IndyCar 2014 Review: P12 – James Hinchcliffe

David Malsher says…

Another year in which James Hinchcliffe proved he was the thinking man’s Ryan Hunter-Reay. And if that sounds like a jab at RHR, it really isn’t. It’s more praise of the Mayor of Hinchtown who doesn’t take the same chances as his erstwhile Andretti Autosport teammate, and therefore occasionally misses out on the Big Move, but who also doesn’t get himself into as much trouble.

Or at least, not self-induced trouble. Hinch is just a magnet for bad luck and whereas in 2013, his results chart had a Himalayas-style topography, this season was mainly valleys. And it wasn’t from lack of pace. Of the 17 races where grid positions were set by qualifying time (Toronto 2 was the exception), the No. 27 was the fastest

of the Andretti quartet eight times and only once was he the slowest, yet he finished behind Hunter-Reay, rookie Carlos Munoz and Marco Andretti in the points standings. A guy who five times started from the front row of the grid ended up with just a solitary podium finish…the irony being, it came on a day when he’d started 17th!

That third place at Mid-Ohio (ABOVE) was poor reward for a season in which Hinchcliffe seemed to disprove the old Penske motto that “Effort equals results.” He was occasionally responsible for his own demise – the crash at Indy 500, while not entirely his fault, was a result of James being atypically bold and not anticipating Townsend Bell squeezing Ed Carpenter down because TB was unaware Hinch had made Turn 1 three-wide. At Pocono and Fontana, Hinch was stung for speeding in the pits, and in the former it lost him a lap, in the latter, it probably cost him another podium finish.

But making three significant errors was about par for the leading IndyCar drivers this year; Hinch’s problem was that his three came in the Triple Crown races, each of which was worth double points. Yet it would be wrong to pretend they were the only reason he finished an unrepresentative 12th in the standings. Being the innocent victim in accidents, suffering reliability issues (including in practice) and some very slow pit stops were what ultimately meant Hinch and race engineer Nathan O’Rourke were unable to fulfill the pace and potential they so frequently displayed.  

I’m sorry to see the Andretti Autosport/Hinchcliffe combo break up after three years of almost-but-not-quite achieving what each expected of the other. However, James’s move to Schmidt Peterson Motorsports will surely add another coating of maturity to his form. Whoever he partners, he’ll likely be team leader, and after being in the shadow of far more experienced drivers – Oriol Servia and then Hunter-Reay – for his first four seasons in IndyCar, this extra sense of responsibility should allow Hinchcliffe to bloom. I suspect SPM will discover he’s a worthy replacement for Simon Pagenaud, and that’s a huge compliment.

Robin Miller says…

The handwriting was on the wall early for Hinchcliffe in 2014. He qualified second in three of the first five races (BELOW, Barber) and only had a seventh place to show for it.

And things never got much better for the guy who scored three wins in 2013 for Andretti Autosport. There was a lone podium at Mid-Ohio but it was mostly a season of bad breaks and bad timing for the 27-year-old Canuck.

Running third at Long Beach he got collected by a crash triggered by his teammate. During a caution at the Indy GP he was struck in the head by a part from another car and knocked out for a second before coasting to a stop with a concussion.

The Mayor of Hinchtown led 14 laps at Indianapolis after starting in the middle of Row 1 when he tangled with Ed Carpenter as they battled up front with 25 laps left. He didn’t have any more accidents the final 13 races but he didn’t have any luck either as mechanical gremlins ruined at least four races.

The spirited drive at Mid-Ohio produced more relief than joy afterwards but being able to storm from 17th to third eased a little of the pain.

Hinch did end the year on a positive note, leading 17 laps at Fontana before finishing fifth but, just like his season overall, it was a classic case of his pace not being reflected in his results.

Marshall Pruett says…

James Hinchcliffe spent more time dodging the cartoon anvils that fell from the sky than showing what he could accomplish, and his lack of luck certainly showed in the final championship standings.

Just as Chip Ganassi Racing’s Charlie Kimball was a magnet for Chevy engine problems within his four-car team, Hinch had a bullseye on his No. 27 Honda all season, and if it wasn’t motor trouble, some other silly issue seemed to step up and ruin his chances. Mix in a few driving errors, and for a driver of Hinch’s caliber, 2014 became a season to endure rather than embrace.

And then there were the races where, for obvious reasons, he and new Andretti Autosport engineer Nathan O’Rourke struggled to find the right setup. It’s a common occurrence, and especially after Hinch and Craig

Hampson had developed such a strong driver/engineer relationship through the years, which made following up on his three wins in 2013 a greater challenge than some might have expected.

The outcome saw Andretti’s No. 2 driver (behind 2012 IndyCar champion and 2014 Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay) close the year at the bottom of the rotation behind RHR,  Carlos Munoz, and Marco Andretti in the championship. He also came away with just one podium visit – a career low since his rookie season in 2011.  

Coming off an impressive eighth-place championship run in 2013, Hinch obviously didn’t forget how to drive in 2014, and he’s lucky to have a change of scenery and the full might of Schmidt Peterson Motorsports behind him as he looks to prove to the world that his final go-round with Andretti was nothing more than anomaly. With so few positives to talk about last season, the best solution for Hinch is to look ahead to what’s in store with SPM.