IndyCar's silly season may have been significantly affected by the lawsuit filing, but not in the way you might think.
Last month, McLaren Racing's lawyers filed an amended application in the team's ongoing case against Alex Palou in the British Commercial Court, saying for the first time that McLaren would have to pay Pato O'Ward's $8.2 million worth (including a $2 million bonus) of $2. Includes a yearly contract extension. The team believes Palou should be responsible for the costs after backing out of his three-year contract with McLaren almost 18 months ago.
It's a rare concrete figure for one of the highest-paid drivers in the sport — a driver Graham Rahal pointedly pointed out to reporters Friday in St. Pete. He has only four wins and has never won or even finished second in the Indianapolis 500. Finish in the championship.
“We have the same number of wins, but it was laughable that our base salaries were so different, but that's OK,” said the 35-year-old IndyCar veteran, who has six wins in practice and four in O'Ward. The pay is insane compared to any other team and I don't really understand how that works, but it's not up to me.
“It's been good for Pato. I can't wait to go to his house in Mexico. But it's great for him and it's good for the sport. When I came into this world of sport, Like other players, there were a lot of players who were not earning zero. They can no longer pay the premiums every year and things are changing for the better. For young players, this changes the market and their livelihoods change even slightly. I hope it gets better.”
But how likely is the direction of the driver market to change in 2025?
Court documents:Pato O'Ward gets 2-year, $10.2 million salary after Alex Parow lawsuit
Newgarden: “I think it's really encouraging for everyone.”
What's at the top of the wish list for IndyCar's perennial title challenger? Two-time series champion and defending Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden has 30 wins, including his first win this year. The 33-year-old, who has spent the past eight seasons racing under Roger Penske, has signed a contract extension in 2021 that is expected to run for three seasons through the end of this season, according to the Associated Press.
When asked by the IndyStar about the status of negotiations after his 7.9-second season-opening victory on the streets of St. Pete, Newgarden briefly laughed and gave a short, businesslike response. We will respond very carefully. I don't talk about contracts publicly. ”
In a wide-ranging interview with IndyStar earlier that weekend, Team Penske president Tim Cindric acknowledged that both teams are engaged in ongoing discussions about the future.
The question remains: Roger Penske, who was publicly called out by Michael Andretti last weekend to significantly increase his investment in IndyCar, will make a bid to retain Newgarden, arguably his biggest driving force. Are they prepared to significantly increase their annual salary? The Prime Generation – Did you just hit 500 wins?
Team Penske IndyCar drivers have long been thought to earn around $3 million a year, including incentives. These numbers are believed to be somewhat lower than Scott Dixon, and are believed to be between $3 million and $4 million per year.
A 24-year-old driver for a rival team who has only won two races and finished fourth in the championship in the past two years will earn $4 million in 2026 and $4.2 million in 2027. , Newgarden should be grinning. Ear to ear.
And there is no doubt that he is aware. When asked Friday about O'Ward's numbers being made public, Newgarden was quick to recall the exact numbers.
“Well, that's interesting,” he said with a big grin. “The news coming out recently is very interesting, but I'm not surprised. There's no denying that health conditions are deteriorating in some areas of sport. There's no doubt about that and it's really encouraging for everyone. I think it will.”
Could the announcement of O'Ward's new contract alone reset the market for top-level drivers across the series?
“I don't think it's going to hurt anyone,” Newgarden responded. “I don't think it hurt anyone, that's what I mean.”
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Cindric: Team Penske balances continuity with an eye to the future
Cindric may disagree. Or, at least, the latest numbers (Kolton Herta has earned more than $6 million in a contract that many believe has an F1-worthy annual salary in case he and Andretti make the jump). He will argue that some of the money he is rumored to be making is unsustainable.
“I’ve seen a lot of these movies already,” Cindric told IndyStar on Saturday. “We know that business models can only last so long, and we see that in other sports as well. If you keep chasing trends, eventually there will be nothing left to succeed. Everything. of time for one person or several people, and at some point you have to decide, “Where am I?”
“Just because someone paid someone $10 million doesn't mean it's right. In other words, it's not sustainable.”
Team Penske has been particularly consistent in recent years, using the same driver for three years including 2024.
Consider this run from 2014 to 2022. That's where teams start their seasons (in terms of full-time driver lineups).
>>2014: Added Juan Pablo Montoya
>>2015: Added Simon Pagenaud
>>2016: No changes
>>2017: Removed Montoya and added Newgarden.
