Goals:
It is always difficult to prediction Indy Lights champions because of grid size and inexperience.

Askew comes in with promising Road to Indy results but he has not raced in a grid with more than 20 cars since U.S. F2000, a much different grid than what he will face in IndyCar.

However, recent Indy Lights graduates have shown early success in IndyCar. Last year saw Herta win multiple races. O'Ward had top ten finishes in his first two IndyCar starts. Ed Jones put together a string of impressive results as a rookie. Jack Harvey has stepped into IndyCar and is showing pace with a single-car operation. Gabby Chaves was consistent in completing laps and bringing a car home in one piece. Spencer Pigot scored a few top five finishes, including impressive runs at Iowa and tremendous pace in Indianapolis 500 qualifying.

I think Askew's goal is rookie of the year, as is obvious for any rookie, but he should aim to be in the top five of Chevrolet drivers as well. If Askew ends up in the top five, he will likely be behind all three Team Penske drivers, which is understood and likely O'Ward. It would mean being ahead of fellow rookie of the year candidate Rinus VeeKay at Ed Carpenter Racing, Charlie Kimball at A.J. Foyt Racing and whomever Carlin.

I think a realistic championship goal is top fifteen in the championship. The team didn't have both its drivers in the top fifteen last year so it would be a step in the right direction. Askew should aim to get at least one or two top five finishes and six to eight top ten finishes. He must aim to finish ahead of O'Ward in at least seven races.

The 2020 NTT IndyCar Series season opens on Sunday March 15th with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. NBCSN's coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. ET

IndyCar Wrap-Up: Schmidt Peterson Motorsports' 2019 Season

The fifth team review will be the team that made the most noise in the 2019 preseason. It is the team that declared it would join the likes of Team Penske, Chip Ganassi Racing and Andretti Autosport in an IndyCar "Big Four." The results didn't get to that level and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports did not taste victory.

The 2019 season began a very uncertain period for James Hinchcliffe

James Hinchcliffe
The 2019 season was one where Hinchcliffe could not find that next gear. He had good days but only good days. He did not have a top five finish through the first 11 races and with another tough end to the season the Canadian again found himself outside the top ten in the championship.

What objectively was his best race?
A third place finish at Iowa. Hinchcliffe spent majority of the race in the top five and this was his first top five finish of the season.

What subjectively was his best race?
It is Iowa. Hinchcliffe did not have many great races in 2019. He had a lot of races where he started near the front and dropped down the order. Iowa was the one race where Hinchcliffe started at the front and stayed at the front. Hinchcliffe started in the top ten in nine races, in those nine races he finished outside the top ten on five occasions.

The only other races worth mentioning are Barber, where Hinchcliffe started fourth and finished sixth, and Indianapolis, where he started 32nd and climbed up to 11th.

What objectively was his worst race?
Mid-Ohio, where Hinchcliffe was hit on lap one in the first corner of the race. Worst of all, it was his teammate Marcus Ericsson that made the contact. Now, Ericsson was hit at start by Takuma Sato and that forced him into Hinchcliffe but it was a tough blow for SPM and a race the team lost before it had even really started.

What subjectively was his worst race?
Can we say Pocono and Portland because in both races he was involved in a first lap incident for a second consecutive year? Add to it, Hinchcliffe again had another end of season slump and both these results didn't help. He was starting eighth at Portland. It could have been a momentum swing for him in the right direction.

The other race to mention is the second Belle Isle race. Hinchcliffe started fifth and he was in a tough battle with Josef Newgarden and Alexander Rossi for a top five finish. When Hinchcliffe exited pit lane he was in front of both Newgarden and Rossi but both cars had more speed and warmer tires. Hinchcliffe took the inside and Newgarden made a late move to the outside. Newgarden ended up in the tires, Hinchcliffe ended up running into the side of Newgarden and that took away a positive result for the Canadian.

James Hinchcliffe's 2019 Statistics
Championship Position: 12th (370 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 1
Top Fives: 1
Top Tens: 8
Laps Led: 22
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 2
Fast Twelves: 6
Average Start: 10.938
Average Finish: 12.294

Marcus Ericsson did well in his first IndyCar season but left room for improvement

Marcus Ericsson
After five seasons in Formula One, Ericsson came into IndyCar and showed promise. Some days it produced results but the Swede had growing pains and lost good results because of minor errors. His season was far from a travesty but he was a distant fourth among the four regular rookies.

