Welcome to the RACER mailbag. Questions for RACER’s writers will be despatched to: mailbag@racer.com. We welcome your feedback and opinions, however letters with questions usually tend to be revealed. Questions obtained after 3:00 PM EST every Monday will likely be saved for the next week.
Q: Is there any new details about the IndyCar collection video video games that iRacing is producing for consoles in addition to PC? It is mentioned to be popping out in 2026, however I have not learn or heard something about it because it was introduced.
As everyone knows, it has been 20 years because the final IndyCar online game was launched, which is manner too lengthy. We hope that the builders of the brand new sport will launch photos and trailers for the sport quickly and we are going to see a number of progress.
When the sport Motorsport Video games was commissioned to create and full fell aside, it was nothing in need of miserable.
david colquitt
Marshall Pruett: I do not know if I believed it was miserable. Everybody knew it was a horrible alternative, instructed Penske Leisure it will fail, and it did, so it greater than lived as much as expectations. I contacted the collection and was instructed that the discharge schedule remains to be okay and to search for one thing in late 2026.
Q: The primary query considerations Oliver Askew. We simply noticed him re-sign with Andretti in Method E as a reserve position. Will we ever get an opportunity to see him behind the wheel in a race, in Method E, IMSA, or another race?Oliver had actual expertise however by no means had the prospect to show it at a excessive degree. Since he has been away from racing for 3 years, it appears unlikely that he’ll return.
The second query considerations Dale Coin. I’ve learn some articles that Honda could also be contemplating having Tsunoda race in IndyCar in 2026 if he’s dropped by Pink Bull. Do you may have any info on this? Equally, Pink Bull driver Ayumu Iwasa has simply received the Tremendous Method championship. Will we see him in IndyCar with Dale Coyne? Will this even be via Honda?
Yannick
MP: You could have seen that we by no means talked about Coyne and Tsunoda in any of our ridiculous protection of the season. That is as a result of it was a nothing burger. If Coyne desires to rent Iwasa, he’ll, however Honda is within the last 12 months of IndyCar’s engine provide contract and isn’t prepared to supply the group $8 million to $10 million to run somebody.
I agree with Askew. There’s a number of expertise on the market, however he appears to have misplaced contact with time and relevance inside IndyCar as a younger expertise to pursue. He’s the 2019 Indy Lights champion who spent one IndyCar season with Arrow McLaren in 2020 earlier than rolling out, which means he ought to nonetheless be a part of the group as an possibility, however he’s just a few years behind 2022 Indy Lights champion Linus Lundqvist, who spent a 12 months and a half between Meyer Shank and Chip Ganassi and issues labored out for him.
In the event you’re trying to purchase a younger title-winning expertise, there is a youthful, newer, brighter mannequin standing in entrance of Askew, however that is the most important drawback. However the issue has nothing to do with Oliver’s talents.
Q: I’ve a query relating to the Genesis LMDh program. We all know concerning the 2026 WEC driver group (and it is a very sturdy group), however are there any rumors concerning the IMSA driver group? I think about there is likely to be some carryover drivers (like Cadillac) because the schedule is so balanced that it is virtually doable to mix seasons (Lengthy Seashore/Imola apart). Have you ever heard something concerning the drivers that might be introduced into the 2027 IMSA marketing campaign?
ottawa, duncan
MP: I have not began excited about the IMSA portion of 2027 but, however I am hopeful that a number of the WEC roster will likely be pulled in addition to double obligation. Delani stands out as a reputation that followers know, as does Jaminet. If I had been on the lookout for my first success in sports activities automobile racing on the highest degree in America, I’d look to a champion who made his identify in IMSA. We’re additionally hopeful that the 2026 reserve will likely be able to take the race seat in 2027 as properly.
Which drivers from the 2026 Genesis FIA WEC lineup are scheduled to hold that intangible contact over to 2027 IMSA? Picture by way of Genesis Magma Racing
Q: I’ve seen that what most race followers need (or do you suppose?) from an IndyCar broadcast simply does not occur. The query is whether or not it is attributable to value or philosophy. each? Some gadgets, like including extra cameras, depend upon value, however the place to place these cameras is a philosophy.
