Mixed emotions for Andretti’s Hughes after first IndyCar test

Credit: Chris Owens

Newly-named Andretti Global reserve driver Lochie Hughes got immediately down to business in his fresh role with his first IndyCar test last Monday.

The young Australian driver finished third in the standings in his rookie Indy NXT campaign in 2025 and has also recently re-signed with Andretti for a second season. As part of his programme, he took to the wheel of a TWG Motorsports-liveried No.98 IndyCar machine in a private rookie evaluation test on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

It was an enlightening debut experience for the 2024 USF Pro 2000 champion in the heavier Dallara DW12 as he continues to work towards his goal of racing in IndyCar.

“It was definitely a pretty cool experience,” Hughes told DIVEBOMB. “True when they say big, physical beast to drive. Definitely feeling it [two days on]. It was obviously a dream to get in one of those things. It’s something I’ve been watching for a long time. 

“In terms of the straight line speed, it didn’t feel too fast compared to the NXT car - it felt quite comfortable there. It was just the weight of the thing with the change of direction and trying to make the thing turn. It was definitely, I’d say, slightly underwhelming, to be honest.” 

Hughes ended the seven-car test fifth place in the circulating unofficial times as he grappled with unfamiliar machinery. The element of physicality was only enhanced by some early teething problems in terms of cockpit positioning.

“I didn’t really have my steering wheel in the right place in the morning,” said the 23-year-old from the Gold Coast. “So it was a bit stretched out and everything so it cooked me a little bit, obviously not knowing until you get in the thing exactly where you need it. So that didn’t help. 

“And then just on the back foot for the rest of the day because of that. But it’s so heavy, physical, hard-to-drive that everything has to be right.”

Credit: James Black

Hughes found out that he would be testing around three weeks in advance of the outing, which was not ample time to build ideal muscle to withstand the Indy car’s brutality. 

“It was off-season anyway so already we went back to trying to build some muscle and just told my trainer: ‘Hey, let’s up it even more in preparation,’” Hughes said. “So it was trying as much as I could on the physical side of things.

“And then [it was] trying to chat to the engineer as much as I could, watch as much video and just study as much stuff as I could in preparation. But it’s just a big jump so I don’t think there was really much else I could have done beforehand.”

While the test was classified as ‘rookie evaluation’ for the Andretti squad, in his role as reserve driver, Hughes was relied upon to collect crucial data for the team amid IndyCar’s limited test days across the course of the six-month off-season.

His own adaptation to the car was almost somewhat secondary on the day.

“It was a very important test for the team so it was by no means just a test for me to drive the car,” Hughes said. “It was a very valuable day for them to learn a lot of stuff; you had a big run plan and a lot of things to test. I couldn’t just be out there just making mistakes and pushing the thing to the limit and learning what it can do. All in all, it was a good day.”

For the time being, Hughes does not have any more IndyCar testing planned as his attention switches to preparations for his sophomore season in Indy NXT.

It was announced earlier this month that, after a rookie season resulting in two victories and a total of eight podiums, he would be rejoining the Andretti squad for 2026 alongside his promotion to the IndyCar team’s reserve driver. 

Credit: Joe Skibinski

“It was just about trying to make it happen,” Hughes said. “Obviously finishing top three in the championship, you can say: ‘Ah, maybe we can go and move up to IndyCar.’ But there was nothing else I wanted to race. It was just a matter of: ‘Can we get the budget together?’ That’s been the tricky part. But excited that we’ve been able to make it work.”

Having picked up four podiums - including one victory - in his first four NXT races, there was an early-season period in Hughes rookie season where it looked like he could bring the fight to eventual champion and teammate Dennis Hauger. But after seven podiums in the first eight rounds, he only once reached the rostrum again in the closing six races.

Heading into 2026, with Hauger graduating to IndyCar with Dale Coyne Racing and 2025 NXT runner-up Caio Collet twice having tested with possible suitors AJ Foyt Racing, there is only one target in Hughes’ mind for next season.

“For sure, winning the championship is the goal,” he said. “It felt like we got pretty close this year - was in the hunt for the first half of the championship - and then just had a pretty bad [start] to the second half of the season with a bunch of different stuff happening.

“That was frustrating. I was hoping we’d be able to challenge all the way through the season. But just to come out with some poles, some wins, bunch of podiums, top three in the championship… pretty good as a rookie.”

It is not lost on Hughes how important winning the championship is for his ambition of reaching IndyCar for the 2027 season. As is a staple on the North American open-wheel ladder, winning the championship next year and claiming the associated scholarship as a reward may be imperative for his IndyCar chances.

Credit: Matt Fraver

“It adds a lot of pressure to the season, because when it comes to winning a championship, there’s a lot of variables that go into it,” Hughes said. “Over here, if you just miss out, it’s not just the first-place trophy you miss out on; for me in Pro, it was 650 grand. 

“So I wouldn’t have been able to race Indy NXT without that budget, especially when sponsors these days are so hard to find. So it adds some pressure but it’s definitely a great thing, because if you do the job, you can be rewarded.”

As Andretti’s reserve driver, Hughes will work more tightly with the IndyCar operation when his focus is not on the priority of a fight for the NXT title, which should help to smoothen any future transition to a seat on the IndyCar grid.

“It’s going to be awesome, just to be able to work a lot closer with the team in terms of the IndyCar side of things and be able to learn and help my development for the future,” he said. “And especially with Will [Power] coming along to the team, that’s going to be even cooler.

“To be able to hear the way he interacts with the team, talks to his engineers, the way he gives feedback, to be able to actually see his data and see the things he does with a race car, all that’s going to be extremely valuable to my career.”

Hughes has developed a strong bond with countryman Power in recent years having first raced in the United States in 2022 in the national Formula 4 championship and USF2000. 

The two-time IndyCar champion and 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner’s switch from Team Penske to Andretti - in place of Colton Herta - allows Hughes to work at even closer quarters with his mentor as he bids to become the next Australian to reach the top level.

Credit: James Black

“In recent years, Will’s been amazing for me - someone I can ask questions to: ‘What do you think of this?’ on a race weekend,” Hughes said. “And obviously he’s been there, done it the hard way. He knows what it’s like to be in the position I’m currently in so it’s great to be able to have him over here and to be able to call him up whenever I need to. 

“He’s put my mind at ease a lot of times, when you don’t know when your next race is going to be or how you’re going to find a sponsor to keep going - that kind of stuff. It’s just nice to hear his stories and know he’s been in those positions and it’s possible to make it through.

“You’ve just got to keep on pushing hard and racing as hard as you can each weekend. If you do everything you can, it’s possible.”