What objectively was his best race?
On his teammate's worse day, Ericsson had his best day and finished second in the Sunday race from Belle Isle. It was a clean day from Ericsson. He avoided incidents and he had clean pit stops that put him in position to stand on the podium.

What subjectively was his best race?
Belle Isle will probably be top but I think Ericsson had a strong showing at Texas. Once again, Ericsson was clean for the entire race and he made up positions to get a seventh place finish. It was a performance he needed in his second oval start because in his first oval start at Indianapolis Ericsson was running well before he spun entering pit lane and undid his entire race.

This was a nice bounce back for Ericsson and to have it follow his podium finish at Belle Isle was a good sign for him.

I will also mention Laguna Seca because the team went to the three-stop strategy early and it got him ground early, placing him in the middle of the top ten. Unfortunately, at the end of his final stint his tires were gone and he fell to 11th, exactly where he started.

What objectively was his worst race?
It is the Grand Prix of Indianapolis where Ericsson spun in the final corner, hit the barrier on the exit of oval turn one and he finished 24th after completing only nine laps after he started ninth.

What subjectively was his worst race?
I think there are five candidates.

First is Austin because he was in the top ten for majority of that race after starting 16th and he lost it all because of a pit lane violation for unsafe release ahead of Spencer Pigot.

Second is the Grand Prix of Indianapolis because it was a wasted starting position.

Third is the Indianapolis 500 because he was running really well and he lost it entering pit lane. He may have finished in the top ten and may have been Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year had it not been because of this incident.

Fourth is Iowa because he was going to get a top ten finish if he did not get a penalty for improper pit lane entry.

Fifth is Mid-Ohio because he was taken out and only completed two laps.

Ericsson had a good season. He showed spurts of potential but he had these mistakes that cost him. He can learn from these mishaps. If he gets a second season I think Ericsson could make a significant improvement but that improvement will also depend on where he is driving.

Marcus Ericsson's 2019 Statistics
Championship Position: 17th (290 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 1
Top Fives: 1
Top Tens: 3
Laps Led: 6
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 0
Fast Twelves: 3
Average Start: 14.667
Average Finish: 14.813

An Early Look Ahead
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports will have a partnership with McLaren and switch to Chevrolet for the 2020 season and this marriage has surprised most of us and we are still unsure what the team will look like.

Ericsson is already gone, he is going to Chip Ganassi Racing, talk about an upgrade, but will Hinchcliffe stay? Who else will the team bring in?

It has been 50/50 on Hinchcliffe. Some people say he is staying. It seems like he staying. It sounds like he is staying from what McLaren CEO Zak Brown and team owner Sam Schmidt have said and Hinchcliffe himself has made it sound like he is moving with the team to Chevrolet and leaving his long-time partner Honda behind.

Like most things McLaren gets involved in nothing is clear.

What will this team look like in 2020?

The second driver is not going to be Fernando Alonso. Alonso has not shown an interest in anything in Indianapolis. We will see Alonso come May.

It would make sense to have a veteran and Hinchcliffe has the experience to fill the role. If the team keeps Hinchcliffe, who partners with him? It seems like the team is going an entirely different route than first expected. Instead of getting another IndyCar-experienced driver, such as Conor Daly, or pulling off a coup for Hélio Castroneves or Juan Pablo Montoya, or plucking a driver out of Europe and bringing him across the Atlantic, the leading driver to become the second driver is Indy Lights champion Oliver Askew.

Askew is a young driver and while he has been successful in the Road to Indy no one has been proclaiming him as the next great star. It is a low-risk move for this team to hire Askew. One, low salary, Askew will be happy just to be there. Two, if it works out then great. Three, if it doesn't work out the team can cut ties and not feel bad about it. If Askew is the driver it is a significant shift from the waves McLaren made over the last few seasons.

McLaren's entrance in IndyCar is taking a stoic approach and more than we anticipated over a year ago. In 2018, we thought McLaren would make a splash and could sign Scott Dixon away from Chip Ganassi Racing. That type of shakeup is unthinkable in the final quarter of 2019. The team has gone from having the ability to take whatever driver it wants to IndyCar to having drivers not even consider accepting the offer. All credibility was lost in Indianapolis. This isn't a giant entering the fray. The IndyCar teams are not scared of McLaren.