- Examine a number of drivers and monitor sector occasions
- Yellow, inexperienced and purple truck sector coding
- Audible driver and group microphone
- pit cease clock
- Race technique with predictive insights
- Extra vehicles geared up with cameras
- Extra ghost vehicles
- Sluggish movement replay captured with excessive body price digital camera
- Digital camera placement philosophy. Just a few years in the past, F1 made a change by putting the cameras decrease, with some staying nonetheless as vehicles cross and others transferring from left to proper to imitate the best way our eyes comply with vehicles. The result’s a stronger sense of velocity and a deeper admiration for the driving force’s work. Even with social content material from groups and drivers, the sense of velocity jumps off the display screen.
I get it, good issues value cash. It’s unrealistic to anticipate F1 to be broadcast. These races can solely assist a sure degree of monetary dedication, however does that imply enchancment is unattainable?
mat
MP: I like most of the gadgets you listed as options that F1 broadcast gives. We additionally admire the large manufacturing budgets that F1, the world’s second hottest sport, has at its disposal. As you level out, the identical degree of funding just isn’t going to enter the second or third hottest regional horse racing collection. On this collection, IndyCar lags behind NASCAR and probably F1 domestically.
However enchancment is at all times an possibility. For greater than a decade, IndyCar tv content material on numerous broadcast stations lacked an in-race evaluation section. Thanks Mr Hinch. As lead commentator and driver analyst, Hinch does his finest to dig into the strategic elements as a lot as doable. All of the gadgets you advised to strengthen that half, giving sensible followers extra knowledge to make their very own calculations and strategize, is one thing that F1 completely thrives on and is lengthy overdue.
We used to dwell in a time when spectatorship was passive, however expectations have elevated, particularly amongst new and youthful followers who grew up with fashionable F1. There, info is consistently being fed to teach and supply the viewer with what they should do extra than simply watch zoomed-in vehicles drive round for leisure.
Q: Have you ever heard what the HP ranges will likely be for the brand new 2.4 liter engine? And is the goal weight reduction for the automobile anticipated to be round 80-100 kilos?
Joe
MP: We’re speaking about targets at this stage, however 800 horsepower to begin with. The present 2.2 makes round 750 horsepower, which is at a really excessive stress degree. I might put a beginning quantity within the 750-800 horsepower vary, which is not an excessive amount of stress for a possible 2.4 mannequin debut. Sure, the purpose is to shave 80 to 100 kilos off the automobile, and if that is profitable, many of the financial savings will come from the again half of the automobile via lighter hybrid and transmission parts.
Q: Have you ever heard if the WWTR race will likely be held once more on Sunday night time?I believe it was the most effective race of the 12 months.
Have Fox and IndyCar ever mentioned the potential for weeknight primetime races? That might doubtlessly lengthen the season into soccer season with out having to face the NFL on Sunday.
bob
MP: The schedule announcement from IndyCar mentioned WWTR and Nashville can be held underneath lights, so sure, night time races are deliberate. We hear from FOX that adjustment time for all races is quick approaching. I am positive the idea of a weeknight race has been floated, however I have not heard something to recommend something will occur within the close to future.
Q: Robin Miller and I’ve been mates for a few years. We shared a typical ardour for IndyCar racing from childhood to maturity. Every of us has been lucky to have a profession within the sport we love. I regarded ahead to a stimulating dialogue with Robin.
One in every of our many dialogue gadgets was Robin’s “IndyCar Mount Rushmore.” Robin’s nominees had been AJ, Mario, Parnelli, and Dan Gurney. Robin was at all times eager to elucidate the rationale for her candidates. He additionally talked about why different drivers did not end within the high 4. His background and data base offered complete perception to assist his reasoning.
Did you and he have any discussions that you possibly can share about Mount Rushmore and do you agree together with his candidacy?
Steve, Chapel Hill, NC
MP: I used to be one among about 10 individuals who filmed Robin’s Mount Rushmore video at IMS Productions in 2011, and it was phenomenal. The one disappointment was that Foyt refused to indicate up as a result of Mario was there. This was earlier than they turned finest mates. It was actually cool to listen to Robin on the cellphone swearing and attempting to get him into the dialog proper earlier than filming began.
