This is the final part in a 12-part series previewing every team set to compete in the 2019 IndyCar season. This concludes our preview of two teams per week on Push2Pass leading up to the season opener in St. Petersburg on March 10. Today’s team: Andretti Autosport
With one of the most successful drivers in American racing as its namesake, Andretti Autosport has been one of the most-decorated IndyCar teams of all-time. They have 62 wins to their credit since entering CART in 1994, and they made the switch to IndyCar in 2003. This is the fourth-most wins by a team in history, only trailing Penske, Newman/Haas and Chip Ganassi Racing.
While Mario Andretti raced at the Indy 500 for almost 30 years and won races in Formula 1, IndyCar, Nascar and in sports cars, he never actually raced for Andretti. His son Michael was the first Andretti to race for the team in 2001, winning a race at Toronto that season. Michael is now the team owner and previously won a series championship as a driver in 1991. He also holds the infamous record of leading the most laps over a career at the Indy 500 without winning the race (431). Ever since Mario won the Indy 500 in 1969, an Andretti has entered the race 54 times without a win.
Jacques Villeneuve won the Indy 500 and series championship in the team’s second season in 1995, and Dan Wheldon completed the double as well in 2005. The team has five series championships and five Indy 500 wins to its credit.
The Drivers
Alexander Rossi (#27)
Career: 50 starts, 5 wins, 4 poles, 12 podiums, 30 top-10 finishes
2018: Avg. Qualifying 6.3 (T-3rd), Avg. Finish 5.7 (2nd), 2nd overall
Rossi took a major step forward in 2018 by grabbing three wins and three poles in an effort that saw him finish runner-up to champion Scott Dixon. “Saucy” Rossi (nickname given by friend and fellow-IndyCar driver Conor Daly) proved that he was ready to become a contender when he bumped Robert Wickens out of the way on the final lap of the season opener in a desperate attempt to take the lead at St. Petersburg. He still managed to bring the car home in third despite the contact, following it up with a third place finish at Phoenix and a dominant win from pole at Long Beach.
Rossi had serious difficulty in the weeks leading up to the Indy 500 when he only qualified in 32nd place on the last row of the grid. He managed to put in an impressive drive by finishing in fourth place, passing as many as seven cars in one move. He also dared to pass and drive along the wall in a way that none of the other drivers felt comfortable with in the new aero kit.
He made a late-season push for the title after wins at Mid Ohio and Pocono before coming in second at Gateway. However, eighth and seventh place finishes at Portland and Sonoma to close the year left him far out of the reach of Dixon. The runner-up finish in the championship standings was much improved from his seventh place finish in 2017. He finished ahead of his three Andretti teammates at 10 of the 17 races, and he also out-qualified them at 10 races.
Rossi has been very strong at the biggest race of them all, the Indy 500. He has finished within the top-seven in all three of his appearances and won the race on his debut in 2016 on a memorable fuel run that saw him coast across the line for the victory. With the Indy 500 win already on his resume at the age of 27, he can put his biggest focus on winning the season-long championship in 2019. Originally poised to be a Formula 1 driver, he seems to have found his permanent home in IndyCar.
Ryan Hunter-Reay (#28)
Career: 235 starts, 18 wins, 7 poles, 42 podiums, 117 top-10 finishes
2018: Avg. Qualifying 6.3 (T-3rd), Avg. Finish 8.7 (5th), 4th overall
Hunter-Reay is one of the most experienced drivers in the series at the age of 38, only trailing Dixon and Tony Kanaan for the most starts by current drivers. Other than his championship season in 2014 that saw him win four races, he’s usually finished just behind the series leaders between 6th and 9th in the final standings.
Last year will go down as one of his best seasons since he began in 2007, as he finished within the top-two on five occasions and grabbed two wins to finish fourth in the championship standings. If it wasn’t for a few mechanical issues throughout the year, he may have had a better shot at grabbing the title after winning pole and race at the double-points season finale at Sonoma.