The team needs experience and preferably someone who knows the team to get the most out of 2020. It needs at least one driver that knows the circuits. Hinchcliffe is what the team has even if it seems like the team is not fully behind him. The 2020 season is the final year of Hinchcliffe's contract and I think he is going to have to accomplish quite a bit to save his ride. I honestly think unless Hinchcliffe wins the Indianapolis 500, wins the championship and/or at least finishes in the top five of the championship he is going to be a goner.

After watching SPM struggle for results in 2019 and fall massively short of its announced goal of forming a "Big Four" in IndyCar, the team partners with McLaren and will be expected to improve in competitiveness immediately.

There is nothing to suggest the inclusion of the McLaren name on the uniforms and transporters is going to somehow raise this team up the order and I fear after SPM was a disappointment in 2019 Arrow McLaren SP will be another disappointment in 2020.

2019 IndyCar Team Preview: Schmidt Peterson Motorsports

The fifth 2019 IndyCar team preview moves back to the Honda camp and the team with the most vocal aspirations heading into the new season: Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. After experiencing both polar ends of emotions in 2018, the team heads into 2019 with increased funding from Arrow Electronics and believes it is ready to ascended to the level of Team Penske, Chip Ganassi Racing and Andretti Autosport and making the Big Three a Big Four. With Robert Wickens continuing his recovery, the team has brought in Marcus Ericsson in to team with James Hinchcliffe.

2018 Review
Wins: 1 (Iowa)
Poles: 1 (St. Petersburg)
Championship Finishes: 10th (James Hinchcliffe), 11th (Robert Wickens)

2019 Drivers:

James Hinchcliffe - #5 Arrow Honda
While Robert Wickens stole the headlines at St. Petersburg, Hinchcliffe did well for himself, qualifying seventh and finishing fourth in a race where he was solidly in the top ten. SPM had a great shot at victory at Phoenix with Wickens impressing many in his first oval start and both he and Hinchcliffe were fighting for spots on the podium. Unfortunately, neither driver came in for tires under the final caution and while Wickens held on for second, Hinchcliffe slid back to sixth.

Hinchcliffe would finish ninth at Long Beach and followed that up with a third at Barber, a race he spent much at the front. A seventh in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis made it five top ten finishes from the first five races and left him fifth in the championship but the driver of the #5 Honda would have the season turn on its ear.

Time was not on his side for one day in May and Hinchcliffe failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. He would finish outside the top ten in both Belle Isle races and in three weeks he dropped from fifth to 11th in the championship.

The tide turned in Texas with a fourth place finish from 15th and he went from 16th to tenth at Road America. He started 11th at Iowa but charged to the front and put himself in contention. When cautions fell his way and Josef Newgarden got caught in lapped traffic, Hinchcliffe pounced, took the lead and ran away. Time was on the Canadian's side this day with a late caution preventing the race from restarting and gave Hinchcliffe his sixth career victory. He followed it up with a fourth place finish at Toronto.

The bad news is another year ended with a string of poor results. Hinchcliffe did not score a top ten finish over the final five races of the season but held on for tenth in the championship on tiebreaker over Wickens.

Numbers to Remember:
7: Consecutive seasons with a podium finish.

62.29: Percentage of lead lap finishes in 122 starts, that is eighth best among the 12 regular drivers with over 100 IndyCar starts ahead of only Marco Andretti (60.829%), Ryan Hunter-Reay (57.446%), Charlie Kimball (50.746%) and Takuma Sato (44.736%).

20: Hinchcliffe has led at least 20 laps in all eight of his IndyCar seasons.

2: Only twice has Hinchcliffe led more than 100 laps in a season and in both of those seasons he lead over 100 laps in one race.

Predictions/Goals:
This is getting tiring but it is the same story every year for Hinchcliffe. He has to finish better than eighth in the championship. He has never finished better than eighth in the championship. Hinchcliffe needs to do that to justify anyone saying he is one of the best in IndyCar. You cannot be considered one of the best when you have never cracked the top seven in the championship. Heck, you have to crack at least the top five to be considered one of the best. He may have a handful of race victories but he has to put together a complete season.

