FORT WORTH, Texas – Defending series champion Will Power’s name is off the board of potential IndyCar free agents, but there’s still a lot to work out, starting with the Indy 500 winner.
Marcus Ericsson is awaiting a contract offer to remain with Chip Ganassi Racing beyond the 2023 season (his fourth with the team). The Swede said he has made it clear to car owner Chip Ganassi that he wants to stay in the No. 8 Dallara-Honda, which has four wins since June 2021.
“Yeah, it’s up to him, basically,” Ericsson said Friday at Texas Motor Speedway. “He has to make me an offer for ’24 onwards. The ball is in his court. I like Ganassi a lot, we’ve done a lot of really good things together and I’d like to continue, but the ball is in his court . He knows very well what I want.”
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Two days before Ericsson won the season-opening St. Petersburg Grand Prix on March 5, Ganassi sang the rising star driver’s praises to a small group of reporters.
“I want him here beyond this year,” Ganassi said of Ericsson. “He seems to have gotten more out of the Indy 500 win than anybody in recent memory, which is a good thing. He did a good job. He’s been all over the place. He’s been a big positive for Marcus, the team , the series. He’s grown up with it, too.”
Ericsson didn’t land his current deal until the end of his big 2021 season (after a memorable win at the inaugural Music City Grand Prix). So he’s not necessarily worried about that, but he acknowledged that he was “thinking about the winner a little bit in the offseason and talking about
“But now that the season has started, I told my managers and everyone that I want to focus on driving. They focus on these things. Now the season has started and I want to try to win races, win another 500 and the championship. This is where my focus is. (A new contract) is one of those things that happens when it happens. But I’m happy where I am and I want to do well.”
IndyCar’s top two teams, Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing, tend to be very clear about the contract status of their drivers.
Power confirmed to reporter Bruce Martin on Friday that his new deal was for several seasons. That means all three Penske drivers are on multi-year deals (unlike Power’s deal, Scott McLaughlin’s extension was announced by the team last year).
But there is more uncertainty in Ganassi’s four cars apart from Ericsson. While Scott Dixon has a ride for as long as he wants (and the six-time champion has given no indication of retiring), Ganassi’s other two seats have yet to be secured beyond 2023.
Number 11 is shared this year by rookie Marcus Armstrong and veteran Takuma Sato this season. At #10, Alex Palou is believed to be in his final year at Ganassi before heading to Arrow McLaren.
That expected move would throw into doubt the future of Felix Rosenqvist, who returned to Arrow McLaren when the team failed to bring in Palou (who was embroiled in a contract dispute with Ganassi).
Aside from Penske, virtually every other IndyCar team (including Andretti Autosport, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and Meyer Shank Racing, which has Helio Castroneves under a one-year contract) has seats that could open for next season, and until and all the pilots who seem to be below. The contract for next year could still be in place (via buyouts and option years).
Although Juncos Hollinger Racing announced a “long-term, multi-year contract partnership” with Callum Ilott last July, the second-year driver was coy on Friday when asked how long the extension lasted .
“It’s about what I want it to be,” said Ilott, who finished a career-best fifth in St. Petersburg. “I will say this.”
Before returning to JHR, Ilott turned heads enough as a rookie to draw interest from several teams, and he indicated Friday that he would still be listening.
“I would love to talk to other big teams,” Ilott said. “Nothing stops me from talking. Look, you have to be fair. I accepted (the deal), but it’s quite obvious that I’m quite interested, as people are interested in me as a driver, but I have to focus on the job I have here.
“I’m sure that if it’s a year from now, two years, three years, four years, that if they want me now, they’ll always want me. I’m a good enough driver that I don’t lack confidence on that side. … I am not worried”.
