INDIANAPOLIS (AP) \u2014 Alex Palou and Alexander Rossi were sold on the new IndyCar at first glance.<\/p>\n
Then they climbed inside the cockpit, took it around Indianapolis Motor Speedway\u2019s 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course and were even more impressed.<\/p>\n
Palou, the four-time series champ, and Rossi, the 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner, became the first test drivers of the new model and both left the track giving the car rave reviews.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am very happy to announce that we will race it next year,\u201d Palou joked Sunday. \u201cI wish (it was next year) \u2014 like that\u2019s the level of excitement I think among everybody. I think everybody, when we saw it live for the first time, I was shocked at how good it looked and how excited I was to give it a try.”<\/p>\n
The Spaniard who drives for Chip Ganassi Racing certainly would be leading the pack again if he actually competed in the IR-28 next year because it isn\u2019t scheduled to debut until 2028. Naturally, though, Palou, who has won 21 of the last 64 races including Indy in 2025 and is on the cusp of clinching a fourth straight series title, would prefer everything goes quicker.<\/p>\n
His interest in this model was piqued after seeing the initial renderings of the lighter, sleeker, jet-like looking car.<\/p>\n
The higher sidepod and more expansive, wavier front wings make the car look larger while the digitally display featuring the car\u2019s position during a race, qualifying or practice appears just behind the redesigned, less bulky aero-screen give as a high-tech feature.<\/p>\n
Designers promised the car would have roomier cockpits, run faster and race better all while adding safety features.<\/p>\n
Rossi thought it was better than advertised. He started seven Formula 1 races in four seasons before moving to IndyCars in 2016 and at 6-foot-1, Rossi is one of IndyCar\u2019s tallest drivers.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot to draw comparisons to F1, we don\u2019t like doing that, but I think anyone who drives an F1 car for the first time, they notice how smooth the car is \u2014 not from a powertrain standpoint but from the surface standpoint,\u201d Rossi said Saturday. \u201cThis car starts to get to that level.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cIt\u2019s a little bigger, certainly more room for me. My knees aren\u2019t headed into the top of the chassis, which is great. But it\u2019s not like you\u2019re out there driving a Suburban.\u201d<\/p>\n
And even though the goal was not necessarily to post fast laps, both drivers enjoyed the ride. Track officials said no official or unofficial speeds were kept.<\/p>\n
Instead, series officials asked Rossi and Palou to produce some baseline measures about the car\u2019s on-track performance, which can be used to help modify set-ups for future tests. That made it essentially a two-day shakedown with Rossi scheduled to run three hours on Saturday and Palou three hours Sunday.<\/p>\n
There was just one problem \u2014 rain. <\/p>\n
Each driver had their allotted time slot cut by at least half because of the cool, wet conditions that blanketed the Indianapolis area Saturday and Sunday. Still, it didn\u2019t dampen the spirits of either driver.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s pretty incredible to be able to be a part of the next evolution and to do it at a place that obviously means a lot to me and all of us here,\u201d Rossi said. \u201cIt\u2019s small part to play in the history and the future of this championship, and that\u2019s super cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
What\u2019s next remains the great unknown.<\/p>\n
While series officials have not yet scheduled the IR-28\u2019s next test, Palou wants other drivers to join the parade he and Rossi just led.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s super fun,\u201d Palou said. \u201cIt\u2019s just like being on a higher end car. It feels like one of those interiors that are like good leather and it\u2019s quiet inside. It\u2019s good, it\u2019s comfy, so, yeah, I can\u2019t wait to hopefully try it in the dry (conditions) and see how it really feels when I push it.\u201d<\/p>\n
IndyCar returns to action next Sunday at Portland, Oregon.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
AP auto racing: https:\/\/apnews.com\/apf-AutoRacing<\/p>\n
Michael Marot, The Associated Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"INDIANAPOLIS (AP) \u2014 Alex Palou and Alexander Rossi were sold on the new IndyCar at first glance. Then…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":843222,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,578,576,577,82],"class_list":["post-843221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/843221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=843221"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/843221\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/843222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=843221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=843221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=843221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}