I really like the spirit behind Robin’s Mount Rushmore, there’s a lot sentimentality in it. We frequently talked about it and about the primary characters. And the reasoning behind all 4, from their on-track excellence to their technological improvements to their elevated visibility within the sport to their longevity, makes all 4 the right alternative for his Mount Rushmore. However that is not the case of IndyCar’s Mount Rushmore. All of us have our personal.
The 4 circumstances had been distinctive to the time Robin entered the game. AJ was 12 when he received his first 500, 14 when Rufus received, and 20 when Mario received. Our mutual hero Dan Gurney did not win, however he was top-of-the-line, ending second. They had been all massive stars of the Nineteen Sixties, and for some, the Seventies, with AJ and Mario persevering with to share that crown into the Eighties and Nineteen Nineties. Multiply Pato’s present degree of recognition by 100, and Robin’s Mount Rushmore was to IndyCar and the Indy 500 on the time.
Inevitably, our first heroes are those we maintain onto for the remainder of our lives and have fun because the GOAT. I grew up within the CART period and the unique IMSA GTP period. Preventing in opposition to those that say they are not the best, that are my two favourite eras? Identical goes for brand spanking new followers who grew up within the period when Dixon, de Ferran, Castroneves, Tracy, Bourdais, Franchitti, Hornish, Danica, and many others. had been the most important offers.
Return to checklist. Foyt has at all times been IndyCar’s Mount Rushmore automated, and so has Rick Mears. Mario actually falls into that class. Juan Pablo Montoya received one championship and received the five hundred twice, however I do not care concerning the title or his second win on the speedway. Simply what he did at Indy in 2000, dropping that massive face on the mountain, is price contemplating. Essentially the most overwhelming show of superiority I’ve ever seen. He toyed with the sphere for 500 miles. Though he does not match into many classes and does not match the rationale Robin used to outline his 4, I am prepared to make him my fourth. In the event you take that man again in time, it is exhausting to think about anybody who cannot beat him.
You possibly can’t go incorrect with Andretti, Foyt, and Mears. He is an all-time winner at Indy and a multiple-time IndyCar champion. Much like the sport present Wheel of Fortune, these three are the RSTLNEs that everybody begins with when fixing puzzles. You may be capable to take away one among them, however you should not. The fourth one could be very subjective and doubtless comes from my days of being obsessive about IndyCar and the five hundred.
What about Mauli Rose? Uncle Bobby? Wilbur Shaw? Tommy Milton? Massive Al? Dario? Helio? There will likely be many followers who imagine Newgarden is the GOAT, they usually’re not incorrect. To them, Joseph is a lifelong determine corresponding to Foyt or Mears.
It is December and the most important information proper now’s Sting Ray Robb returning to the group, so I might like to know what Mount Rushmore is and what it is all about, so ship it to me.
Q: Kudos to JR for suggesting Blackbird. I utterly agree that in the present day’s race automobile designs place an excessive amount of emphasis on aerodynamics. I’ve lengthy thought that extra guidelines stifle innovation, and that simplification can be overwhelmingly welcomed.
My suggestion for F1 (and I believe IndyCar as properly) is easy.
Rule 1: Your entire automobile should match inside field X’ XY’ XZ’ (all to be decided)
Rule 2: No a part of the automobile’s physique will be greater than 3 ft vast.
Rule 3: Any engine configuration can be utilized, however the whole consumption quantity should not exceed X (to be decided)
Rule 4: Solely highway authorized tires could also be used. (no matter producer/mannequin)
Rule 5: Solely metal/forged iron brake discs could also be used.
In any other case, let me design and make no matter I would like so long as it suits within the field. As you possibly can see, this opens the door for innovation, places much less emphasis on aerodynamics, and limits the quantity of air that the engine can absorb.
Pace is mechanically restricted by road tires, so it is open to all producers.
Metal brakes, restricted space, and road tires put efficiency again within the fingers of the driving force.
Because it stands, producers are solely involved in successful the constructors’ championship. Followers solely care concerning the drivers’ championship. Big battle of curiosity!
Alan Lane, Leesburg, Florida
MP: That is an attention-grabbing method. Basically, can we go all in on F1 and IndyCar, opening up all kinds of freedoms, making plenty of energy, championing creativity and innovation, after which ruining all of it by limiting vehicles to tiptoeing round on road tires?
