Papis retires as IndyCar driver steward

IndyCar driver steward Max Papis has informed the series of his decision to leave the organization.

The former Formula 1, sports car and IndyCar driver worked in tandem with two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Arie Luyendyk as the two main decision makers on driving infractions and other matters for review before feeding their ruling to the race director.

The Italian was brought into IndyCars race control team under its previous administration led by Jay Frye, and after spending last season under the new IndyCar Officiating Inc. structure, Papis has chosen to depart.

“Eleven years ago, I was asked by the IndyCar president to become one of the permanent IndyCar stewards,” Papis said.

“I hesitated in the beginning because at the end, I'm still Mad Max. I've always been an outlaw driver, and I never thought I would have ended up on the officiating side. I took this offer not as a job, but as a project. I reported directly to the IndyCar president with very clear goals: improving the relationship between the sanctioning body and the competitors, listening to the garage, contribute in shaping the rulebook with competitor input and providing a race car driver’s point of view. But most of all, be a silent partner to the sport, letting the driver and the team be the star. I took this very seriously.

“I worked tirelessly on and off the track to make my sport better. I was always aware that one of my calls could have affected a driver career and a team investment, and I always strived to be the most objective and unintrusive steward that the sport ever had. After a race, when my name was mentioned, or a call that I was involved was brought up with the subject of a conversation, I felt I failed because the driver and the team had to be the subject of the race.

“In the last 24 months, a lot of things have changed. The role of the steward, the hierarchy who I report to, has dramatically changed. So, ‘26 will be my last year as IndyCar steward. So, in ‘27, I will not be back. But before closing this chapter, I want to say thank you to few people. Jay Frye, thank you for seeing in me what I couldn't see myself. You put me in a very delicate position, and I will always be grateful for the leadership that you provided. Arie, my partner in crime, you're a legend. I will be missing you. To everyone in race control, you guys are silent heroes. Your work, most of the time, goes undetected.”

Papis has balanced race stewarding for IndyCar with his growing MPI racing steering wheel business and other racing-related opportunities.

“I learn a lot of humbleness and a lot of humility being around you guys,” he added. “To everyone in IndyCar leadership, I truly wish continued success as we've seen since I since I joined the sport. To Roger Penske, it will always be an honor to tell my kids I worked for a company that had your name on. To all the teams and competitors, thank you for allowing me to shape the sport for better during these years, and even when we had to agree to disagree, I trust that you could see that every call was made in the most objective way, and applying the rules with the love of the sport has a number one intention, and absolutely no personal involvement.

“To all the race car drivers, especially that they've been out there in IndyCar for the last 10 years, it has been an honor to serve you guys. Thank you for trusting in me. I loved every conversation we had, and most of all, thank you for always remembering I was one of you.”