His win at the second race in Detroit was his first win since Pocono in 2015. Hunter-Reay was very competitive with his teammate Rossi throughout the year, beating him and his other two teammates at six of the 17 tracks. One of the most significant races was his win at Detroit, where Rossi held the lead for most of the race before spinning out in an event that gave Hunter-Reay the lead and cost Rossi serious points by the end of the year.
Marco Andretti (#98)
Career: 217 starts, 2 wins, 5 poles, 20 podiums, 101 top-10 finishes
2018: Avg. Qualifying 12.4 (12th), Avg. Finish 11.1 (12th), 9th overall
Marco will be entering his 14th year of driving for Andretti in 2019. While he has finished in the top-10 in the championship standings nine times, his overall results are a bit disappointing considering he’s been at a top-level team for every year of his career.
He almost won his first Indy 500 he ever entered in 2006, but he was passed by Sam Hornish Jr. on the final lap. Marco had to settle for runner-up while his father Micheal came home in third place. Marco has finished on the podium on three other occasions, but he’s never came as close as he was on his debut. He picked up the first win of his career at Sonoma that year, but he wouldn’t win another race for five years until Iowa in 2011. He had his best-ever championship finish in 2013 after five top-five finishes, including two poles.
The past few years have been more difficult, as he hasn’t appeared on a podium since 2015. Marco qualified on pole in the first Detroit race in 2018, but he only managed to finish. He qualified better than his teammates at the Indy 500 and Detroit, but he never finished ahead of all three of his teammates in a single race last year. Rossi and Andretti also switched numbers last year, with Marco now running the #98 car in partnership with Herta Austosport. Bryan Herta was who partnered with Rossi when he won the Indy 500 in 2016.
Zach Veach (#26)
Career: 19 starts, 5 top-10 finishes
2018: Avg. Qualifying 14.5 (16th), Avg. Finish 14.1 (17th), 15th overall
Veach put in some strong performances during his rookie year despite going through some difficult stretches. He finished fourth at Long Beach in only his third race with Andretti, but he didn’t finish within the top-10 again until the 12th race of the season at Toronto. His seventh place finish was the only race of the year that he finished ahead of all three of his Andretti teammates. He followed up that result by finishing sixth at Pocono and fifth at Gateway. A 15th place overall finish isn’t what he was probably hoping for with a team like Andretti behind him, but more consistent results could lead to a better year in 2019.
Outlook for 2019
Andretti has a big advantage in being the only four-car team on the grid, but they’ve only won one title in the last decade (Hunter-Reay in 2012). They’ve put in big performances at the Indy 500 in recent years, winning three of the last five races. Conor Daly will also join the lineup as the team’s fifth driver at the Indy 500 this year, which puts a talented driver who has only been held back by a limited checkbook into a strong car for the first time. His ability to put in a good result at Indy could determine if he gets additional races with the team or a full-time return to the series in the future.
Rossi was knocking on the door of a title last season, and he can really push Dixon and the Penske trio if he puts together a little more consistency and caution along with his dazzling performances. Hunter-Reay is slowly approaching 40 years-old, so he will know that the chance for a second title or Indy 500 win isn’t going to last forever. Marco needs to put together a few solid performances and land on a podium to prove that he still belongs as a contender in the series after numerous seasons of struggles. Veach was fortunate to get a second year with Andretti, so I hope he takes advantage of it and shows more of the pace that helped him win six Indy Lights races.
The Verdict
Hunter-Reay should have another strong year and win at least one race to finish just behind the Penske drivers at sixth in the standings. I expect Marco to slip a bit down to 13th overall after stronger performances from some of the rookies. Veach is one of the drivers whose final position could vary the most on the grid, but he will most likely end up in his same position of 15th place. I think 2019 will be the year for another American driver to win his first championship, with Rossi finally completing his goal of winning a championship after moving to IndyCar from Formula 1 in 2016.
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