Christian Lundgaard offered his opinion about the planned introduction of the IndyCar’s new hybrid powertrain system, which is currently scheduled for some time after the Indianapolis 500.
Lundgaard is racing for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, which is one of the teams that has not had any track time with the hybrid system in testing. The series’ larger teams have had multiple days developing and testing the components.
Even though many of those drivers that have had a chance to sample the new system largely say they won’t have an unfair advantage if the hybrid parts are introduced mid-season, the ones that have not yet driven the new format are not so sure.
Talking ahead of the opening round of the 2024 season, where the hybrid system was originally set to debut, Lundgaard described that he feels the mid-year introduction may not happen after all.
“I doubt it’s going to happen after May,” Lundgaard told MotorsportWeek.com. “I think [the system] will be ready, but, if you think about it, you can’t run two half-seasons of the championship.
“If you think about it, the teams that have been running know about the balance and the performance of the car. That’s where if ultimately comes down to being unfair.
“I think once we get through half the season and there are conversations about it being implemented, I think there’s going to be teams, not necessarily protesting that, but I don’t think there are going to be happy teams.
“I think a good example is that Callum Ilott has basically had the same mileage in the car as I have during the offseason, and he’s done one day of testing, which was a hybrid day. They do a lot more mileage there than we do in an official test with only three sets of tires, when they have five to eight sets of tires. That’s already unfair, but I don’t think I should get more into that.
“It just feels very unorganized in one way, and I think it ultimately comes down to them expecting the hybrid system not to be ready. We’ll have to wait and see.”
For this weekend, a few other new components are fitted to the cars in preparation for the planned hybrid parts later in the season, which makes them marginally lighter.
The hybrid system will add a significant amount of weight, however, adding to what is already considered to be a heavy formula for America’s top open wheel series.
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