This is part nine in a 12-part series previewing every team set to compete in the 2019 IndyCar season. I will be previewing two teams per week on Push2Pass leading up to the season opener in St. Petersburg on March 10. Today’s team: Carlin
As of March 7, Pato O’Ward has signed on for 12 races in Carlin’s second car and in the team’s third car for the Indy 500. For more info on O’Ward’s racing history, go to the Harding season preview.
Carlin has had numerous wins and championships in junior open wheel racing all across Europe and in Indy Lights, but their first year in the professional category of IndyCar didn’t come with quite the same success.
The team only finished inside the top-five on one occasion, and the two-car outfit finished last in average qualifying position of full-time teams. They were narrowly ahead of Harding in average finishing position, but they were still behind the other eight teams with multiple cars in their lineup.
Formula 1 drivers like Sebastian Vettel, Kevin Magnussen and Daniil Kvyat have raced with Carlin in Europe, and Indy drivers Takuma Sato and Robert Wickens have won titles in lower tiers of European Formula racing in the past. The slogan on their website even reads: “Tomorrow’s F1 stars today.”
New McLaren F1 driver Lando Norris just won a title with Carlin in their first season racing in Formula 2 in 2018, and current IndyCar drivers Max Chilton, Ed Jones and Matheus Leist each raced for the team in Indy Lights between 2015-17, including an individual title for Jones. Both of their drivers in their first season in IndyCar, who have both been brought back for 2019, raced for Carlin in Formula 3.
The Drivers
Max Chilton (#59)
Career: 50 starts, 8 top-10 finishes
2018: Avg. Qualifying 17.5 (22nd), Avg. Finish 17.9 (27th), 19th overall
Chilton had his most difficult season in IndyCar in 2018, failing to finish within the top-10 in any races and having one of the worst average finishing positions on the grid. Taking the step to a full-season effort for a new team is difficult, as was the case with Harding and Juncos in 2018. However, fans and analysts seemed to expect more out of the team after the Carlin brand’s wide success in motor racing.
Chilton only finished better than 15th on three occasions, with his best result coming at the second Detroit race in 11th position. He seemed primed for a better season after finishing in the top-eight at six races in 2017, including a fourth-place finish at the Indy 500 where he led the most laps.
He had his best qualifying performance at Mid-Ohio by finishing in the fast six, which was the only time during the season that the team qualfied higher than 10th. Chilton finished with a 10-7 advantage in qualifying over his teammate Charlie Kimball, but he only finished ahead of him in six races.
Charlie Kimball (#23)
Career: 134 starts, 1 win, 1 pole, 6 podiums, 55 top-10 finishes
2018: Avg. Qualifying 19.4 (28th), Avg. Finish 15.0 (18th), 17th overall
Kimball had an extremely difficult year qualifying the car in 2018, finishing with the worst average qualifying position of any full-time driver and failing to qualify within the top-10 at any race. He made up for it once the race began, as he led the series in total laps with a position gained and net improved positions throughout the season (places gained minus places lost).
He finished in the top-10 six times in 2018, including a fifth place finish at Toronto. Kimball had been with Ganassi for the previous seven seasons of his career, and Chilton had also been with the team in 2016 and 2017. This led them to be sometimes referred to as the Ganassi “B Team” by writers, as Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan were seen as the leaders of the four-car team. When Ganassi reduced their lineup to two cars last season, Carlin was able to get two talented drivers who have spent multiple years with a top-level team.
Kimball picked up the sole win of his career at Mid Ohio in 2013, and he last finished on a podium at Sonoma in 2015. He took the pole at Texas in his final season with Ganassi in 2017 and has finished in the top-five at three tracks since 2016.
Outlook for 2019
Carlin won’t have two full-time drivers for 2019 after the news of Kimball only appearing in the races at St. Petersburg, Indianapolis, Texas, Pocono and Laguna Seca. Chilton will be back as the only full-time driver with the team in 2019. His father Grahame Chilton is currently the CEO of Carlin Motorsport, so it seemed likely he would remain in the seat despite a difficult year in 2018.
The Verdict
Unless a big change in performance is evident early in the season, I expect 2019 to be difficult for the Chevy-powered team. I think Chilton will finish 19th in the standings this year, meaning he will only be ahead of Leist for full-time drivers. Kimball and other part-time drivers will finish lower due to a lack of races.
Hopefully they will be able to find a driver with funds to replace Kimball at the other 12 races. Racing as a one-car team is becoming even more difficult in modern-day IndyCar, so having a second car at each race weekend should improve their possibilities of a better year. Chilton should finish back within the top-10 in at least two tracks, but both drivers need to improve their qualifying in order to have a chance at fighting for meaningful positions.
Later this week- Preview #10: Team Penske
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