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports needs the improvement in championship finish just as much as Hinchcliffe does. This team is talking about becoming one of the Big Four in IndyCar with Team Penske, Chip Ganassi Racing and Andretti Autosport after Arrow increased its funding into the team. The problem is SPM's result have been sliding backward compared to the Simon Pagenaud-era. Pagenaud was in the top five of the championship in all three of his seasons at SPM. Since Pagenaud left, the team has only cracked the top ten once and that was last year when Hinchcliffe finished 10th.

The 2018 season started off well for Hinchcliffe but he has to have a more balanced season. Last year, he ended the season with five consecutive finishes outside the top ten. The year before that he finished outside the top ten in four of the final five races with his best result being eighth. He has never finished every race in a season and I think he has to aim for that and as hard as it may be and he has to finish on the lead lap more. Last year, he had 13 lead lap finishes out of 16 starts. At 81.25%, it is his best lead lap finishing percentage in his IndyCar career (minus 2013 when he only started five races) and it is the only time he finished on the lead lap in over 75% of his starts.

I think if Hinchcliffe is going to aim for a career-best championship finish, I think he has to aim for career-best numbers in every category. I don't think he will be able to get four victories but the most top five finishes he has had in a season is six and the most top ten finishes is 11. It will be tough to get but Robert Wickens had seven top five finishes and ten top ten finishes and missed the final three races. It is doable for Hinchcliffe. This grid keeps getting better and Hinchcliffe has to find another level.

Marcus Ericsson - #7 Arrow Honda
After five seasons in Formula One, split between Caterham and Sauber, Ericsson moves to IndyCar. The results leave little to brag about. Ericsson made 97 starts in Formula One and amassed a grand total of 18 points in his career. He had three scoreless seasons and scored nine points in 2015 and 2018. His best finish was eight in the 2015 Australian Grand Prix, his 17th career start and his first for Sauber.

Diving back into his junior formula career, Ericsson was the Formula BMW UK champion in 2007 and in 2008 he finished fifth in the British Formula Three Championship behind Jaime Alguersauri, Oliver Turvey, Brendon Hartley and Sergio Pérez but he finished ahead of the likes of Nick Tandy and Max Chilton. He went to Japan in 2009 and won the All-Japan Formula 3 Championship but also made six starts in British Formula Three, where he won twice beating drivers such as eventual champion Daniel Ricciardo, Renger van der Zande, eventual IndyCar race winner Carlos Huertas and Chilton. At Macau that year, he finished second to future Indy Lights champions Jean-Karl Vernay in the qualifying race and fourth in the Macau Grand Prix behind Edoardo Mortara, Vernay and Sam Bird but five seconds ahead of Valtteri Bottas.

The 2010 season would mark the start of four years in GP2. He won in his first season at Valencia but finished 17th in the championship on 11 points. He would improve to tenth in the championship and score 25 points the following year but not win a race. He would win the feature race at Spa-Francorchamps in 2012 and had feature race podium finishes at Monaco, Valencia and Monza in a season that saw him finish eighth in the championship. He won two pole positions early in the 2013 season but he did not finish in the points in the first nine races. He won the feature race at the Nürburgring and score four more podium finishes, salvaging sixth in the championship.

Numbers to Remember:
1,954: Number of days between Ericsson's last top five finish, a third in the GP2 feature race at Abu Dhabi on November 2, 2013 and the St. Petersburg season opener. Alexander Rossi won that race with Jolyon Palmer in second.

2,073: Number of days between Ericsson's most recent victory at the GP2 feature race at the Nürburgring on July 6, 2013 and the St. Petersburg season opener.

2,080: Number of days between Ericsson's most recent pole position for the GP2 feature race at Silverstone on June 29, 2013 and the St. Petersburg season opener.

Predictions/Goals:
This is a tough one to call. Based on his Formula One experience, Ericsson does not have a lot to sell on paper but going back to his junior formula results and taking into consideration that his results did improve greatly in 2018 after Sauber received increased funding from Alfa Romeo, he could be a sleeper in 2019.

It helps and hurts that he is stepping into the vacancy left after Robert Wickens was sidelined. It helps because he knows this is a car that can compete at the front and contend for race victories. It hurts because Wickens set the bar that damn high. The one concern is Piers Phillips has left this team so there will be a bit of a shake up on the pit stand but at the same time Ericsson didn't work with Phillips so there was no relationship there and he is going to be starting fresh anyway.

