Alpine Formula 1 junior Christian Lundgaard will make his debut in the NTT IndyCar Series this weekend with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
The Danish driver recently tested with RLL at Barber Motorsports Park and has now been handed a one-off race outing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The upcoming weekend will see the series race around the famed circuit’s road course for the second time this year.
Lundgaard will get behind the wheel the No. 45 car, which has been piloted by ex-Formula 2 driver Santino Ferrucci at a handful of events this year.
“I’m super excited to try IndyCar next week,” Lundgaard said. “I’ve been very fortunate so far in my career to drive some incredible race cars and I’m looking forward to officially adding IndyCar to that list.
“In preparation for this race, I tested the car and it felt pretty awesome and I’m sure it will feel even better at a race weekend in race conditions alongside all the hugely talented drivers in the field.
“There’s been a lot of work to make this happen and prepare as best as possible and I’m feeling ready for the challenge.
“I’ve actually watched all IndyCar races this year, so to be given the chance to line up on the grid is amazing.”
Lundgaard, who has been part of the Alpine (formerly Renault) family since 2017, currently competes in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, taking two podiums so far in the 2021 season.
The 20-year-old picked up two wins in the 2020 campaign en route to seventh in the championship. He currently sits 12th in the standings.
“We were very pleased with the job that Christian did at our recent test at Barber Motorsports Park and are looking forward to seeing him perform at Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” said RLL co-owner Bobby Rahal.
“It’s going to be a new experience and a big challenge due to the lack of practice time compared to other races.
“The road course is very much like European circuits given that it was designed for Formula 1 and Grand Prix races, so I think it will be less of an issue than going to one of our more traditional IndyCar race tracks.
“Given the lack of test time and practice time, we don’t have any grand expectations of him other than to go out and do a steady job and go from there.”
