Unexpectedly, the IndyCar Series paddock has recorded multiple seismic movements at a competitive and dialectical level. Adding to the tension within Andretti Autosport due to the repeated collisions between its own drivers at Mid-Ohio is the drama of the contract dispute between Chip Ganassi Racing and Arrow McLaren SP over the future services of Álex Palou. And with all of this up in the air without a clear resolution, this weekend the return from Toronto street circuitwhich will once again host an IndyCar race for the first time since 2019, kicking off a crucial four-week stretch that will see five of the season’s remaining eight races contested.
The COVID-19 pandemic, and the multiple restrictions on entry and exit to Canada that existed, they forced to cancel this appointment in 2020 and 2021, casting a halo of doubt over the continuity of an event that was already losing its luster due to lower attendance, the lack of local idols and the increasing construction around the track that increasingly complicates logistics. In spite of everything, Toronto resists for now, being the only race on the calendar held outside the United Statesalthough competitions in Canada are quite integrated at almost all levels in the American sports organization chart.
This urban circuit, located around an Exhibition Place stadium that also serves as the name for the track in various media, is one of the shortest routes on the calendar, with just 2,824 meters long. Of course, everything happens in them, especially in turn 3 which is the main overtaking point at the end of Lakeshore Boulevard. Due to an expansion of a nearby hotel in 2016, the pit lane had to be moved from the main straight to the inside of the previous winding corners. This usually generates very uncomfortable situations, since the paddock and the pits have to accommodate many cars in very little spaceand the track has been clearly narrowed and slowed down in that section.
IndyCar has a extensive history on Canadian circuits since the 1960s in its different versions, having competed in Mosport (1967-68, 1977-78), Mont-Tremblant (1967-68, 2007), the Sanair Oval (1984-86), the Vancouver street circuit (1990-2004) , the Gilles Villeneuve de Montréal (2002-2006) and the Edmonton airport (2005-12). But it has been in Toronto where the category found its permanent base in the northlands, being a classic of the calendar since its introduction in 1986following the desire of the category to flee from Sanair, and that of the city to have an event that would rival the Montréal Formula 1 Grand Prix.
Two fast curves towards a much shorter straight saw the first 10 editions, before the construction of the National Trade Center forced the establishment of the esses, gaining length of straight along the way. Before the pandemic absence, Toronto had only been absent from the calendar in 2008 after the reunification between IndyCar and Champ Car as they could not find an alternative date, since it coincided with the Watkins Glen race. On the contrary, hosted double events in 2013 and 2014so this circuit has hosted a total of 36 IndyCar races.
Michael Andretti was the historical dominator with his seven victories between 1989 and 2001, a record unmatched on circuit by any other competitor. The only ones who have attempted to imitate him with three wins were Dario Franchitti and two active competitors, Will Power and Scott Dixon. At the same time, Joseph Newgarden He has won twice on this track, and there could well have been three in 2019 if it hadn’t been for his own mistake in a comeback that handed victory on a silver platter to his then-teammate, Simon Pagenaud.
Before the nine ‘veterans’ who have contested several tests in Toronto, the majority of the grid faces a great unknown: 13 of the 25 registered have never played the Indy Toronto, which represents a renewal of more than 50% of the grid compared to 2019, and seven of them have never raced on this track. Among them is Álex Palou, whose participation in the event continues at the time of writing these lines despite the rumors that pointed to a possible sudden substitution. In turn, the championship leader Marcus Ericson He has only competed here in 2019, and he will have an arduous task ahead of him to defend his 20-point lead with Power, although all this seems to have receded into the background for now.
Regarding Mid-Ohio, the grid loses two troops without the presence of Simona de Silvestro, who will finish the season with Paretta Autosport in Nashville, nor that of Tatiana Calderon, whose continuity in Foyt is suspended due to the non-payment of its sponsor. Even being the least boisterous grid of the year, the 25 cars represent largest enrollment in Toronto since 2012, in a much smaller pit lane that has not seen more than 23 in recent editions. For now, there is room for all of them, something that perhaps next year will be much more complicated. Still, this year the ties will be tighter than ever. The tension can be cut with a knifeand cold wars in the ‘great white north’ will be the order of the day.
Sessions and schedules of the Indy Toronto 2022
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Photos: IndyCar Media