I think Ericsson will do well. Not Wickens level but better than how Zach Veach did last year. I think he could put up numbers similar to Rubens Barrichello's only IndyCar season in 2012. Barrichello came into IndyCar and had good results but never any bad days. The results got better as the year went along. The year started with a pair of top ten finishes at Barber and Long Beach and he was respectable in the Indianapolis 500 after starting tenth and finishing 11th. He qualified third at Milwaukee and finished tenth in that race; he finished seventh at Iowa, fourth at Sonoma and fifth at Baltimore. He had seven top ten finishes from 14 starts and finished 11th in the championship.

If Ericsson matches Barrichello's number from 2012 I think that is a big success for him and he will likely have a sophomore season, unlike Barrichello, which parenthetically Barrichello should have had. Seven top ten finishes is not unrealistic for Ericsson. It is asking a lot but we should remember we have not seen a Formula One driver come into IndyCar and just go straight to the front in recent seasons. Barrichello was excellent in his one season but he never had a stranglehold on a race and he never had everyone thinking he was going to be the dominant driver at the front of the pack entering a race. Max Chilton came into IndyCar and had a lot of growing pains and that was after a year in Indy Lights to get acclimated to most of the tracks.

My one concern for Ericsson is while he had success in GP2, he had plenty of lackluster results. In 84 GP2 starts, he finished outside the points in 54 of them and if you add his eight GP2 Asis Series starts, he failed to finish in the points in 60 of 92 starts. That isn't taking into consideration that he finished in the points in only 11 of 97 Formula One races. In nine seasons, he finished outside the points of a combined 146 of 189 races. That is not a good hit rate and part of that is because Ericsson was in bad cars in Formula One but focusing on just Ericsson's GP2 results, they can best be described as streaky. SPM already has one streaky driver in Hinchcliffe. It cannot afford Ericsson to have four or five strong results and then have seven or eight consecutive finishes outside the top fifteen.

Ericsson should aim to be on the cusp of the top ten of the championship. I think Ericsson will have his struggles but I think there will be one or two road courses where he qualifies in the top ten, possibly even the top six and stays towards the front, possibly getting a top five or podium finish.

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports is shooting high and while it is now or never for Hinchcliffe, the team does have a bit of a project with Ericsson. It is kind of two conflicting mindsets. Hinchcliffe has to get results but Ericsson has to learn and get mileage. While it hopes to create the Big Four, SPM has a lot of competition for that honor but in all honesty it is going to take more than one good year to reach that aspiration. Cementing Big Four status must come after multiple championship seasons and victories. At its best, SPM will just have laid the foundation for a Big Four push this year.

The 2019 NTT IndyCar Series season opens on Sunday March 10th with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. NBCSN's coverage will begin at 1:00 p.m. ET.

IndyCar Wrap-Up: Schmidt Peterson Motorsports' 2018 Season

We are into the final half of the IndyCar Wrap-Ups and we have reached another race winning team in Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. The team brought together two of Canada's top drivers and the pairing proved that some gambles are worth taking. SPM had returned to a regular contender for race victories and was mixing it up with Penske, Ganassi and Andretti on a weekly basis. However, in motorsports things turn quickly and another harsh blow was the delivered to a team that has already gone through its share of dark moments.

James Hinchcliffe got to experience all ends of the emotional spectrum in 2019

James Hinchcliffe
The Canadian started the season shot out of a cannon and then he joined an established but fretted list in the middle of May, one he likely thought he would never join. From there it became a difficult season to get out of the shadow of his greatest failure and the dream season paired with his childhood friend ended in a bit of a nightmare.

What objectively was his best race?
He won at Iowa! And it was a race he took from Josef Newgarden. Newgarden let his guard down. For over 75% of this race Newgarden had no pressure on him. He was lapping the field and it appeared he would win by a full lap but Hinchcliffe was on the move from the start. He started 11th and he worked his way to the front. He was fifth on lap 18. He was fourth on lap 32. He was up to third on lap 38 and he was up to second position two laps later.

Hinchcliffe held the second position and the one caution gave Hinchcliffe a shot but Newgarden pulled away again. Through lapped traffic Hinchcliffe was able to get the lead and in the final 45 laps he ran away from Newgarden. He turned one of the most dominant performances in IndyCar history into an embarrassment for Team Penske.

