Grosjean happy that “tricky” IndyCar hybrid has been postponed

Romain Grosjean says he’s “happy” that IndyCar has postponed the implementation of its electrical hybrid until after the Indianapolis 500, so nobody gains an unfair advantage.

Testing of the new supercapacitor system has been carried out by the grandee teams of engine suppliers Chevrolet and Honda – namely Team Penske and Arrow McLaren, and Andretti Global and Chip Ganassi Racing respectively.

The 2.2-liter twin turbocharged V6 engine fitted with the hybrid technology was originally planned to be ready by the season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on 10 March.

Despite over 15,256 miles of testing logged with the new power unit at Indianapolis (on the oval and road course), Milwaukee Mile, St. Louis, Barber Motorsports Park, Road America and Sebring in post-2023 season running, the program was postponed in December until after May’s Indy 500.

“I think for us, it was tricky,” said Grosjean, who switches from Andretti to the smaller Juncos Hollinger Racing for 2024. “It was an advantage for some that was pretty significant, and when we were doing the drivers' meeting early in December, the guys were asking a question about the hybrid, and I had no idea what they were talking about.

“Definitely kind of happy that it's been postponed. It's also going to allow us to start with a known concept on the car and move from there and see when the hybrid comes in, and hopefully by then we do have a lot more knowledge on it.”

Photo by: IndyCar Series

Will Power participating in Indianapolis 500 Hybrid Testing

Conversely, those drivers who have had the benefit of testing miles with the hybrid system say that it is working well and that they have full confidence in it when it does come on stream later this year.

Penske’s Will Power said: “I've done quite a few test days where you just run all day, two days, and no problems. No problems at all.”

In terms of why the postponement was required, he added: “I think it's a bit of everything, a little bit of supply issue and so on. To me, I think IndyCar wants it to be absolutely bulletproof when it's introduced, so I think they made the right decision there.

“The testing has been good. The system has worked really well. I think the way it's packaged and everything is really good. It just needs a little bit more time. That's all.

“I think they want to introduce it with absolutely zero chance of problems, and that's the smart way to do it.”