When Will Power signed a contract to join Andretti Global for the 2026 IndyCar season, there were many unknowns after having driven for Team Penske for so long.
Now that he has a few races under his belt, Power has had some time to digest the differences between Andretti and Penske.
The veteran quickly identified the impressive size and scope of the Andretti operation when visiting the team’s shop, pointing to the sheer number of people and how professionally everything is run.
He also related that some parts of the race weekends are more structured than they were while he was at the notoriously-organized Team Penske for 17 seasons.
“Yeah, the way [Andretti] do their debriefs is very military-like,” said Power. “They certainly have good processes put in place. Not quite as lax in that respect as Penske.
“They definitely have more people there. It’s interesting. Yeah, I can see why we’re running at the front, to be honest. Like the team is very good. I am very impressed.
“We’re improving as well as we go here. Doing a lot of work. Obviously they’ve also had feedback from someone from another team that’s been at another team for a long time, sort of giving feedback on how the car feels from what I’m used to make it a bit easier for me to drive.
“I think it’s something that is good for the team directionally in some aspects. It’s still an IndyCar. I think Andretti has always been one of the top teams.
“There’s only been two teams winning championships. I think this year I really believe I’m in a position to win a championship. Next year absolutely, absolutely. But this year we’re there already.”
Championship on the mind
Power has two IndyCar championships to his name, the most recent of which came in the 2022 season.
He is the only other driver to have won a title since Alex Palou began his dominant run in 2021, and he knows how few mistakes are required to beat the Spaniard.
With that knowledge, the 45-year-old is happy to be in his new situation and feels he could legitimately challenge for a third championship as soon as this year.
“The thing that I’ve picked up, walking around the team within a day the first time I went to the shop when everybody is working there, they’ve got everything they need to win. It’s there.
“It’s a matter of putting a good weekend together. Obviously pit stop strategy. They are a top, top team. Like there’s nothing that says to me that they’re not a team that can win a championship.
“In some respects they have more resource than where I came from. They’re very smart people. It’s no surprise to me now that I’ve been there that we are at the front.
“Like, I’m finding myself being able to be in the top five each weekend. Honestly last year that wasn’t the case for me. At times we struggled a lot. Very happy about being there. I really am.”
Power finished on the podium at the most recent race in Arlington, but sits 11th in the points after a couple disappointing finishes to start the season.
He looks to continue his good form at Barber Motorsports Park this weekend, a track where he has logged a top five result each of the past five years.
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