As the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series season approaches, each team’s driver line-ups are mostly settled and the seniority structure within each squad is taking shape. A few drivers find themselves being asked to provide leadership and guidance to their team-mates when, previously, they had been the individuals receiving advice from more renowned counterparts.
A leadership role within a team can come naturally as a driver’s experience grows, but it is still a mark of accomplishment to shift from a newcomer to a veteran in a premiere racing series. MotorsportWeek.com looks at the mindset of the drivers who will be taking on extra responsibility within IndyCar this year.
Rinus VeeKay
23 years old – 5th IndyCar season
Rinus VeeKay is the most senior driver at Ed Carpenter Racing this year despite being just 23 years old. He is partnered with Christian Rasmussen, who is stepping up from a championship- winning run in IndyNXT to contest the road and street courses in the top series.
VeeKay entered IndyCar in 2020 and has had the guidance of his team owner Ed Carpenter, in addition to his more experienced teammates, the entire time. He was tasked with being the strongest voice when it came to driver feedback last season and feels confident he can help steer the team in the right direction going forward.
“I think I can really set that baseline and guide the team to where we need to go,” said VeeKay. “And I think Christian [Rasmussen] needs to just explore and kind of follow my lead since we’ve had the same kind of driving style, feedback, and everything.
“I think as a leadership role, that experience of knowing what I need as a car, that’s going to be very important. I think that’s how we will save time during short race weekends with practices that are so short, to be quick for qualifying.
“With [2023] being our toughest, hardest season so far, it made me work harder and also made me change my voice a little bit in the team and made my voice a bit more demanding, I think. I feel like I’ve always really listened to the team, to what they say. I still do, but I think right now I’ve also got the voice, like I can talk to them and really make them change things if we need to.”
Carpenter obviously believes in his Dutch driver’s abilities, as he has brought him back for a fifth consecutive year while swapping out the driver of the team’s second car nearly every season. That alone instills a lot of confidence in VeeKay and adds to the strong professional relationship he has with his team owner.
There are multiple reasons Carpenter has given VeeKay the responsibility of being the team’s leader, and he took time to outline what makes him the right choice for that role.
“He gets more and more of his own experience,” explained Carpenter. “I’m sure there definitely was an effect from Ryan [Hunter-Reay], just learning from a great teammate, a veteran teammate, a champion, an Indy 500 winner. Being around that, seeing how he approaches it, and just getting older.
“[VeeKay is] married now. Your life changes as you get older. Your perspective changes. I think it’s all of those things.”
VeeKay’s only win in IndyCar came back in 2021, and podium finishes eluded him throughout the entirety of last season. Acting as a guide for his rookie team-mate, and the team overall, may be the boost he needs to return to victory lane. And having strong votes of confidence spoken publicly does nothing but help VeeKay embrace the role given to him.
“Yeah, it does give me confidence to hear that, but also I believe I’m ready,” replied VeeKay. “I’ve always had a more experienced driver next to me. I still have Ed [Carpenter] on the ovals, but I feel like I got the experience to carry the team and know what we need to do as a team to get better, also during a race weekend, and I know how to adapt to get better.
“I think also Christian, he trusts me, trusts my experience. I think it’ll be a good season, and I’m totally ready for the leadership role.”
Felix Rosenqvist
32 years old – 6th IndyCar season
Felix Rosenqvist is now part of one of IndyCar’s smaller teams, moving to Meyer Shank Racing for the 2024 season. The Swede brings a wealth of experience with him to his new crew and will be the veteran voice within the two-car team for the next year.
After spending stints at two of the series’ largest teams, Chip Ganassi Racing and Arrow McLaren, Rosenqvist is beginning his tenure at one of the more lean teams. Rather than raw numbers of personnel, MSR is known for having a slimmer crew that is dedicated to the cause and can threaten to punch above its weight on any given weekend.
Rosenqvist will race alongside Tom Blomqvist, who may be an IndyCar rookie but has a lot of experience in sportscar racing and is considered one of the sharpest drivers around. Both drivers have extensive experience driving in series that have electrified power trains as well, meaning they could have a particular advantage when the new hybrid components are introduced mid-season.
It should be no trouble for Rosenqvist to share his knowledge with his similarly named teammate, and it’s a role that he feels adequately prepared to handle.
“I absolutely think so,” said Rosenqvist when asked if he was prepared to be the team’s leading driver. “I look forward to being in that role. It’s a role I haven’t really been in for six years since I drove Formula E, where you can kind of call the shots a little bit more.
“Maybe get your engineering team to build a car more around you, like the foundation of the car setup, kind of getting – if we need – hiring people and that kind of stuff.
“Obviously I’ve been to a lot of good teams at this point in my career, not only in IndyCar but outside, as well, and I think I have a good eye for what a team needs, both when it comes to resources, personalities, team leadership and stuff like that.
“It’s always complex, but I feel like I can really provide in that sense, and I look forward to being in that role.
“Having Tom with me, he’s a rookie this year. He kind of dipped his toes a little bit into the IndyCar world last year, and we go way back. We raced with each other in 2009 in Formula Renault in Sweden.
“I’ve known Tom for a long time. I’m going to be an open book with him and try to get him up to speed as quickly as he can and as I can. It’s going to be really fun working with him.”
Rosenqvist was often portrayed as equivalent to a backup driver in his time at McLaren, with his contracts only being confirmed once pursuit of other drivers had ended and there was an ever-present possibility that he would be asked to return to Formula E.
That situation seems to have flipped completely now that he’s with Meyer Shank Racing, and he will be hoping his sixth IndyCar season is the one where he can really stand out among the crowd.
Marcus Ericsson
33 years old – 6th IndyCar season
Marcus Ericsson has perhaps the most fitting personality of the drivers being tasked with being team leaders this year. He is 33 years old, has five years of experience in both Formula 1 and IndyCar, has won the Indianapolis 500, and generally gives off the impression that he knows what he’s doing.
Ericsson moved on from his tenured position at Chip Ganassi Racing to be the senior driver with Andretti Global in 2024, and is aware that he’s going to be setting the tone among his team-mates. Even though Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood both have multiple years of experience, and the former has more wins than he does, Ericsson still feels comfortable being the example within the team.
Talking recently about his career path, Ericsson was open about the fact that he is considered a veteran now and one of the expectations put upon him is to show others the proper way to conduct oneself as a respected racing driver.
“Yeah, things are changing,” said Ericsson. “I’m not getting younger. They were introducing us [at a recent dinner with IndyCar executives]: ‘It’s nice to have you veterans here.’ I guess I’m getting into that phase now in my career.
“But no, it feels good, the setup we have [at Andretti]. Like I said, Colton [Herta] has been in IndyCar as long as me, but he’s quite a bit younger, so I’m definitely sort of the most experienced in the team.
“That’s a bit of a different situation to Ganassi where Scott [Dixon] is a guy who’s been there forever and has so much experience and such a strong and good leader and shows by example how to be a Ganassi driver.
“It will be fun to have a bit of a more senior position, whatever you want to call it, at Andretti. And that’s one of the challenges that I’m excited about going into the season, to sort of try and be that leader in the Andretti team both on and off the track.”
Ericsson will also bring a fresh perspective to Andretti, as they’ve not had a driver come over from the Ganassi squad in multiple years. That combined with a downsizing from four to three full time entries will give the team a new feel from the outset.
The trio of drivers at Andretti this year have arguably some of the quickest minds on the grid. Each often talks about how they are able to manage various aspects of the race and contemplate strategy while racing around the track at high speed. This upcoming year will demonstrate if Ericsson’s leadership can carry the new-look Andretti group ahead of their rivals.