What subjectively was his best race?
Iowa was the best. This is a place for honorable mentions and we will start with his only other podium finish, a third at Barber. At Toronto, Hinchcliffe drove from ninth to fourth and at Texas Hinchcliffe started 15th and finished fourth in what was a competitive night for the Canadian.

What objectively was his worst race?
Portland. He was in the infamous first lap accident that Scott Dixon escaped from but Hinchcliffe was not as fortunate. The crew was able to get the car repaired and get Hinchcliffe to complete 76 laps but the damage was done and 22nd was the best he could scrape from the weekend.

What subjectively was his worst race?

We have said everything we could about Hinchcliffe's failure to qualify from the Indianapolis 500. I am not sure what else could be said that wasn't in those dying days of May and early days of June.

It is definitely the biggest blemish of his season but when looking at the races he participated in I think we have to tackle a worrying trend for Hinchcliffe and his sluggish finishes to seasons. He did not have a top ten finish in the final five races this season. Last year, he had one top ten finish and three finishes of 20th, 21st and 22nd in the final five races. It has been bad since the 2016 Texas race, which was the antepenultimate round that season after the rain delay to August. He finished second but was docked 25 points for a dome skid wear violation and he hasn't finished in the top five in one of the final five races of the season since. The race after that Hinchcliffe was in contention for a podium before he ran out of fuel and fell to 18th at Watkins Glen.

This has to be improved on because in his three full seasons with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Hinchcliffe has suffered falls in the championship from seventh to 13th, tenth to 13th and while he only dropped from ninth to tenth in 2018, he was never higher than eighth in the championship after being fifth entering the Indianapolis 500 and this is despite finishing the year tied for the seventh most top five finishes and the ninth most top ten finishes.  

James Hinchcliffe's 2018 Statistics
Championship Position: 10th (391 points)
Wins: 1
Podiums: 2
Top Fives: 5
Top Tens: 9
Laps Led: 65
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 2
Fast Twelves: 7
Average Start: 9.0667
Average Finish: 10.0625

Robert Wickens had a special 2018 season and we didn't even get to see the best of it

Robert Wickens
After six years in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, Wickens left Mercedes-Benz for IndyCar and the uncertain jump back to single-seaters gave the IndyCar fan base, nay, the motorsports world an exciting rookie season that comes around only so often. He stole the spotlight and a victory seemed inevitable. His season was a reminder that the sun is a star and it can burn out in a flash when it never seemed brighter.

What objectively was his best race?
Wickens had two runner-up finishes, first at Phoenix in his first oval start and then at Mid-Ohio in his penultimate start of the season. Phoenix was not a showy race for Wickens but through mistakes from Sébastien Bourdais and Alexander Rossi it elevated Wickens into a position for a podium and to content for the race victory. He stayed out under the final caution and inherited the lead. He did all he could to hold Newgarden off but fell four laps short.

Rossi dominated Mid-Ohio but Wickens out ran the Team Penske entries of Will Power and Newgarden on the three stop strategy. He might not have been close to winning but he was the best of the rest.

What subjectively was his best race?
This is a bit harder because there are a lot of contenders. Is this a case where the first time is the best? He was stout at St. Petersburg: Pole position on debut, most laps led on debut and it appeared he was going to win on debut but we remember the final restart and the contact with Rossi and the dream start went from top step of the podium to 18th. It was the race that calmed all doubts over hiring a driver from Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters who had been out of single-seater racing for six years.

What objectively was his worst race?
Purely on results, it is Long Beach because he finished 22nd after his gearbox got stuck on a pit stop... oh and that happened after he worked his way from tenth to fifth on the first stint so another stellar day was in store.

What subjectively was his worst race?

The race that broke the man: Pocono. When you fracture your spine, arms, legs and are put in a wheelchair for an uncertain amount of time that is the worst race of your season, career and life. 

Robert Wickens' 2018 Statistics
Championship Position: 11th (391 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 4
Top Fives: 7
Top Tens: 10
Laps Led: 187
Poles: 1
Fast Sixes: 4
Fast Twelves: 7
Average Start: 6.357
Average Finish: 8.928

Carlos Muñoz got the call to fill in for Wickens and he did an adequate job

Carlos Muñoz
With Wickens sidelined, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports called on a tried and true IndyCar veteran in Muñoz to finish out the season. Prior to the call, Muñoz's only start in 2018 had come with Andretti Autosport in the Indianapolis 500.