It could be like eradicating all restrictions on performance-enhancing medicine in baseball, creating a brand new technology of gamers who’re unusually massive and quick, and forcing them to make use of pencils as a substitute of full-sized bats to attempt to hit dwelling runs. If you wish to take the chain off one thing, lower all of it off.
Chris Meland: I’d have an interest to see the outcomes underneath these guidelines, however I do not suppose it will be anyplace near the efficiency that F1 desires, and even the efficiency of present IndyCar or F2 vehicles. Aero and tires (together with brakes) work collectively to present you nice cornering and stopping efficiency, however in addition they cut back energy, and reducing all of that down considerably will sluggish your automobile down significantly.
F1 is in a really powerful place of desirous to be the most effective performing class by way of automobile tempo, however on the identical time being open to innovation and design, and it is proper that the 2 are utterly incompatible. However the guidelines you’ve got given are prone to end in a transparent route by way of engine configuration and automobile measurement, and for individuals who do not get there instantly, will probably be very pricey to seek out it, and producers and groups will not enroll.
The nice outdated days had been cool in that there have been fewer guidelines and extra selection, however we additionally noticed races received by laps and minutes, and I do not suppose followers need that.
Subsequent season will truly be a really attention-grabbing season. As a result of a elementary change to the aero guidelines would change the efficiency window considerably, however I might have an interest to see if that might end in a more in-depth subject underneath the associated fee cap. And even when it does not, the current floor results guidelines, coupled with the brand new rules, will present all kinds of knowledge to tell the subsequent path by which F1 seeks to enhance racing (which is a unending problem).
I’d additionally argue that successful the Drivers’ Championship stays a precedence for many groups with an opportunity, because of the reward and protection that just about outweighs the prize cash for successful the Constructors’ Championship, though after all ideally they wish to win each championships.
query: that‘I am glad to see you on the F1TV broadcast. I‘Curious if the AppleTV F1 broadcast group is taking form? I believe the F1TV line-up is excellent – Alex Jack, Jolyon Palmer, David Coulthard, Ruth Bascombe, James Hinchcliffe, Laurence Barrett, Laura Winter, Sam Collins, your self and extra. Will Apple go along with this group, the Sky group, or another possibility?
Tom Hinshaw, Santa Barbara, California
CM: That is too sort of you, Tom! There’s money within the put up… All kidding apart, I believe the viewer has two choices. F1TV will solely be obtainable via AppleTV within the US, however the full Professional model will likely be included as a part of the AppleTV bundle at no extra value. In the event you’re an current AppleTV and F1TV subscriber, you will lower your expenses, however when you’re not, you possibly can nonetheless get all of the F1TV and AppleTV providers in a single.
I am unsure but, however I imagine that Apple will probably decide up Sky’s protection in the identical manner that ESPN does. Due to this fact, in that case, the viewer can select each units of protection.
In the long term, I hope Apple gives some distinctive choices to make actual investments in merchandise which are tailored for followers right here within the US. As I discussed in one other current Mailbag query, this implies going after the most effective expertise to give attention to U.S. merchandise as a substitute of or alongside current merchandise. Nevertheless, it’s mentioned that this is not going to occur in 2026.
If Apple picks up Sky broadcasts in addition to F1TV, American followers can have two choices to select from. Simon Galloway/Getty Photos
Q: By the point the mailbag is posted, you will have written about this Chris, however I am nonetheless ready for the put up mortem from McLaren’s faceplant.
I’ve to commend Karun Chandhok for his on-the-spot evaluation. He questioned whether or not McLaren’s unwillingness to penalize both driver ended up penalizing each drivers. They need to have separated their methods. What a practice accident. Can McLaren get out of its personal manner? Verstappen ought to have been eradicated 5 races in the past.
Ryan, West Michigan
CM: Properly, that actually seems like an issue that McLaren is having proper now, Ryan. Within the meantime, they’re leaving the door open for Max Verstappen, as they struggle exhausting to be honest and equal between the 2 drivers (which they did in Qatar).
