Rosenqvist deserves an IndyCar ride - Hull

Chip Ganassi Racing director Mike Hull believes that funding is the only thing standing between Swedish ace Felix Rosenqvist and a full-time IndyCar seat.

The three-time Indy Lights race winner and double Macau GP winner completed his second Verizon IndyCar Series test with Ganassi at Mid-Ohio on Thursday, reprising a similar appearance that he made in Scott Dixon's No.9 at the same track last year.

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With a full-time drive in the FIA Formula E series, another drive in Japan's Formula Nippon series, and a burgeoning European sports car career, Rosenqvist's services are in high demand. The Mid-Ohio visit, which came between New York and Montreal Formula E commitments, fell at a perfect point on the calendar.

Using IndyCar's forward-looking rules that allow for an extra test day if an up-and-coming driver like Rosenqvist is used to split the test with the car's regular driver, CGR kept the Swede busy at the winding road course with 90 laps of running prior to handing over to Dixon, who is pursuing his fifth IndyCar title.

"He'd never been to Mid-Ohio until he tested for us last year, we were lucky to have him again this year, and I wish there was a way he could find himself a home here because he deserves a ride in IndyCar," said Hull.

"He can read the car, feel the tires, read the track, and he adapts himself as they degrade. And he understands the penalty of driving too hard, which is rare for a driver his age. He's one of those guys who, under pressure, can get it done."

Asked if he could be in the frame for a position alongside Dixon in the future, Hull pointed to CGR's limited number of fully-funded cars in its Honda-powered stable.

"At one time in IndyCar racing, everybody was flush with cash and you always hired the best talent," he said. "If this were 1997, he's be in somebody's car already."

Dixon, who shares a manager with Rosenvqist in Stefan Johanssen, was equally impressed by the versatile 25-year-old's performance.

"Felix did a great job," Dixon told RACER. "He's a huge talent. To get him will be tough. For any team in IndyCar, it would be positive."