Rahal would like to give Formula One star Vettel an IndyCar test

The four-time Formula One world champion, driving Aston Martin, said in an interview during the Miami Formula One Grand Prix last weekend that he prefers “correct” U.S. tracks such as Road America, a street track in Miami Gardens.

Dear IndyCar blogger Matt Archuleta quoted a comment from the German ace on Twitter, which provoked a response from the driver of RLL IndyCar Graham Rahal, who tweeted, “I’ll double it and say it; Sat, if you ever want to test IndyCar on Road America, we’ll do it. It would be an honor to have you in our car! ”

Bobby Rachel, who co-owns Rachel Letterman Lannigan’s team along with David Letterman and Mike Lennigan, responded to his son’s tweet by saying, “Myself, this is a deal if you want.”

Vettel was asked about the possibility after the race, and he replied, “I need to see. But it’s a great track, so let’s see. “

In an interview with Autosport on Monday, three-time IndyCar champion and 1986 Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal said his offer was serious.

“We don’t have any opportunities now, but why not?” he said. “You can’t demonstrate IndyCar in a better place than Road America, and you can’t demonstrate Road America better than IndyCar. So I’d like to see what Vettel thinks.

“Ultimately, does a guy like him want to race IndyCar after a very successful career in Formula One? I don’t know. Many Europeans do not like the idea of ​​oval races. But he is only in his mid-30s, so he has many years left to try other forms of racing. “

When the RLL expanded to three cars in the offseason, adding Christian Lundgaard Rahal’s team has made it clear that he expects his former Formula 2 rookie to follow the full schedule rather than do what Ramon Grosjean and Jimmy Johnson did last year, which focused on road and street courses IndyCar.

Asked if he would be more susceptible to Vettel working part-time to avoid ovals, Rahal replied: “Never say never.”

“Now our sponsors want their boyfriend to be in the car all the time. We have never been in such a situation [fellow team-owner] Ed Carpenter this year, where he adds an extra machine for himself to run only ovals.

“In order for us to do that, it has to be exactly the right situation. But if it were possible to put someone, for example, Seba, in an extra car for some races, we, of course, would have to take this into account.

Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR22

Photo: Zak Mauger / Drawings of motorsport

Rahal noted that the rules have enough flexibility for the team to protest the driver even without any guarantee that he or she will participate in the series.

Since the end of last season, five drivers who do not have drives on the network of IndyCar 2022, tested IndyCar – namely a veteran of the series Ryan Hunter Ray with Ed Carpenter Racing, Nick De Vries from Meyer Shank RaceDane Cameron s Team Penske, and both Nika Hulkenberg and Stoffel Vandorn s Arrow McLaren SP.

“I think other teams will try to question or cry if we check Vettel,” Rahal said. “But if he then held a race or two, the series will give you these days beginners. And I would like to think that IndyCar will be happy if a Formula One racer and a world champion with the highest rating tests one of our cars. ”

Rahal also believes that Vettel still has everything he needs to succeed in the series, and hopes that a level playing field in technology at IndyCar may arouse his interest.

He said: “It seems to me that after four World Cup victories with Red Bull and then many Ferrari victories – driven by two of the best teams in Formula One history – it’s hard to muster the energy and enthusiasm to race cars where you know that you really have no hope of success.

“So maybe getting into IndyCar will revive a guy like Seb, knowing that success depends a lot on him, not on technology. I don’t know for sure, but you can certainly speculate on that.

“Now we’re talking about Vettel, as if his arrival at IndyCar could happen and he might not be interested in it at all! But I would like him to test one of our cars, and he is right – Road America would be a great place to start. “