There is part of me that could be very grateful for this. As a result of we now have a title decider between three drivers, and Pink Bull have to be counseled for profiting from all of the alternatives obtainable (aside from Brazil, who had been in all probability a bit extra on the desk). However one other a part of me thinks it will be an enormous blow to McLaren if both Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri do not win the title.
And Chandhok appropriately factors out that each had been deprived, and the issue is that each can by no means be equally deprived. They each misplaced one place, which sounds comparable, however Norris misplaced three factors (15 for third, 12 for fourth) and Piastri misplaced seven factors (25 for first, 18 for second), and a win would have strengthened his possibilities of reclaiming the title on countback if he completed tied on factors with another person. As a substitute, all three will win seven races, with Norris successful the tiebreaker for second place at this price.
Nevertheless, as I’ll reply under, the cut up technique was not the best methodology…
Q: I believe this is among the many questions relating to the failure of McLaren’s technique. Can somebody touch upon the cut up technique?For myself, I’d have performed in opposition to Oscar and hoped Max would comply with his lead.
Moreover, if the McLaren pits on lap 7, how will it know if others will comply with?
steve
CM: These two questions go collectively properly. As a result of the cut up technique was nonetheless the incorrect approach to go. That manner you solely penalize one driver, not each. Some might argue that it is higher than the opposite two, nevertheless it’s nonetheless the incorrect resolution, and one which’s simply as troubling for a group attempting to present each drivers an equal likelihood to win the title.
The truth that all vehicles stopped in the course of the security automobile interval reveals how apparent the choice was to everybody else. All the rival groups say it made sense because it permits them to achieve a number of race time on a monitor the place overtaking could be very troublesome. All of us knew it made essentially the most sense to take part at this level, because the gamble of not collaborating was extremely unlikely to repay.
So I imagine everybody nonetheless would have stopped, together with Verstappen who wanted to defend second place over Norris to stay within the title struggle, so it was essential to pit each of them as a substitute of only one. The cut up technique didn’t cowl the choices. It solely triggered injury to the drivers who didn’t pit. In any other case, I’d have watched different groups do it.
Q: Did McLaren not perceive the 25-lap tire rule and suppose they wanted to pit on lap 8? Why did not any group outdoors the highest 10 pit for a second automobile on lap 8 to permit for an undercut?
Will, Indy
CM: No, McLaren understood, however they did not anticipate everybody to pit, so they might be backed up into site visitors on a circuit the place overtaking is troublesome (as the sphere was nonetheless comparatively tight on lap 7). The explanation others pit is as a result of the circuit is troublesome to overhaul, and tire offset is much less essential.
Going one lap longer is definitely an overcut. Slightly than doing an outlap with new tires, use your personal tempo to maneuver the automobile ahead on an inlap with contemporary air. Nevertheless, underneath the protection automobile, speeds are restricted so there isn’t a chance of overcutting. Due to that restriction, you can not go quicker than the automobile within the pits, so in that case you can not overcut the opposite automobile with further tempo.
Nevertheless, if delaying the primary cease by one lap means there’s a likelihood for an undercut or overcut on lap 32/33, then the automobile that stops second is simply prone to undercut as a result of will probably be doing so with tires on the finish of their life. The 25-lap tire rule meant you could not pull the set off earlier and undercut, however anybody who waited till lap 8 to pit ought to have been ready to be undercut by everybody coming in on lap 7.
final phrase
From Robin Miller’s Mailbag, December 4, 2013
Q: I have not missed the Indianapolis 500 since 1970. I might like to listen to your opinion on Juan Pablo Montoya’s run when he received the race. (ED: 2000; this letter pre-dates JPM’s second victory in 2015). I do know he owned luxurious vehicles, however the best way JPM drove and the best way he drove round corners and mountain passes was a number of the finest driving I can bear in mind. Is my reminiscence imprecise?
Fred Cunningham, Simpsonville, South Carolina
Robin Miller: Please give me the most effective perspective I can consider to reply your query. Rick Mears, who was on the lookout for Jason Loeffler’s spot at Indy in 2000, mentioned after the race that the one time he thought JPM had his automobile hustling all day was when Buddy Lazier obtained near firing vary. Montoya then disappeared into site visitors. It was a clinic, and Foyt additionally drew reward. “That Monterrier is a hell of a driver,” the Indy legend mentioned later.
