The last week of October started with a major IndyCar test at Barber Motorsports Park, with four teams and five drivers present. With the presence of a single veteran, this test served as a good additional experience for the potential rookies of 2022. Two of them were contesting their first test behind the wheel of an IndyCar and were the highlights of the day: David Malukas, who had the best time, and Nico Hülkenberg, in an exploratory test with McLaren SP That does not bring a competitive opportunity in a possible third car for now.
The accuracy of the times in these tests is always conditioned by the different hours of filming, batches, use of tires and ‘push to pass’. With all this in mind, Malukas set the best time of the day after 136 laps in the # 18 Dale Coyne Racing car. His 1: 06.398 left him eight tenths behind the best time of the Alabama Grand Prix last April, which would have been enough to qualify for the top 12. The American driver finished six tenths ahead of Kyle Kirkwood, who beat him for the Indy Lights title, and who was contesting his second test at # 26 at Andretti Autosport.
Malukas led with authority on his first day in an IR18 / @ IndyCar Media
Rumors that place Malukas at the wheel of # 18 instead of Ed Jones have been fueled by the presence on your car of the HMD Motorsports logos, the Indy Lights team owned by his father that seeks to align with the formation that hires him, and which in turn fuels the possible departure of current co-owners Vasser Sullivan to another team. The pilot himself considers it this way: «All arrows are pointing at Dale Coyne, and after this test, it seems like a guaranteed decision.. We’ve looked at a number of other offerings and equipment, and this one seems the best overall. They have helped me like no other, and I am more than happy with them. This is where it all begins, and now you have to give your best, but finishing first is something that boosts my confidence.
Hopefully, Hülkenberg was the slowest of the five competitors in the # 7 car usually occupied by Felix Rosenqvist, and the only one who did not drop from 1:07, with a best time of 1: 07.454, just over a second behind Malukas after completing 108 laps. After more than a decade at the wheel of Formula 1 cars, the German driver’s adaptation to the handling of an IndyCar encountered the usual difficulties, being especially demanding for him the higher temperatures in the passenger compartment with the Aeroscreen and, above all, the absence of the power steering. A fact that the main protagonists have hinted more or less clearly in their statements.
«I can confirm that the steering of these cars is monstrous. I have to go to the gym more!», Assured the German in statements to RACER. “It is always different when you experience it for yourself, but the forces when turning are very impressive, very hard. The G-forces are still there, even if they are not as extreme as in F1, and combined with the steering it makes for a very physical car. (…) It’s been a year since I’ve been in a car, so coming back has been nice. Everything is very different from a Formula 1 car: the general feel, the sound, the seating position … (adjusting) took all morning.
“I had some problems with the Aeroscreen in the morning, because not much air gets in. It was a bit tricky and difficult to feel very happy in the car from a physical point of view‘Continued Hülkenberg, as his team put him through all possible gasoline and tire situations with temperatures ranging from 18 to 26 degrees. “After noon we had made good progress, I was more in rhythm, and the times started to arrive. It has been a successful day from my point of view and I am glad I had the opportunity. The team is very professional, I would say very F1 style because of how you work and because of communications ».
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The second best time of the day, three tenths behind Malukas and without using push-to-pass, was for the veteran Ryan Hunter-Reay in Ed Carpenter Racing car # 20, usually held by Conor Daly on the circuits and boss Ed Carpenter on the ovals. This status, as confirmed by Carpenter himself, will continue in 2022 regardless of the driver who ends up at the wheel, a shortlist in which Hunter-Reay and Daly share options with an Oliver Askew who already raced with the team this year at Road America as an emergency substitute.
Initially, this test had to have the presence of Logan sargeant at the wheel of an AJ Foyt Racing car, but Formula 3 driver canceled what would have been his first IndyCar experience after entering the Williams academy, which will bring him a seat in F2. In this way, the Andretti team completed the participation in this test with Kirkwood and Devlin DeFrancesco, both in their second test after debuting at Mid-Ohio this month. Although not many details have been known, it was surprising to see DeFrancesco, who has only added two podiums this year, with a time two-tenths better than the Indy Lights champion.
Both Kirkwood and Malukas, who won 16 of the 20 Indy Lights races in 2021, They will get back in an IndyCar this Friday at the Indianapolis GP variant as part of the prize for finishing in the first three places in the lower category. The first will continue with an Andretti Autosport that continues to look for avenues to line up in the absence of the Colton Herta unknown being resolved, while Malukas has reached an agreement with the almighty Team Penske for a test that will complete the third classified, Linus lundqvist, in his case in another Andretti car.