The RACER Mailbag, November 4

Q: I would like to see a couple of changes in IndyCar. The first is a little stronger stance on track limits. They put the lines on the tracks for a reason, and they should be used to make the drivers adhere to the track when possible and not go off-roading during the race. It just looks like a higher level of driving when you stay on the track.

Case in point is Turn 1 in Portland. If they are going to allow the driving behind the curb, then change the corner. When they ran at COTA, the line the IndyCars took out of Turn 19 was ridiculous compared to other series. These are very talented drivers and they can negotiate corners without going through the parking lots to do it.

With the charters being implemented into IndyCar, I would like to see some consideration by the sanctioning body put in some requirements for the teams and drivers. Team sports are similar across the board in the structure of owners, management and players (drivers). Wouldn’t it be beneficial for IndyCar to implement deadline dates for driver signings and announcements?

They could structure it for a good offseason flow of newsworthy information to keep the fan base interested. It would also give IndyCar, teams, and FOX the opportunity to create advertising campaigns to give the fans a chance to connect the drivers with the teams before the season starts and help build interest and anticipation.

The access IndyCar gives the fans to the paddock would make this a win-win for the teams, drivers, fans and IndyCar. Since it is in the middle of the offseason, they could implement it for the end of next season, so owners, agents, and drivers would have plenty of time to prepare for the change. 

Jerry M., Topeka, KS

MP: Some interesting thoughts. On track limits, I’ve never cared unless it’s egregious. On modifying the charter to mandate a new signing structure, the difference with most other major team sports is those are all franchised in some capacity where the NFLs and NBAs and so on are the parent companies that pay and feed the dozens of franchise teams. Everything that happens is structured and complied with by its franchises. IndyCar is nothing like those stick-and-ball organizations. All of its teams, except for Team Penske, are independently owned and all of those non-Penske teams are responsible for funding themselves independently.

If I’m a small business owner who needs to find my own sponsors and/or paying drivers to participate in a racing series, the only person who’ll dictate when I can and can’t sign things is me, and me alone. The minute Penske Entertainment starts covering the $10m-$12m price tag per entry for every team, it would have a better chance of trying to dictate such things. If you’re paying my bills for me to play in your series, you have a voice in how and when they’re paid. If not, you don’t.

Q: Are IndyCar teams excited for the Barcelona event? The reason I ask is that I remember hearing that the Toronto race has historically been a tough sell to sponsors that don’t operate outside of the U.S.

Joe

MP: It’s 11 teams so there’s no single answer that spans all 11. In general, teams are doing their best to be supportive and encouraging of whatever the series and FOX are trying to do, so while going to Spain has not been universally received in a positive manner based on my conversations with an array of team owners and team principals, you won’t hear those owners and leaders speaking out against it.

It will take a few more months to know if teams will experience widespread issues selling sponsorship for Barcelona.

Q: Any chatter about Myles Rowe for 2027?

Steve, Ohio 

MP: Nothing that I’ve heard.

Rowe might be stuck playing the waiting game. Travis Hinkle/Penske Entertainment

Q: In the current set of F1 regulations, the availability of electrical power is key to both lap times and close racing. The cars currently use GPS tracking and the hybrid systems learn where and how much to regenerate power. The majority of drivers are unhappy with this situation because it makes behavior under braking unpredictable. The concept of machine learning is contrary to a contest among drivers and to past F1 assertions that driver assists should be minimized (e.g., ABS).

Why is this approach allowed, and what would be your opinion on banning it?

Jack

CHRIS MEDLAND: It has been allowed for a long time, but the impact was far less. I remember Fernando Alonso taking a corner flat out in qualifying in a McLaren-Honda years ago, but because it was the first time he had done so, the PU then didn’t understand where it was on track and it cost him lap time later.

So it’s partly an efficiency thing, for the PU to learn the track it’s driving on and understand how to most effectively use the power it has available. But it’s also due to the regulations that include certain power limitations and restrictions, so the power output can comply with those.

Personally, I’m all for banning it, but I know it’s not that straightforward. I think the regulations need to be far more simple, because as much as there is a lot going on in road car technology that we don’t see, when we’re driving our road cars we’re not looking to gain a thousandth of a second against a rival in a competition, and that should be as much in the driver’s hands as possible.

Q: I know there are rumors that there are a couple of drivers in the F1 paddock who would probably say “don’t you know who I am?” to us commoners. Any idea if one of them said that one too many times in Mexico?

Ryan, West Michigan

CM: Ha, I don’t believe that’s quite how it went down, Ryan! But I think a disagreement escalated beyond an acceptable point, and given how close to the end of the relationship Haas and Esteban already were, it was deemed that a line was crossed.

I’m actually torn by the situation, because Esteban can be an exceptional driver – Oliver Bearman and his team have regularly pointed out how good he is when he’s on it – but when Ryo Hirakawa took over, it did feel a little like there was a more relaxed atmosphere around the team. Maybe that was just with the pressure off due to Hirakawa having little to lose, but it’s not the first time Esteban has been asked to leave a team early.