IndyCar Takeaways: Indy Markham
- Evan Roberts
- 3 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Since 2012, only one place outside the United States has hosted an IndyCar race. That track was the Toronto Street Circuit at Exhibition Place. But after 40 years in Toronto, IndyCar racing has moved from the city center to the suburbs of Canada's most famous city.
Despite early skepticism, Sunday's race in Markham proved to be an overwhelming success. Over 200 overtakes and a chaotic race saw Sweden’s Marcus Ericsson win his first race in three years, and a first for Andretti Global.
DIVEBOMB presents the main takeaways from IndyCar’s inaugural trip to Markham.
Ericsson rewards Andretti’s trust
There was a lot of pressure on Ericsson before the year started. Many felt certain that he would be replaced by Dennis Hauger in 2027, as the reigning Indy NXT champion was supported by Andretti in his contract with Dale Coyne Racing.
But after a brilliant run of form, Ericsson had earned himself a contract extension before this weekend even started. In contrast, Hauger’s future in the series remains uncertain as he continues to look for a seat next year, despite leading the rookie standings.
It would be wrong to call it a breakthrough season for someone who is already an Indianapolis 500 Champion. That being said, the level Ericsson is currently operating at in terms of his speed, in particular at both Gateway and Markham, is the best he’s ever performed.
It’s taken two long years for Ericsson to adjust to Andretti. Some would say he was lucky to even have the seat this year, but this weekend he has proved doubters wrong in spectacular style. Race win, fastest lap, job done.
Toronto twist a good change for racing
A move away from a fan favourite circuit at Exhibition Place was a choice that received initial pushback from fans. The history behind the circuit and the environment that surrounded it usually made for an exciting and beloved event.
When Markham was announced as the new location due to disruptions caused by the FIFA World Cup, many were not happy about its suburban and frankly quite unremarkable design.
What it lacks in the views of the bustling downtown Toronto, it certainly makes up for in racing action. It’s a track that on paper looks like a nightmare. Yet in reality, it is those quirks that stood out initially for all wrong reasons, was what made it so good to watch.
The Turn 5 hairpin is the most glaring example. The turn is so tight that there were worries about how the cars could navigate it properly. But it ended up as one of the best overtaking spots and provided so much action that even Álex Palou was caught out by it.
At the end of the day it was chaos, which in turn bred the cautions that made the race so tense. The different strategies that came bore a wealth of different possible outcomes. What occurred was one of the best races of the year and one a lot of IndyCar fans will be excited to tune into over the next 5 years.
Kirkwood’s championship challenge all but over
Only Palou would find a way to turn an off-day into an extended lead in the Drivers’ Championship. That being said, at one point it didn’t look like that would be the case at all.
Kyle Kirkwood has been Andretti Global’s main contender to Palou over the past couple of years. And up until Lap 54 it looked as if he was in a position to claw some points back to Palou at just the right time in the season. That was until of course his unfortunate incident which took him out of the race at Turn 4.
The crash itself appeared almost comical as three wheels were damaged in the impact which gave the No.27 car a distinct limp as it made its way to a halt. For Kirkwood though, it was no laughing matter. Most importantly, it has removed any chance of him getting himself back into the title fight.
Kirkwood’s performance this weekend shows a distinct lack of progress after a major step up last season where he looked like he was able to challenge Palou and they were the clear two best drivers on the grid. As ever though in sport, more will always be expected. Kirkwood started the season well with a win at Arlington and a second at both Phoenix and Detroit.
That’s when his championship challenge derailed, however, as a run of mediocre results followed that saw him playing catch up. Whilst Andretti have not been at their best, there have been times where his teammates in Ericsson and Will Power have both been stronger over the weekend.
Whilst this should not be a worry for Kirkwood as he is an undeniably talented driver, his position of second in the standings attests to that. But this weekend puts an end to hoping that he could be the one to defeat the indomitable Spaniard.
Indy’s F1 podium has stirred the pot
Long has IndyCar been looked down on by fans of Formula One who claim it to be a lesser series. The main discourse this weekend came from fans saying that IndyCar is less competitive because drivers who were not front runners in F1, can get podiums in IndyCar.
But Ericsson who won the race, is ninth in the Drivers’ Championship and almost 100 points behind his teammate. As for Grosjean, he sits 18th.
Yes, they are both brilliant drivers and ran incredible races but by no means are they running circles around anybody. It is an incredibly talented field of teams and drivers at the top of their game.
The lazy, uninformed rhetoric that F1 is better than IndyCar just because former F1 drivers do well there is becoming boring very quickly.
Wasted opportunity for RLL
Markham could be a race that Rahal Letterman Lanigan will regret come the end of the season. With only four rounds to go, RLL currently have two cars near the Winners Circle cutoff.
One of those cars is driven by Louis Foster, who was arguably running the best weekend of his IndyCar career until his incident in Turn 4. He was almost certainly on for a maiden victory that would see him jump his way up the standings.
What has actually happened was a retirement that caused him to fall closer to the Winners Circle cutoff. Whilst he still should be safe based on other useful results over the season, for him it was a chance to show his ability at an important stage of his career.
It’s undoubtedly a crushing blow for the British driver, but it’s a mistake he gracefully accepted blame for and will look to move on from it this weekend at a similarly tight street circuit which could offer up another opportunity.
Mick Schumacher’s race was another that showed promise. On the back of a great result at Nashville a few weeks prior he was running in the top 10 and in a position to score some valuable points that could’ve aided his quest to get himself into the Winners Circle as he currently sits 24th in the Drivers’ Championship.
What won’t help that is another crash. Where Foster’s was a slightly miscalculated overtake, Schumacher's was simply a rookie mistake. One that he can’t be making if he wants to impress as he is out of a contract at the end of the season.
For Graham Rahal it was just a disappointing race, it didn’t seem like any point he had the answer to Foster or the speed for the front of the pack but in the end he was the only RLL driver to finish the race, which he did well to come home in ninth.
Edited by Morgan Holiday
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