Andretti Autosport has announced James Hinchcliffe will return to IndyCar competition for three races in the 2020 NTT IndyCar Series, including the Indianapolis 500.
Hinchcliffe’s return to the team – which he spent three seasons between 2012-2014 – will see him drive the #29 entry with his recently signed telecoms sponsor, Genesys.
The other two races will be the GMR IndyCar Grand Prix which precedes the Indy 500, and he will also take part in the Texas Indy 600 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Fernando Alonso had been tipped to race for Andretti, however, it is rumoured a late intervention by Honda Japan has seen the deal fall through, which left the door open for Hinchcliffe to seize the opportunity to try and claim the jewel in the crown of IndyCar.
The Canadian was pulled from the Arrow McLaren SP line-up, after the team chose to move to a younger line-up in Patricio O’Ward and Oliver Askew.
“Honestly, it’s so nice being able to announce some more good news,” said Hinchcliffe.
“It’s no secret that the 2020 season isn’t going to be exactly what we were expecting, but being able to start the new year with the announcement that Genesys was stepping in to save our season and partner with us was awesome, and now adding the next big piece in my reunion with Andretti Autosport just really makes it feel like the momentum is going our way.
“I can’t wait to work with this group again and to get back behind the wheel of an IndyCar!”
Team Owner, Michael Andretti added: “We’re really pleased to be able to welcome James back into the Andretti team. He has, for sure, been knocked down a few times by this sport and to be able to help him meet the challenge is really special.
“We had a lot of fun, and some great successes with James when he was part of the team before, and we’re really looking forward to picking up where we left off.
“Hopefully this is something that we can turn into a long term program. I think that’s all of our goals – to get James back into our team full-time.”
