Zane Maloney completed his first NTT IndyCar Series test and wants more.
Presently fourth in the F2 championship on the strength of two wins and six podiums, Maloney is charting the path for his career when the F2 season ends. Meetings with several IndyCar teams have gone well, and in the test arranged with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing on Aug. 1, the F2 title contender spent the day in mixed conditions at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on its road course and completed approximately 100 laps in an RLL Dallara DW12-Honda.
As the only car on the track, Maloney didn’t have the luxury of other drivers to use as a benchmark in the hybrid IndyCar, but he’s said to have been fast and efficient, which shouldn’t come as a surprise as other Formula 2 drivers — including RLL’s outgoing Christian Lundgaard, Juri Vips and reigning champion Theo Pourchaire — have been quick upon arrival in the American open-wheel series.
“For a first test, I don’t think it could have gone too much better,” Maloney told RACER. “I came straight from the last round of
Formula 2 in Belgium, did the seat fit, a little bit of simulator and then straight onto the track. The team were very welcoming and went through everything that we needed to be prepared for the test. There was quite a lot of weather, so it was just two hours of running being lost because of the rain. Otherwise, we got some good running in, lots of push laps.
“With the IndyCar tires, compared to Formula 2, there’s a lot more push laps, so you do a lot less warming and cooling and you do a lot more pushing, and that’s always fun as a driver. I felt comfortable straight away with the car, with the team, with the tires. The pace there straight away in the in the dry, and also the few laps that I did in the wet, felt confident straight away. Generally, I think it was a very well-executed day. Of course, there’s still the few hundredth here and there, but with more time in an IndyCar, that I can get.”
The 20-year-old Barbados native found a lot of similarities between the heavier, hybrid Dallara IndyCar and the Dallara F2 2024 he races for Rodin Motorsport, the former Carlin Racing team he joined in 2023.
“In Formula 2, the car is already quite heavy, so it’s a similar style of driving,” Maloney said. “Of course, the street circuits are a bit different over in the in the U.S., a bit more bumpy, a bit more going on, so that’s exciting. But in general, it was quite similar to a Formula 2 car.
“I think the biggest thing was the tires that are just very different to the Pirellis. Had to adapt to that. You can definitely feel that it’s a heavy car and it takes a bit more time to stop, a bit more time to turn and to really get settled, but I think that there’s a certain driving style for that which Formula 2 has helped me learn.
“I just loved pushing every lap and really getting the most out of every lap, learning as much as I could, giving the team as much information as I could. And I think we got to a stage at the end of the day where we all learned quite a lot. So, a lot of things to a lot of positive things to move forward with, and that’s all you can ask for in a test.”
With more than half of IndyCar’s teams looking to fill vacant seats or upgrade talent, Maloney is pressing to create opportunities for himself throughout the paddock.
“In Formula 2, there are four rounds left, so I’m really looking to do the best job possible and try to win the championship; full focus on that,” he said. “Of course, everyone’s dream as a kid growing up is Formula 1, but there’s so many things outside of my control, and IndyCar is an amazing championship. So if I had an opportunity in IndyCar, I’d be very grateful, for sure.
“The drivers throughout IndyCar, the teams as well, they’re all top-level teams and drivers. So I think there’s a very good field outside of Formula 1 still. And of course, there’s a lot of street circuits, a lot of ovals, a lot of road courses. IndyCar has a bit of everything. As a driver, that’s very exciting.
“I’m excited to continue my journey in IndyCar for sure, see what is available, what is possible, and see where the future takes me. I’m looking for a very good career in motorsports and I’m just trying to improve myself every day and trying to work with whichever team is best so I can to get the most out of myself.”