Q: Nyck de Vries out at AlphaTauri, and Ricciardo in. There hasn’t been any mention of Herta being in F1 next year (other than through Andretti team ownership). Last year he seemed to be in the running but due to a technicality he didn’t have enough points for a Super License. He sits eighth in the points in IndyCar and is not exactly setting the world on fire. He is young, however F1 has a short shelf life. Has his opportunity come and gone? Given that Nyck wasn’t even given a full year, perhaps it was a good thing that he didn’t get the ride?
Paul Hirsch, Westlake, OH
CHRIS MEDLAND: I wouldn’t say Colton’s opportunity has come and gone, but he’s not going to be racing in F1 next year. I think Red Bull was keen to beat Williams to the punch with a U.S. driver and felt Colton would make more of a splash than Logan Sargeant given the interest around a move from IndyCar, but the Super License put paid to that, and based on his results this season it looks like he won’t have one next year, either.
As you mention, AlphaTauri is an unforgiving place and if he’d struggled then there would have been a chance it was him being dropped so the team could evaluate Daniel Ricciardo — which was as much of a factor as Nyck’s performances — rather than being given time to settle in. But I still think Colton has real potential and Andretti has said he’d definitely be one of his drivers if his entry bid is successful, so the focus will be on a Super License for 2025 in that case.
I know you only asked about Herta, but Alex Palou now feels like the front-runner if an F1 team turns to an IndyCar driver, and I could see Helmut Marko making moves for next season to try and put him alongside Ricciardo if the Australian beats Yuki Tsunoda from here on out.
Q: NASCAR has scheduled an oval tire test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway after the Brickyard weekend. Is NASCAR considering going back to the oval for the Brickyard race? It seems that would not allow the running of the IndyCar road course event that weekend. What are you hearing?
Ralph, Indianapolis
KELLY CRANDALL: Obviously, the 2024 schedule hasn’t been released yet and it’s probably still going to be some time yet before it is. However, Goodyear isn’t going to test at the oval for no good reason. There has been some pretty good talk within the industry that returning to the Indy oval is a real possibility next year, but no one has committed to a yes or no answer.
The reason this is now on the cards is because of how well the Next Gen car is performing on oval tracks, and NASCAR and Indianapolis have always been open to eventually moving back to the oval when it makes sense. As far as the NTT IndyCar Series piece, if NASCAR goes back to the oval, it sounds like a date change is being considered as well because it would a tough task to switch the track over from the road course to the oval. Again, no real solid answers from anyone, but there seems to be a lot of conversation about what the future holds for Indianapolis and NASCAR.
Q: Daniel Suarez said he was knocked out of the Pocono NASCAR race because he was back in the pack with all the squirrels. I’m not too sure how I’d feel to be called a squirrel by a fellow NASCAR driver, but I’d love to be a fly on the wall at the next drivers meeting. Your thoughts?
Joe, California
KC: Daniel Suarez didn’t say anything egregious; he was frustrated at his day coming to an end for reasons not of his own doing, and is facing the pressure of not having won a race and fighting for a playoff spot. It’s pretty common for drivers to make comments or insult their fellow drivers in the heat of the moment, but the field knows the difference between something that is just born from frustration, like Suarez’s was, or a directed insult that’s part of a larger feud. I would bet no one even paid attention to what he said, and it won’t be on anyone’s mind in Richmond.
THE FINAL WORD
From Robin Miller’s Mailbag, July 29, 2015
Q: You know better than anyone, the press baits drivers, team owners, anyone who can evoke a lively remark in the heat of the moment. The people who need to be smacked with big fines are not the drivers, the team owners, etc., rather the news reporters who poke their mics and cameras where common sense would say, “That is not a real story and we do not need to go there.” It does no one any good to report on this type crap. Stick to racing and let ambulance chasers spook out the scandal sheet crap.
I hate to see reporters catch a driver after some hair-raising incident of any type and expect a ridiculous lively reply. It is like asking the driver, and expecting a sane answer, “What did it feel like when you were killed?” Rise above the gutter nonsense and stop poking drivers and owners with sore points of the past. That is stupid.
Thomas Grimes, Waco, TX
ROBIN MILLER: I’ve seen East Coast media prod football players after a close loss but I disagree about auto racing coverage. I think most of the people that cover motorsports understand it’s not a ball or a strike or a missed field goal — it’s a dangerous profession that requires sensitivity in certain situations. It’s our job to ask a driver what happened in a crash or maybe what they thought of the racing, but I don’t see reporters baiting drivers to give sensational answers. Maybe sometimes we don’t give them enough time to cool off but that’s part of live television nowadays.