Welcome to the RACER Mailbag. Questions for any of RACER’s writers can be sent to mailbag@racer.com. We love hearing your comments and opinions, but letters that include a question are more likely to be published. Questions received after 3pm ET each Monday will appear the following week.
Q: When the Penske cars got busted for using a P2P button that should have been inoperable, Colton Herta was among one of the most vocal people in the paddock. He said any excuse that Penske and Newgarden had “was bull***t.” He also said, “It’s not the driver’s fault that was in the car, but it is the driver’s fault that they used it and were going to use it again in Long Beach.”
Fast-forward to this weekend at Portland, and Herta pushed a button for a system that was supposed to be inoperable on the pit lane. When interviewed after the race on NBC, he said he didn’t know it was a rule that you couldn’t use the hybrid on pit lane. I wonder if Newgarden would say Herta’s excuse “was bull***t”? How did Herta not know a simple rule, or was he lying on TV? Why did he push it in pit lane? Why did he think he would have it in pit lane? Would he say it was his fault for using it?
And most importantly, why did it work in pit lane? Was that an IndyCar error or some Andretti code in the car? Does Colton feel that the Penske drivers are getting treated differently by being DQ’ed for using a button that was supposed to be inoperable, and he himself only had to drop behind a backmarker? Does he feel he should get Penske treatment?
I would love to hear him asked why it’s different. I would love your thoughts, too.
Mark, Cincinnati, OH
MARSHALL PRUETT: Because these were different things. Team Penske activated a system they were not allowed to use, were the only team to do so, two of its three drivers used the system, finished 1-2 in the race where it was used, and were penalized for it when it was discovered the following month.
Andretti Global did not activate a system they were not allowed to use. One of its drivers used a system which every team could use, was penalized for it right after it happened, and finished fourth.
After the activation/deactivation issues IndyCar had at Mid-Ohio and Iowa with the ERS units on pit lane, they series chose to leave them on at all times and rely on its drivers to comply by not using the ERS on pit lane. Herta, who said he was unaware of the rule banning ERS use on pit lane, received an in-race sanction from the series.
Newgarden and McLaughlin both said they were aware of the rule against using push-to-pass on restarts, with McLaughlin, specifically, saying his brief single-time use was a result of an error. Newgarden used it multiple times, but also said he and his crew thought the rule had changed. His team boss and race strategist Time Cindric, in contrast, was not aligned with his driver’s view, and said there was no confusion about the rule being the same it had always been.
With the Penske usage taking place nearly six weeks prior to it being caught during the pre-race warmup at Long Beach, IndyCar was unable to apply in-race sanctions.
So, one team turning on a system for anytime use that no other team was supposed to use versus one team using a system everybody had the ability to use is not a like-for-like situation on the how and why side.
Where there is a point to be made, independent of the how and why the P2P and self-starting systems were used, is the fact that both were deployed and delivered time advantages to the users.
Whether it’s having more horsepower when others don’t and using that power to build a bigger lead, or saving time lost on pit lane by not having to wait for a manual restart to happen, the time-gain outcome is the same.
Since Herta’s was caught and rectified while the event was live, I struggle to see how or why further sanctions — loss of all points — would make any sense. In hindsight, do I think giving up five seconds was a sufficient penalty? No. As long as it’s illegal, the infraction needs to be stiffer so nobody will want to pay the price.
Since IndyCar did not catch and therefore could not rectify the P2P situation at St. Petersburg and erase the time advantage that contributed to the drivers’ ability to win and place second, taking away the spoils of that advantage — the points they earned — makes sense.
Q: It seems that Rahal is always getting a qualifying penalty for an illegal engine swap. What are the rules, and is the penalty really effective if so many Honda teams are opting to swap anyway?
Brian, Ohio
MP: The rule has been around since 2012, and the penalty has changed over the years from hurting the manufacturer in the manufacturers’ championship alone to hurting the entry/driver with a grid penalty and the manufacturer.
Here’s the rules that get violated:
Rule 16.1.2.3.2. A fifth (5th) Engine is eligible to earn Engine Manufacturer points if a Full Season Entrant has completed the Full Season Entrant Engine Mileage with its first four (4) Engines. Otherwise, a fifth (5th) or more Engine does not earn Engine Manufacturer points and will be considered an Unapproved Engine change-out.
According to Rule 16.1.6.1.2., the penalty is a six-position starting grid penalty on road and street course events and nine positions at oval events and will be served at the series’ next event.
Q: In IndyCar P2 from Portland, Will Power just spun and stalled his Chevy. The safety team arrived and turned him around and restarted him with the external starter. I thought one of the benefits of the new hybrid system was that stalled race cars would be able to restart themselves (assuming the ERS system was working properly)? While I do recall a couple of instances of IndyCars self-starting in the last few races, it seems the majority still require an external start. Are my perceptions correct? If so, why have we seen so few onboard restarts?
Bill M, Austin, TX
MP: There were two self-starts at the hybrid debut in Mid-Ohio that I recall, and some at Portland, as well. It isn’t allowed on ovals. Overstating the obvious here, but if Power was able to start and leave on his own, he would have, so if he didn’t, that tells us there was a problem. As Herta learned, self-starting is also disallowed on pit lane, so external starts are required.