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| The results were good but could have been better for Graham Rahal in 2018 |
The American driver was back with his father's team for the sixth consecutive season and for the fourth consecutive season he finished in the top ten in the championship, however, for the third consecutive season he took a bit of a slide in the championship.
What objectively was his best race?
The season opener! He finished second to Sébastien Bourdais after the kerfuffle with Robert Wickens and Alexander Rossi opened the door. It would be easy to say Rahal lucked into a podium finish after running fourth he was a man on a mission from 24th on the grid. Rahal was passing guys and he had a competitive car. He did have a run in of his own with Spencer Pigot and he was fortunate not to get a penalty for it. Contact aside, for all he had to do, second was justified even if it came after a few breaks. Some days the breaks go your way. It evens out in the end.
What subjectively was his best race?
St. Petersburg was a great race but I think Texas needs to be shouted out. He started 20th but it was another race where he worked his way to the front and he showed that oval aggression we are used to seeing from him at Texas and he finished sixth.
Indianapolis was nearly a disaster and for a few hours it looked like he might not make the race. He started 30th and he worked his way to a tenth place finish.
What objectively was his worst race?
Rahal had three finishes of 23rd, all retirements: The first Belle Isle race, Portland and Sonoma. At Belle Isle, he clipped a curb and it launched him into the barrier. At Portland, he was caught in the accident at the start exiting turn two, which ended his day along with Marco Andretti, Ed Jones, severely hampered James Hinchcliffe's and somehow Scott Dixon was the only one to get out with only cosmetic damage. The Sonoma race was ended early because of a battery issue.
What subjectively was his worst race?
Out of those three it is Belle Isle because he should have finished in the top five in that race and he might have been able to finish on the podium. Through that point of the season Rahal had completed every lap and was looking to get his seventh consecutive top ten finish to start the season. At that point it appeared Rahal could be a championship contender. He had yet to have a bad day and he was going to have to step up in the second half of the season but he laid the foundation to build his championship push.
Graham Rahal's 2018 Statistics
Championship Position: 8th (392 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 1
Top Fives: 3
Top Tens: 12
Laps Led: 29
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 1
Fast Twelves: 5
Average Start: 13.625
Average Finish: 11.117
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| Takuma Sato's return to RLLR was modestly successful |
One year after winning the Indianapolis 500 and finishing a career-high eighth in the championship, Sato left Andretti Autosport for a return to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Sato and RLLR had a relationship in the 2012 season. Sato was not able to match his 2017 record but he did have his second best championship finish in his IndyCar career.
What objectively was his best race?
He took a surprise victory at Portland! In a race that could not escape cautions, Sato's pit stops were timely. He would stop, a caution would come out and he would vault up the order. The pit stop that gave him the lead came a few laps after Ryan Hunter-Reay made his final stop and Hunter-Reay was not able to get ahead of Sato. Sato took the lead and Hunter-Reay had to conserve fuel to make it to the end of the race. Hunter-Reay was able to put a late charge on and Sato stayed cool under pressure. He took a popular victory in a popular return to the Pacific Northwest.
What subjectively was his best race?
Victories are nice but Iowa was a race where Sato was one of the fastest five cars on track. He was at the front and similar to James Hinchcliffe he made up a lot of ground after starting tenth. He was hanging in there and while victory was not a thought in this one considering the domination of Josef Newgarden and then the surprise of Hinchcliffe, Sato put himself in a position for a top finish. When Robert Wickens and Newgarden made late pit stops hoping the race would go green, Sato slotted into a podium finish. It was fortunate but earned considering the race he had put in.
What objectively was his worst race?
One year after winning the 102nd Indianapolis 500, Sato ended the 103rd race in 32nd after colliding with James Davison. This wasn't Sato's fault. Davison was off-pace and Sato was much faster when the two collided in turn three. The last few years at Indianapolis there has been that one car that does not have the speed with the rest of the field and it has taken other quicker drivers out. In 2017, it was Jay Howard and Scott Dixon; this May it was Davison and Sato. It is a slightly concerning trend.
What subjectively was his worst race?
This is difficult because there isn't a race where I recall Sato throwing away a great result. When he was on his game he got the job done and when he was off he wasn't a disaster but he was forgotten. The one race that stands out is Toronto because he was in position for possibly a top five and brushed the wall exiting the final corner and that ended his race.
Takuma Sato's 2018 Statistics
Championship Position: 12th (351 points)
Wins: 1
Podiums: 2
Top Fives: 4
Top Tens: 8
Laps Led: 32
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 1
Fast Twelves: 6
Average Start: 12.1875
Average Finish: 13.235
An Early Look Ahead
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing was frustratingly good last year and that is part of the problem. This team was really better than good but when you see that Rahal's only podium finish was the season opener, Sato had two other podium finishes and combined they had seven top five finishes, you shake your head at the fact that Rahal had 12 top ten finishes, more than Will Power, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Robert Wickens and James Hinchcliffe and Sato won a race.
I feel like this is the fourth or fifth season writing imagine how good Rahal would be if he could qualify better because he has gotten his results without making it easy for himself. He made the Fast Six once and that was at Long Beach where he took out Simon Pagenaud, was handed a penalty and fought back, with the help of some cautions, to finish fifth exactly where he started. Sato was not much better. He made the Fast Six once (fifth at St. Petersburg) and Sato was responsible for the team's only top ten qualifying positions on ovals, ninth at Texas and tenth at Iowa.
Qualifying has to improve for this team if it wants to return to being a championship contender. The team has brought in Allen McDonald, who has had the magic when it comes to Indianapolis 500 qualifying, with James Hinchcliffe and Ed Carpenter each winning pole position for that race with McDonald tooling on their automobiles but RLLR needs more than help at Indianapolis. While the team has not really been in contention for victory in that race, the team is not in a position to be putting all its eggs in one basket. Everyone wants to win Indianapolis but the team is on the fringe of being a weekly contender. It needs that little bit extra speed everywhere.
Things did improve a bit toward the end of the season with Rahal qualifying in the top ten in three of the final four qualifying sessions of the season but while qualifying got better Rahal's results took a dip. He did not have a top five finish in the final nine races after he had three in the first eight races.
Was part of the team's struggle down to expanding to two cars in 2018? It may have played a role. If all the attention was focused on just Rahal's car, things might have been better but a multi-car effort seems more advantageous in the long haul and if a one-year set back means greater rewards for the next five seasons then it is worth it but also consider this step back was Rahal still finishing eighth in the championship and Sato finishing 12th and picking up a race victory.
There were some rumblings the team could expand to three cars but instead of spreading the team out event thinner staying as a two-car effort is the right choice. They have to grow from here and I think RLLR has the pieces in place to make a push. Adding a third car is setting the team back a bit.
We know Rahal can fight for the championship. I am not sure Sato has that capability but Sato does bring pace to a team and he is not as erratic in terms of tearing up equipment, as he was not too long ago. I think this team can make a step forward next year especially if it appears Schmidt Peterson Motorsports will be going through a bit of a reshuffle. RLLR was the fourth best team last year in a way. The team got the cars home and in a solid position. The challenge is taking that next step up the order and being in the conversation for at least podium finishes on a weekly basis.
