Written by Caitlyn Gordon, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
The 2023 part-time rookie has been confirmed to be continuing his IndyCar career with Chip Ganassi for 2024, and will be competing full-time next season after securing a multi-year deal.
The young New Zealander currently races only on street and road course races this season, with Takuma Sato piloting the #11 on the oval events. Armstrong has made quite the impression during his rookie season; he sits higher than all the other rookie drivers in the IndyCar standings – who all are full-time drivers.
Armstrong leads the Rookie of the Year standings heading into the final round and has four top 10 finishes this season. Although disappointed to have not finished higher than P8, Chip Ganassi has spoken highly of the youngster, and is impressed with his mindset for wanting to push for further improvements, and better results.
Armstrong headed into IndyCar from Formula 2; he competed in three seasons in Europe, before announcing he would be heading to America for the foreseeable future. He is just one driver of a big pool of F2 drivers who have migrated over to the American series. Callum Ilott and Christian Lundgaard are amongst the big names to have headed to IndyCar in recent years.
Armstrong has been teammates with three big names in IndyCar this season, helping him gain crucial pointers and tips to improve even further. Working alongside veteran Scott Dixon, Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson, and World Champion Alex Palou has given Armstrong a heap of data to look at and work with.
Armstrong was certainly delighted to be continuing at the team for 2024, and said:
"I am very proud and excited to continue with Chip Ganassi Racing for next year and beyond. Together with this very talented and experienced team, I am confident we can compete at the highest level in this championship. I feel very grateful that Chip has given me the time to adapt to INDYCAR and has helped me every step of the way in what has been a good season."
He will complete an oval test at Texas Motor Speedway to gain his first experience ahead of also competing on ovals next year – something he has often spoken about being keen to do during this year.
Comments