Wednesday Wrap-Up: Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports' 2014 Season

With 123 days until the start of the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series season and 200 days until the 99th Indianapolis 500, our seventh 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series team review features championship contending Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports. Simon Pagenaud returned for his third season with the team and this time with a new teammate as the 2012 Indy Lights champion Tristan Vautier was not retained by the Honda team. Enter Mikhail Aleshin, the journeyman Russian who's career highlight entering the 2014 season was winning the 2010 Formula Renault 3.5 championship over current Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo and Porsche factory driver Brendon Hartley.

2014 was a year to smile about for Simon Pagenaud

Simon Pagenaud
The 2014 season couldn't have gone much better for the Frenchman. Despite starting 14th for the season opener at St. Petersburg, Pagenaud fought his way to fifth. He would start the next four consecutive races in the top ten. At Long Beach he had to overcome adversity after contact with Will Power sent him gently into the turn six tires but he was able to reverse and continue. With all the attrition he was able to finish fifth. He finished fourth at Barber despite an off-and-on on lap one.

Pagenaud was able to etch his name into history when he won the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis. He stretched fuel and was able to hold off a charging Ryan Hunter-Reay and Hélio Castroneves to take the honor as the first winner of the IndyCar race around the IMS road course. He qualified fifth for the Indianapolis 500, a personal best for him in the famed race but he could only manage twelfth after 200 laps.

Detroit began with another run in with Will Power and this time there was no recovering as the damage was too severe to the Frenchman's DW12. In race two, he recovered with a sixth place finish. At Texas, Pagenaud was the top Honda coming home in fourth after a night Chevrolet dominated. Houston started with his first career IndyCar pole position but mechanical issues in race one cost him but in race two he rebounded, leading 43 laps and picking up his second victory of the season.

A sixth at Pocono was followed by an 11th at Iowa despite taking tires on the final caution like Ryan Hunter-Reay and Josef Newgarden who ended up first and seconds. He nearly had race one from Toronto end on lap one after he spun and blocked the track but strategy got him a hardest earned fourth place finish from starting fourth. Electrical problems in race two from North of the Border ended Pagenaud's day on a sour note and he had to settle for 22nd.

After starting and finishing ninth at Mid-Ohio he went from 16th to seventh at Milwaukee and 15th to third at Sonoma, keeping his championship hopes alive heading to the season finale at Fontana. At the 2-mile oval though, Pagenaud had handling issues and his championship hopes were done almost from the drop of the green flag, coming home 20th, seven laps down.

Simon Pagenaud's 2014 Statistics
Championship Positions: 5th (565 points)
Wins: 2
Podiums: 3
Top Fives: 8
Top Tens: 12
Laps Led: 59
Poles: 1
Fast Sixes: 4
Fast Twelves: 6
Average Start: 9 (5th)
Average Finish: 8.777 (3rd)

Despite initial reservations, Mikhail Aleshin proved his worth in 2014

Mikhail Aleshin
If Simon Pagenaud didn't surprised anyone in 2014, Mikhail Aleshin sure surprise the vast majority. Quickly labelled as just a ride-buyer, Aleshin was the top rookie at St. Petersburg finishing 12th and finished sixth at Long Beach. He had a great start at Barber but a spin after being tapped by Sébastien Bourdais and late accident did do his overall performance justice. A first-lap accident at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis was a set back but he became the first Russian to ever qualify for the Indianapolis 500 and even led his first career lap of his IndyCar career in the biggest race of his career to date.

The doubleheader at Belle Isle started poorly after contact with James Hinchcliffe might have cost him a top ten and contact with Jack Hawkworth on the final lap was just icing on the cake. In race two he would finish seventh, right behind his teammate and he was racing Pagenaud hard for position. At Texas, Aleshin was impressive, coming home seventh ahead of Texas race winners Hélio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe. Houston 1 was a disaster as Aleshin was a lap down when he got into Takuma Sato who was running second, ending both their days. He would qualify second and finish second in Houston 2, giving SPM a 1-2.

Pocono was another strong outing for Aleshin as he finished seventh and was up front all day. He would spin at Iowa, ending his night. His slump would continue through Toronto and Mid-Ohio but he would finish eight at Milwaukee, once again right behind his teammate and would get a seventh place finish at Sonoma.

Of course, we all know how his season ended. After qualifying eight for Fontana, he had an accident in final practice and suffered a concussion, fractured ribs, a broken right clavicle and chest injuries. Despite the injury, Aleshin and Muñoz each were the top finishing rookie in seven races, while Hawksworth only held that honor three times and Huertas once, however all the spoils to him as he won Houston 1.

Mikhail Aleshin's 2014 Statistics
Championship Positions: 16th (372 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 1
Top Fives: 1
Top Tens: 7
Laps Led: 4
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 0
Fast Twelves: 3
Average Start: 14.176 (17th)
Average Finish: 14.277 (19th)

Head-to-Head
Better Finish: Simon Pagenaud def. Mikhail Aleshin 17-1.
Better Qualifying Position: Pagenaud def. Aleshin 14-4.