What objectively was his best race?
It is the race where he was not with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports! It was a seventh place finish in the Indianapolis 500! Carlos Muñoz has five top ten finishes in six Indianapolis 500 starts! He has completed 3,000 of a possible 3,000 miles. The man knows how to wheel it at 16th and Georgetown. He is in a special class of driver.

What subjectively was his best race?
When you finish seventh in the Indianapolis 500 and have no other plans to race again that season that is the best race of the year but shout out to Portland, Muñoz's first race substituting for Wickens. He spent a fair bit of the day in the top ten but fell back. He did keep up the pace, scored fastest lap and finished 12th.

What objectively was his worst race?
The finale at Sonoma where he finished 18th after starting 22nd.

What subjectively was his worst race?

It is pretty clear it was Sonoma. 

Carlos Muñoz's 2018 Statistics
Championship Position: 25th (95 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Top Fives: 0
Top Tens: 1
Laps Led: 4
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 0
Fast Twelves: 0
Average Start: 19.0
Average Finish: 12.333

An Early Look Ahead
The big question is what happens with the #6 Honda?

Wickens is beat up. It is verging on late-October and he is just back minimal mobility in his legs over two months after his accident. Nothing gives me more will to live then the updates coming from Wickens as he goes through physical therapy but let's not cloud reality. We are four and a half months away from the St. Petersburg season opener and in that interim will be a handful of tests.

I have zero expectation Wickens will be back for St. Petersburg. I have zero expectation he will race at all in 2019. He will make strides (mind the pun) but getting back into a race car for a race likely will not be in 2019. He might get back in toward the end of 2019 and start testing but the bigger goal for Wickens is to start walking and completing daily human activities on his own. The race car bit can come later.

Who is in the #6 Honda then?

It is a prime seat. We saw what that car is capable of accomplishing with a proper driver. We don't know how long Wickens will be out. We don't know if Wickens will be allowed to race again. How do you hire a driver with that kind of uncertainty? Forget 2019 but we will not know if 2020 will be possible for a comeback until the middle of next year. First he needs to accomplish walking on his own, cooking on his own, driving a street car on his own and so on. How do you hire a driver?

If you go young and Wickens is set for 2020 then SPM is in a position of either cutting a young driver loose after one year, making what would be the highly unpopular decision and kicking Wickens aside or tackling the challenge of three full-time cars. If you go young and Wickens is still not ready for 2020 then it appears SPM has a new driver.

There are plenty of exciting options for the #6 Honda. Muñoz is good. He should be full-time. Pietro Fittipaldi had a bit of that excitement around him for a rookie. Conor Daly has played the role of super-sub and he has a relationship with SPM and Hinchcliffe. Gabby Chaves is back unemployed, has a relationship with SPM and he gets cars home in one piece. Jordan King was quick but doesn't have oval experience. Charlie Kimball seems to be a potential free agent and we know he can finish in the top ten though isn't the sexy pick. Those are just drivers that raced last year.

The answer could be a driver that has no care about being a full-time IndyCar because he or she has jobs elsewhere. Tristan Vautier comes to mind. He could be in IndyCar for a season and then if Wickens is ready to return in 2020, Vautier would have plenty of sports car opportunities to fall back on. A veteran such as Oriol Servià fits.

This team has a lot of long-term planning to do this offseason but it must take into consideration 2019 and what has to be done to make sure this team can continue to win races. It has to find a way to have the best of both worlds and fill the large vacancy left by the loss of Wickens.

Wickens sparked a fire under SPM last year. After years of underachieving, this was the year SPM lived up to the expectations. He took SPM to the top and made Hinchcliffe a better driver along the way. Then he got hurt, Hinchcliffe's slide continued through the Sonoma finale and the team ended with its two regular drivers tied for tenth in the championship. Wickens deserved better. He was no worse than the sixth best driver in 2018. SPM needs another one of those drivers.

Hinchcliffe is a race winner but this will be his ninth season in IndyCar. He hasn't taken that next step. He has never finished better than eighth in the championship. His tenth place championship finish in 2018 is only the third time he has finished in the top ten of the championship. He needs a rabbit as a teammate, someone to chase. Who will that be in 2019? Because we have learned that will determine how well Hinchcliffe finishes next season.