IndyCar drivers provide rave reviews of "amazing" Markham circuit

Credit: Julia Bissessar

It may have taken a day later than planned for IndyCar drivers to get their first experience of the Streets of Markham, but from the get-go, IndyCar's newest street course proved a hit.

The 2.100 mile (3.380 km), 12-turn street course, a design of Tony Cottman, utilised several roads in the Eastern Precinct of Downtown Markham and was freshly repaved prior to IndyCar hitting the streets of the city for the first time. Despite a days delay due to the construction of the circuit not being finished on-time, drivers reflected positively of the Markham circuit.

"Yeah, I loved the track from the first lap," said Markham's race winner Marcus Ericsson. "It's really a challenging track. I think it's a very high-speed track for being a street course. Usually street courses are more slow speed. This track, like, the first section [Turns] 1, 2, 3 there is very high speed. The end of the lap Turn 10 is tricky with the bumpy braking there, a very quick turn in. It's one of those tracks where you really need to have confidence in the car, you need to be able to attack.

"It's a really fun challenge. We've seen this weekend it's a tricky challenge as well because it's very easy to get a little bit wrong. There's no margin for error. You're in the wall straightaway.

It is a bit like a road course, but with walls around. It's really a big challenge. Obviously it suited me quite well. I enjoyed it."

Ericsson's words were similar to that reflected by his Andretti Global teammate Will Power, who stood alongside Ericsson on the podium after the 90 racing laps were complete.

"A very cool track. I said it from the first laps, epic track," said Power. "Very high commitment. Cool street course. Very easy. Like, as you saw, you got to be so on your toes to drive it."

It also proved a hit with runner-up Romain Grosjean, who earned his first IndyCar podium since Barber in 2023.

"Amazing, Markham. The pavement was great. The racetrack is great. The organisation has been good. The track has been fun to drive. I got to say that I'm very impressed with this weekend generally. Smooth tarmac like this makes the racing so much nicer for us compared to some other places."

It added to the initial positive views held by both David Malukas and Marcus Armstrong following on from Saturday morning's opening practice, in which Malukas described the track as "fantastic", whilst Armstrong echoed Malukas' sentiment.

That said, Markham was not without its madness.

Credit: Julia Bissessar

The race featured six cautions, five of which took place within a 28-lap period as drivers navigated the precarious streets in racing conditions for the first time. The cause of the chaos was regularly found at the Turn 5 hairpin, which had a different profile to the circuit renderings that drivers had been driving on in the simulator.

It had initially been planned as a 180 degree circular loop, as a medium-speed hairpin. Instead, the delays in construction meant that drivers had to face a 180 degree bend with an extremely narrow apex causing an incredibly small turning circle - comparable to that of the final corner on the Streets of Long Beach, but even tighter. It caused cars to stall, even under caution, any attempted overtakes were rarely without incident with drivers struggling for grip as soon as they went off-line.

That said, the re-profiled corner had at least two fans.

"Amazing. It's really good", said Grosjean, whilst Power added: "It's cool. Very cool."

Both drivers confirmed that they would not change the corner in future years, with Power adding that it gives "character" to the circuit.

Despite the initial doubts on Friday, Markham proved to be a drivers favourite, with Ericsson saying: "Talking with the drivers, everyone loves the layout, thinks it's really fun. I think they've done a really good job."