Power woes “not bad luck” after tough start to IndyCar season

Credit: Joe Skibinski

Will Power has insisted his difficult beginning to life with Andretti Global’s IndyCar outfit cannot be attributed to misfortune alone amid a bout of errant results.

The two-time series champion, who moved on from a 17-year stint with Team Penske ahead of this season, is 17th in the standings after seven rounds in 2026. His deficit to Chip Ganassi Racing’s championship-leading Álex Palou already stands at 161 points.

“It’s not bad luck,” Power said. “It’s definitely things that could have been managed. For instance, racing [Christian] Rasmussen for the win at Phoenix, I could have given him a little bit more room, settled for second. Indy road course, I could have not gone too deep coming out of the pits, got a penalty - that was definitely a top three there. 

“Brake failure in Barber [qualifying was] an unfortunate thing. We were told we have to move our brake line; it wasn’t a place I had put it before. A zip-tie broke and that was that. All manageable things. I wouldn’t call it bad luck. 

“The car is really good; the team is really good. You just have to put it together. I do think about Palou at these times and think about how often he puts it together. To be in this place must feel so good, where it’s all flowing for you. But his time will come…”

Upon making that final remark in the post-practice press conference on Friday at this weekend’s Detroit Grand Prix, Power chuckled - maybe a little sinisterly. 

“That was an evil laugh,” he quipped, going on to praise the efforts of the No.10 team. “It’s amazing how well they put it all together. I do think about that. It’s possible. We can do it - we’ve got the cars and everything. Just got to let it happen.”

Credit: Mike Young

Through the first seven races of the campaign, Power has still only recorded a single top-10 result: his third-place, podium finish in Round 3 on the streets of Arlington. 

He was twice more legitimately in the fight for podiums, only for his collision with Ed Carpenter Racing’s Rasmussen to undo his day at Phoenix Raceway and an improper pit exit to derail his chances on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Beyond those instances, he crashed out of the St. Petersburg season-opener, could only recover to 12th at Barber and was handed a drive-through penalty for hitting a member of the No.4 AJ Foyt Racing pit crew in Long Beach when trending for a solid top-10 finish. Most recently, a mechanical failure ended his Indianapolis 500 on Lap 91.

“Frustrated but encouraged,” he assessed of his run of form. “It’s there, for sure, if I just complete the task. Cars are good; just various things going wrong at times. 

“It can beat you down a little bit. That’s the way this sport goes sometimes. I’m very happy with the team. Very good. Very good. We’ve just got to execute a weekend without any sort of issues. Definitely a couple on me, couple things we could have done better. 

“Encouraged, man. It’s there. If we complete it, we’ll be good.”

Power commenced the Detroit weekend - where as on every street course, the expectation is for Andretti to be the benchmark - by placing third overall in practice on the slower primary compound of tyre, having not managed to complete an alternate-tyre run.

“Looking for a good weekend. I say that every time but I really am,” he said. “I really want a good weekend. If we just finish on pace and merit, I think we finish really well.”