HOW WILL THE ROOKIES FARE?

It’s worth keeping an open mind about Andretti Autosport rookie Devlin Defrancesco. And, as expressed in a feature in last week’s issue, Kyle Kirkwood has the talent and fresh approach that could breathe new life into AJ Foyt Racing.

For one of his team-mates (on road and street courses), Tatiana Calderon, 2022 will be an uphill struggle because she’s yet to prove herself in ‘big’ open-wheel cars, despite her competence in sports-prototypes.

David Malukas kept Kirkwood under pressure during the 2021 Indy Lights season, which says a lot about the 20-year-old from Chicago who has looked strong in testing for Dale Coyne Racing. He is deeply determined and eager to learn from veteran team-mate Takuma Sato.

Christian Lundgaard was startling in his one-off outing with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing last year, and is expected to be right on pace with team-mates Graham Rahal and Jack Harvey. He’s surely the hot tip for Rookie of the Year.

Callum Ilott ran three races for Juncos Hollinger Racing last year and showed the flashes of promise you’d expect, given his and his team’s junior formula credentials. But both will struggle to overcome the impediments caused by being a one-car outfit.