IndyCar’s hybrid system was introduced at Mid-Ohio in early July, midway through the 2024 season.
It has been used in every race since then, and most drivers have gotten a handle on how best to use the system by this point.
The common observation has been that the hybrid system does not change very much overall, and barely makes a difference in the lap times around both road courses and ovals.
Speaking during the Portland weekend, where the system is being used on a road course for the third time, Pato O’Ward again related that does not change much with how he drives and even thinks it as produced worse racing.
“I would say even in Mid-Ohio – it’s a simple system. You compare it to Push to Pass. Instead of using the boost from the engine, it’s using it from the battery pack.
“I would say it hasn’t been a massive change in terms of what we need to do in the car. Obviously there’s more times we need to click this button. I think it’s been more of a factor for the racing.
“I think the racing has taken a big step down just looking in Mid-Ohio, Toronto. People don’t need to use their push to pass anymore to defend sometimes. That’s ultimately just opened doors to less fights on track. At least that’s what I feel.”
The Mid-Ohio and Toronto races had 116 on-track passes and 140 on-track passes respectively, which were both lower than the previous year without the hybrid system.
Marcus Armstrong, who was also a part of Friday’s press conference, agreed with O’Ward on one particular point and said that the hybrid boost in its current form is mainly used to defend.
He also described how he was able to use the system at World Wide Technology Raceway to mask his mistakes, which also likely saved him from being passed by those behind.
“I would say it’s more of a defense mechanism than an attack, than a form of attacking, if I’m honest,” said Armstrong.
“I mean, for example, at Gateway, whenever I felt like I had a bad exit from a corner, I would be able to save myself from being overtaken just by deploying all of my battery. That’s almost a comforting thing with your racing.”
If more power is added to the hybrid system in the coming years, which is IndyCar’s plan, that could change the way in which the system is used during race events.
Until that day comes, drivers continue to feel that the hybrid does not seem to add much to the racing product.
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