Pagenaud is out and James Hinchcliffe is in at Schmidt Peterson and the team's task is large for 2015. The team has to prove that it was more than just their former driver. After experiencing nothing but success with Pagenaud with three consecutive seasons in the top five of the championship, SPM needs to remain at the front and Hinchcliffe is coming off a disappointing 2014 season (but more on that later).

Aleshin is recovering and I hope he is able to make it back in time for the 2015 season opener at Brasilia. I remember during the 24 Hours of Daytona, Graham Rahal tweeted his disgust after Aleshin bogged down one of the Rahal Letterman Lanigan BMW and wasn't looking forward to having him on the IndyCar grid.

.@JoeyHandRacing could have won that thing if Aleshin didn’t cut him off several times. What a drive Yoey!
— Graham Rahal (@GrahamRahal) January 26, 2014

Exactly my thoughts! RT @JJKF1: @GrahamRahal Your racing against Aleshin this year #watchout
— Graham Rahal (@GrahamRahal) January 26, 2014

Boy was he wrong. Other than the Houston accident with Sato, Aleshin drove smart all season and was really impressive on ovals. Should Aleshin return, it will be interesting to see how he and Hinchcliffe get along. Hinchcliffe has been fortunate in his IndyCar career to work with Oriol Servià, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Marco Andretti as teammates. Aleshin will be different and does not bring as much to the table in term of IndyCar experience. This team could experience a step back in 2015.

2014 Verizon IndyCar Series Team-By-Team Preview: Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports

The team-by-team preview continues with the top returning Honda team for the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series season and that would be Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports (remember Ganassi Racing is switching to Chevrolet).

2013 Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports Review:
Wins: 2 (Belle Isle 2, Baltimore).
Poles: 0
Best Start: 3rd (Barber, Baltimore).
Final Championship Position: 3rd (Simon Pagenaud), 20th (Tristan Vautier), 37th (Katherine Legge).

2014 Drivers:

Simon Pagenaud
The Frenchman broke through for two victories in 2013 and finished third in the championship, an improvement of two positions from 2012. After mechanical failures ended his season opener early in twenty-fourth position, Pagenaud's worst finish for the remainder of 2013 was thirteenth and ended up with thirteen top ten finishes, tied for third most in 2013 with Justin Wilson and behind only Helio Castroneves and Marco Andretti who had sixteen and fifteen respectively. He was also the second best finishing Honda in the 2013 Indianapolis 500. He finished eighth while Wilson was the top Honda in fifth.

Numbers to Remember: 1. Amount of finishes outside the top twenty in his IndyCar career and that lone finish being the 2013 season opener at St. Petersburg.

Prediction/Goals: Simon Pagenaud will be a championship contender entering the season finale. Two or three wins are highly likely and it would not be surprising if he picked up his first career oval victory in 2014. If there is one thing for Pagenaud to work on it's top five finishes. While he had thirteen top tens in 2013, he had only five top fives. Another goal for Pagenuad is to score his first career pole position.

Mikhail Aleshin
Aleshin becomes the first Russian driver in IndyCar since Baron de Rachewsky made one start at Atlantic City in 1926. The 2010 Formula Renault 3.5 Series champion beat current Red Bull Racing Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo by two points for the title but in the three season since winning the championship, Aleshin has only one podium finish in FR3.5, a second in the 2012 season finale and finished twelfth in the championship in 2013.

Number to Remember: 1. Amount of other previous Formula Renault 3.5 champions to run a majority of an IndyCar season. That was Bertrand Baguette in 2011, a year after taking the FR3.5 title.

Prediction/Goals: Aleshin will pick up two or three top tens, which may be enough to crack the top twenty. He will struggle on ovals but he won't lack speed with the help from his teammate Pagenaud. He won't be at the front often but won't be languishing at the bottom of the time sheet after every session either. His goal should be to stay out of harms way and bring the car home with all four wheel intact at the end of each race.

Jacques Villeneuve
The 1995 Indianapolis 500 winner and CART champion will return to the Indianapolis 500. The Canadian will set the record for longest gap between starts should he qualify for the race. In the 19 years since his IndyCar success, Villeneuve added the 1997 World Drivers' Championship, an overall 2nd place finish in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, four NASCAR Cup Series starts, 10 top tens in the Nationwide Series and a ride in the World Rallycross Championship.

Number to Remember: 6487 and 6804. The current IndyCar record for longest gap in-between starts in days. Marion Trexler went 17 years, 9 months and 5 days between starts from Columbus on August 25, 1912 to May 30, 1930 and the 18th Indianapolis 500. Those were the only two starts of Trexler's career. Villeneuve will break the record by 317 days should he qualify and start this year's Indianapolis 500 (18 years, 7 months and 17 days).

Prediciton/Goals: The goal should be to qualify if there are more than thirty-three cars entered. If he does make the race, the goal then becomes complete all the laps. If he does that, a top fifteen is likely. However, Villeneuve will be challenged all month and finish outside the top twenty.

The fourth team preview will come Monday. Remember, the first round of the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series season is the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and can be seen live March 30th at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.