Wickens’ shadow looms large over 2019 rookies
Robert Wickens did the 2019 NTT IndyCar rookie class no favors last year. Actually, he didn’t do the 2018 class any favors either.
“Robert Wickens set the bar way too high for any other rookie,” Andretti Autosport driver Zach Veach said with a laugh last year.
Though Veach and his fellow freshmen enjoyed bright spots in 2018, none of them could keep pace with Wickens, who nabbed the pole position and nearly won his first IndyCar race before having one of the greatest debut seasons in recent memory. By May, Will Power was raving about Wickens, saying he had the talent to compete for championships for years to come. Of course, Wickens’ racing career has been put on hold as he recovers from a serious spinal injury, but the memory of his incredible debut season will not soon be forgotten. Fair or not, he set a new standard for which all newcomers will be compared. Can anyone in the 2019 class rise to Wickens’ level?
Normally the answer would be a resounding no, but this class boasts some intriguing talents, starting with the No. 1 contender to win rookie of the year.
Felix Rosenqvist, Chip Ganassi Racing
The hype has been building on this young Swede for years — for good reason. He’s won in nearly every formula he’s tried, including most recently Indy Lights and Formula 3. In 2016, Rosenqvist drove in 10 Lights races but won three of them before blowing away CGR with his blazing speed in a test at MidOhio Sports Car Course that year. The team has been infatuated by him ever since, and they’re not the only ones. One longtime team owner told IndyStar last year that Rosenqvist was the most talented Indy Lights driver he’d ever seen, even better than Josef Newgarden.
It should come as no surprise then that Ganassi has been waiting for years to get Rosenqvist under contract. When he finally became available, the team kicked a talented young driver in his own right, Ed Jones, to the curb in order to slide Rosenqvist into the cockpit of its No. 10 car.
So far, Rosenqvist has lived up to his billing during offseason testing.
A couple of months ago, Power counted Rosenqvist among the darkhorse championship contenders for 2019. Last year’s championship runnerup, Alexander Rossi, said he fully expects Rosenqvist to challenge for race wins this year, while Rosenqvist’s own teammate, five-time series champion Scott Dixon, said the 27-year-old absolutely has a chance to be this year’s Wickens.
Colton Herta, Harding Steinbrenner Racing
While Rosenqvist is the odd-on favorite to claim rookie of the year, Herta isn’t going to make it easy on him. The teenage son of retired driver-turnedteam owner Bryan Herta burst onto the scene with an Indy Lights victory two years ago at the season opener at St. Petersburg. Since then, the young phenom has done nothing but improve and impress. As a 17-year-old, he finished third in his Lights debut before going toe-totoe with Andretti teammate Pato O’Ward for last year’s crown. While he came up short in that battle, don’t discount the fact that he raced the second half of the season with a broken thumb. Herta had won four of the first 10 races and was leading the championship before the injury in a qualifying crash at Toronto.
While championship contention is highly improbable due to inexperience, Herta’s talent and HSR’s technical alliance with Andretti Technologies should allow Herta to find himself at the front of the pack more than once this season.
Marcus Ericsson, Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
The man filling in for Wickens at Arrow SPM enters the season as the top sleeper pick for rookie of the year. Maybe that’s not such a bad thing for the 28year-old ex-Formula One driver. He’ll have to contend with far less pressure than his fellow IndyCar first-timers, yet he’s still plenty equipped to succeed. Somewhat lost amid the Andretti (five wins), Penske (6 wins, including the Indianapolis 500), Ganassi (season champion) battle at the top last season was Arrow SPM taking a major step forward. James Hinchcliffe notched two podiums, including a win (Iowa) and his best championship finish at Arrow SPM (10th). Wickens, meanwhile, was on his way to a potential top-five finish in the championship before his crash at Pocono. Until then, Wickens had racked up four podiums and had a couple of others ripped away from him (St. Pete, Iowa).
With Arrow’s increased involvement in the team, there’s little reason to think the team can’t keep inching closer to IndyCar’s Big 3.
No one is expecting Ericsson to step in and immediately be as fast as Wickens. All Arrow SPM is asking Ericsson to do is learn the tracks, show steady progression throughout the season and deliver some quality results.
Santino Ferrucci, Dale Coyne Racing
It’s tough to overlook the character concerns some have with Ferucci considering what happened during a tumultuous 2018 season in Formula 2. A 19-year-old Ferucci rammed into the back of his teammate after the checkered flag had flown, followed that up by not appearing before race stewards and later was cited for using his cellphone while driving his car from the paddock to the track. Not great.
However, since arriving in IndyCar with Dale Coyne Racing, he’s been an upstanding citizen. He’ll have his work cut out for him in 2019. While DCR and Sebastien Bourdais have stolen a couple of victories from the big boys in recent years, Bourdais’ teammates have struggled to keep up with him. While Ferucci boasts undeniable talent, his inexperience on ovals combined with the disadvantage of racing for a small operation limits his odds at securing rookie of the year honors.
Other rookies of note
Ben Hanley. DragonSpeed makes its five-race IndyCar debut and does so with Hanley leading the way. The 34year-old sports car veteran is plenty talented but patience will be key . ... R.C. Enerson. Enerson is trying to lock up the remaining 12 races Charlie Kimball won’t be driving in Carlin’s No. 23 car. He showed well during offseason testing and his top-10 finish at Watkins Glen in 2016 isn’t so long ago that it should be forgotten . ... Pato O’Ward. Following his ninth-place finish at Sonoma last season, the reigning Indy Lights champion would have been among the favorites to win ROY this year had things worked out at HSR. Instead the two parted ways in February, and the young star-in-themaking is still searching for a seat . ... Kyle Kasier. The Juncos Racing driver is only scheduled to drive at COTA but could be up for more later in the season if funding comes together.