Q: With 2024 being the final year of IndyCar’s current TV deal, when do you expect the new deal to be finalized? Sometime in the middle of next summer?
Joe
MP: I don’t know, Joe. If I was a smarter monkey, I would have asked Mark Miles when we spoke earlier this week. I’ll be sure to inquire on our next call.
Q: My prediction is Logan Sargent gets canned by Williams and Andretti puts him in his fourth IndyCar. While it seems Andretti is otherwise poised to go with only three cars in 2024, particularly with Ganassi getting another Honda lease, it would seem good business to get Sargent onto his team as a potential driver for if and when Andretti gets approved by F1. What say you?
Andrew H., Chicago, IL
MP: I’m happy that Logan has gotten a chance in F1, but the last thing Andretti needs, after getting smoked by Ganassi, Penske, and Arrow McLaren — plus RLL — in the drivers’ standings, is to add a project driver in a fourth entry. And I’m not saying Logan wouldn’t be really good, but having to go through the oval learning curve, and learning a bunch of new tracks that weren’t part of his junior open-wheel progression, isn’t what the team needs to succeed.
It’s got a pair of next-generation stars and race winners and a new veteran and Indy 500 badass in the building, and I hope they just run three and level up instead of taking on an incomplete driver of any kind — even a highly talented one like Sargent — in a fourth. One thing Andretti has demonstrated in recent years is its ability to get less out of more. Focusing on getting more out of less is the path forward.
CHRIS MEDLAND: I still think Sargeant ends up staying with Williams, because it’s not like there’s a load of experienced drivers knocking on the door for that seat (unlike Nico Hulkenberg at Haas last year, for example). Williams could opt for another rookie but then could well face the same issues, and it has invested in Sargeant through F2 and this year, so the team will want to give itself a good chance of some form of return.
The team also is keen to highlight his progress when it can, but admits the crashes are overshadowing all that at the moment. I also think Andretti is planning on Colton Herta being an F1 driver if it gets in, so I think the second seat would more likely be someone with more F1 experience. It’s not a silly idea that Sargeant could fit that bill in future if Andretti gets an entry, but that would come further down the line rather than lining him up this early by grabbing him for IndyCar.
I do reckon Sargeant would increase his reputation with an IndyCar stint though if he did lose his seat — he was really quick over one lap at times in F2 as a rookie, and won some good races last year, and we’ve seen how well F2 can prepare drivers for a move to IndyCar.
Q: How about this? We already know that Honda will provide the power units for the Aston Martin F1 team beginning in 2026. Honda also powers several IndyCar teams, including powerhouse Ganassi. We know that Alex Palou wanted to go to F1. He is the current champion in IndyCar, has the required Super License points, and is the best and most F1-like driver there. What if Ganassi (and possibly Honda) take partial ownership positions in the Aston Martin F1 team, and Palou joins them as a driver? This could provide an explanation for Palou’s abrupt about-face amid the contract saga between Ganassi and McLaren. And perhaps Honda could provide some of its Acura GTP cars to be branded “Aston Martin-Honda” as a WEC home for Lance.
You heard it here first.
Bruce
CM: I’m not sure about Ganassi taking partial ownership. To be honest I just don’t see that being a move on Chip’s radar, but I also don’t see Stroll giving up any more control of his team. But the idea of Palou being considered for a future move with Honda backing does make some sense.
I still feel like Yuki Tsunoda could be lined up for a seat at Aston in 2026 if his development continues to go well, but Palou’s in the right place to keep his stock as a driver rising, even if he does keep upsetting those he has contracts with! So if he wins another title or two, then he’ll still be attractive for a crossover once Honda joins up with Aston.
That said, the impression I got was that the about-turn on the McLaren deal was because he knew there was no seat in the next few years opening up there, proven by the announcement of Oscar Piastri’s recent deal to the end of 2026.
Can’t see the WEC part, though, with Aston already invested in sports cars and set to announce its plans for the future next week.
Q: As Ben Sulayem is close to two years in his tenure as FIA president, what is the F1 paddock’s opinion of him now? It always feels like every time he’s in the news in regards to F1, there’s always some sort of conflict or differing point of views between him and F1/Liberty. Has this always been the relationship between the FIA president and F1? I felt Jean Todt had a hands-off approach for the most part, but Max Mosley (from what I read, as I was too young to watch at the time) had conflicting views with the paddock as well.
Andrew
CM: He’s definitely kept his head down a lot more in recent months. There was a proper battle between F1 and the FIA for much of last year and Ben Sulayem’s comments and attempts to be involved were rubbing people up the wrong way. He was finding himself being targeted by F1 in an attempt to show that the FIA wasn’t fit to run the sport and to try and take full control. That wasn’t possible, but he was smart enough to step back a bit and take on a wider overall view of the sport earlier this year (I think after he was burned by making comments about the value of F1 that led to a legal letter heading his way).
You’re right that this isn’t always the relationship — F1 and the FIA need to be able to work together and Jean Todt was a lot quieter on that front and actually didn’t prioritize F1 himself. I’d still say it’s not a stable working partnership yet (Stefano Domenicali isn’t afraid of the conflict, either, to be fair) but it seems to have improved over the last few months.