Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson says that while it has been a tricky off-season for INDYCAR there are a lot of things the sport should be proud of and there are a lot of things to look forward to this year and for the future.
In terms of the introduction of the hybrid and coming out on top, it is going to be a game changer and a moving target as we don’t know when it will be introduced. We have a lot of clever people in the team and we have the Formula E team that we can lean on and we need to be a step ahead as drivers.
Ericsson said that he learned a lot from Scott Dixon during his four seasons with Chip Ganassi Racing and says that the Iceman was probably one of the best teammates to have as he was an open book and he aims to use some of the knowledge he obtained at Ganassi in his new environment at Andretti Global.
Ericsson has also confirmed that he will have Romain Grosjean’s former engineer, Olivier Boisson as his race engineer in 2024. Speaking to Paddock Eye during content day about his objectives for 2024, the Swede said:
Not result targets. I don’t like to put like the pressure of having like result-based targets. Of course we’d love to win. The ultimate goal is to win. But I like to sort of focus more on the performance. I want to perform at my best. I want the team to perform at our best and maximize our potential.
Every weekend we need to maximize. Some weekends that might be we finish eighth. Some weekends that might be we finish fifth. Some weekends we win.
I think that’s important for me going into the season, especially coming into a new team, to not put this pressure, oh, we need to finish on the podium, we need to be in the top whatever. It’s go out there, maximize every weekend, get into a rhythm, get into your team in a good way. And I think if you do it that way, I think we’re going to be good.
Again, it’s a longer term project, so we just need to take our time and get up to speed and get going together.
When it comes to the return of Milwaukee to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule, Ericsson said:
I mean, I love the ovals. I think we should — the more ovals, the better, I think. So Milwaukee is going to be a lot of fun. I’ve never been there, never really seen — I need to start studying that track a bit more, as well. I think we’re going there testing before the race, from what I understand, so that’ll be good.
But just in general, I love — the short ovals are some of the best racing in the world, so I think it’s a great addition, especially being a double-header, as well.