>>2018: Helio Castroneves fired
>>2019: No changes
>>2020: No changes
>>2021: Added Scott McLaughlin
>>2022: Pagenaud drops out
Asked by IndyStar how Cindric viewed three seasons with the full-time lineup unchanged and how that would impact Team Penske's approach to the latest negotiations, the team said: announced a multi-year contract extension for Will Power through 2023 (thought to be until 2025). And one more for McLaughlin in 2022 – Cindric suggested:
“I think there needs to be a balance between continuity and people not being comfortable.”
Additionally, he said Team Penske has been patient with older drivers, phasing them out of the IndyCar lineup at a time when the statistics clearly showed a decline. He said he believed that. He noted that it took years to make way for notable free agents such as Montoya, Sam Hornish Jr. and Penske, who have entered American open-wheel racing over the past few decades.
“It's my job to stay on top of what's going on in the paddock, know where we're going to be in two, three, four years, who the prospects are, and make predictions,” Cindric said. “It’s all about timing and how everything works together.”
“Now let's sell the series”:Andretti calls on Penske to invest more in IndyCar
Newgarden headlines star-studded free agent class
Of course, all of this can be debatable. Penske and Cindric could understandably hand Newgarden a blank check and lock up the series' most valuable free agent in this class. Alternatively, Newgarden is a proven title contender who sees great value in remaining on a team that recently won 500 games, and many on the general market perceive his true value. They may be willing to accept less than the amount given.
“We'll work it out. I'm not worried about that,” Cindric said when asked how Newgarden's season-opening win could help move negotiations forward. Ta.
But retaining the two-time champion won't be easy. Alexander Rossi is thought to be in his contract year and David Marcus' multi-year deal is likely to include a team option beyond this first season, with up to two seats in contention after this year. , Arrow McLaren and McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown will appear. There may be too many suitors.
Brown has never been shy about courting IndyCar's top talent. He has run ahead of Ganassi's star-studded duo of Dixon and Palou in recent years, and praised Marcus Eriksson a year ago. Not only would Newgarden fit into the pedigree of Brown's recent targets, but if Newgarden had finished second, second, second and fifth since the 2019 title, along with the crew of the No. 2 Chevrolet in the championship. There's reason to wonder if he will if he struggles to find his groove again. Maybe he wants a change of scenery?
Especially one that is likely to offer a hefty raise as the sport's latest technology.
Joining Newgarden in this ridiculous season's free agent class are Rossi and Marcus (in the general fashion described above), as well as Christian Lundgaard of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and Ed Carpenter Racing. Linus VeeKay, Callum Ilott, and others.
RLL focused on two things in 2024:Indy 500 return extended for Christian Lundgaard
Before the season started, Bobby Rahal made a public pitch to the young Danish driver who a year ago gave RLL their first win since 2020, saying there was no need for Lundgaard to go to another team. He said he believed that. now. “
The 22-year-old told reporters on Friday that his main focus was for RLL to achieve a huge improvement in oval results from a year ago, when they finished fifth of 13.th It was the worst result on the entire oval calendar and prevented a campaign that could have been even better than a final 8th place.th.
“I think everyone has a chance, but (RLL) has the No. 1 pick. That's where I belong and they're the people who gave me the opportunity to race in IndyCar. “,” Lundgaard said, noting that he is already allowed to negotiate openly with other teams. “If they improve their oval performance, I don't think there are too many teams that are better than that. They have the potential to improve as an organization and become one of the absolute top teams.
“The behind-the-scenes conversations have to stay behind the scenes, because it's between us and the decisions we make. At the same time, the results matter too, and that's what we're here for. . We're here to win. We're not here just to compete and they've already shown me improvement.”
Similarly, VeeKay said his priority is to be more competitive with the only IndyCar home he knows of.After reaching career best 12th The Dutch driver, who has scored points in both 2021 and 2022, believes a top-10 finish is very possible.
“We have to focus on ourselves to get the best possible result from what we have, but as a team we have to take a step forward to become a competitive team and challenge the top four teams. We need to start doing that,” he said Friday.
Andretti Global seems happy with the three-driver lineup it has secured through 2026, but it remains to be seen how Chip Ganassi Racing will move forward with all three young drivers signed to multi-year deals. It may be too early to predict (it seems) full of team options), Team Penske's decision on Newgarden, Arrow McLaren's choice whether to consider at least one trade, and young stars. RLL and ECR's desire to keep the country on lockdown has become the site of this seemingly never-ending marriage-go-round. It starts this year.
