Two French drivers, Simon Pagenaud and Romain Grosjean, are lined up in Indycar during the 17 races of the 2022 season. All the information in our guide.
They were three last season, now there are only two French pilots to make up the Indycar championship line-up. In the absence of Sébastien Bourdais, quadruple ChampCar champion, the colors of France are worn by Simon Pagenaud, champion in 2016 and winner of the 2019 Indianapolis 500 miles, and Romain Grosjeanwhich joined the North American series at the start of 2021. On an urban, road or oval circuit, the championship is structured around 17 rounds, from February 26 in St. Petersburg (Florida) until September 11 in Laguna Seca (California).
Calendar
While the previous season was launched in mid-April, the 2022 vintage begins almost two months earlier. From this Sunday, February 26, the Indycar lands in Florida, on the street circuit of St. Petersburg. This is the first time in two decades that the series has picked up so early. The number of races is maintained at 17, meaning that the calendar is less dense than last year. As often, it’s the September which marks the end of the seasonin this case on Sunday September 11 on the famous route of Dry Lagoon in Monterey, California. From 17 events on the program of the 2022 financial year, there is a good balance between the three types of routes, with a total of 5 races on urban circuit, 7 on roadincluding two in Indianapolis, and 5 on oval, including a double run at Iowa Speedway. Note that the famous Indianapolis 500 miles is credited with its usual slot, on Sunday May 29.
- February 27: St. Petersburg (Florida) – Urban
- 20 mars : Fort Worth (Texas) – Ovale
- April 10: Long Beach (California) – Urban
- 1er mai : Barber, Birmingham (Alabama) – Routier
- May 14: Indianapolis GP 1/2 (Indiana) – Road
- 29 may : 500 miles d’Indianapolis (Indiana) – Ovalea
- June 5: Belle Isle, Detroit (Michigan) – Urban
- 12 juin : Road America, Elkhart Lake (Wisconsin) – Routier
- 03 juillet : Mid-Ohio, Lexington (Ohio) – Routier
- July 17: Toronto (Ontario, Canada) – Urban
- July 23: Iowa Speedway, Newton 1/2 (Iowa) – Oval
- July 24: Iowa Speedway, Newton 2/2 (Iowa) – Oval
- July 30: Indianapolis GP 2/2 (Indiana) – Road
- August 07: Nashville (Tennessee) – Urban
- August 20: Gateway, Madison, IL – Oval
- September 04: Portland (Oregon) – Road
- September 11: Laguna Seca, Monterey (California) – Road
Drivers and teams
Surprising champion in 2021, young Spaniard Alex Palou puts his crown back on the line. His main rivals, Josef Newgarden, Patricio O’Ward, Scott Dixon and Colton Herta, are all on the hunt for the title. For the first time since 2017, Helio Castronevesoutgoing winner at Indy 500, participates in the entire season. Among pilots who went full-timethe focus is on Romain Grosjean, who had said a year earlier that he did not want to race on an oval, but the former F1 driver has since changed his mind. While Sébastien Bourdais left the series after the loss of his steering wheel at AJ Foyt, Simon Pagenaud left Penskewith whom he was crowned champion in 2016, for join the ranks of Meyer Shank Racingalongside Castroneves. Find below the list of participants, with an asterisk for drivers not participating in the entirety of this 2022 season.
Chip Ganassi Racing (Honda)
- 8 – Marcus Ericsson (SUE)
- 9 – Scott Dixon (NZ)
- 10 – Alex Palou (ESP)
- 48 – Jimmie Johnson (USA)
- NC – Tony Kanaan (BRE) *
Andretti Autosport (Honda)
- 26 – Colton Herta (USA)
- 27 – Alexander Rossi (USA)
- 28 – Romain Grosjean (FRA)
- 29 – Devlin DeFrancesco (CAN) – Rookie
- 98 – Marco Andretti (USA) *
Team Penske (Chevrolet)
- 2 – Josef Newgarden (USA)
- 3 – Scott McLaughlin (NZ)
- 12 – Will Power (AUS)
Arrow McLaren SP (Chevrolet)
- 5 – Patricio O’Ward (MEX)
- 6 – Juan Pablo Montoya (COL) *
- 7 – Felix Rosenqvist (SUE)
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Honda)
- 15 – Graham Rahal (USA)
- 30 – Christian Lundgaard (DAN)
- 45 – Jack Harvey (GB)
Ed Carpenter Racing (Chevrolet)
- 20 – Conor Daly (USA)
- 21 – Rinus VeeKay (PB)
- NC – Ed Carpenter (USA) *
AJ Foyt Enterprises (Chevrolet)
- 4 – Dalton Kellett (CAN)
- 11 – Tatiana Calderon (COL) * – Rookie
- 14 – Kyle Kirkwood (USA) – Rookie
Meyer Shank Racing (Honda)
- 6 – Helio Castroneves (BRE)
- 60 – Simon Pagenaud (FRA)
Dayle Coyne Racing (Honda)
- 18 – David Malukas (USA) – Rookie
- 51 – Takuma Sato (JAP)
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (Chevrolet)
- 23 – Santino Ferrucci (USA) *
- 24 – Sage Karam (USA) *
Juncos Hollinger Racing (Chevrolet)
- 77 – Callum Ilott (GB) – Rookie
TV programs
As in recent seasons, the broadcasting rights in France for the North American series of single-seaters are held by the Canal+ group. In most cases, Indycar races are broadcast and directly. This is the case for the first round, disputed at St. Petersburg (Florida), starring in Canal+Décalé, Sunday February 27 from 6:25 p.m.. A rebroadcast is scheduled for the next morning, Monday February 28 at 9 a.m., on Canal+Sport.
Ranking 2021
- Alex Palou – 549 pts
- Josef Newgarden – 511 pts
- Patricio O’Ward – 487 pts
- Scott Dixon – 481 pts
- Colton Herta – 455 pts
- Marcus Ericsson – 435 pts
- Graham Rahal – 389 pts
- Simon Pagenaud – 383 pts
- Will Power – 357 pts
- Alexander Rossi – 332 pts
- Takuma Sato – 324 pts
- Rinus Veekay – 308 pts
- Jack Harvey – 308 pts
- Scott McLaughlin – 305 pts
- Romain Grosjean – 272 pts
- Sebastien Bourdais – 258 pts
Photo : Icon Sport
More informations :
Rehabilitation, Indycar, Andros… Romain Grosjean confides – PODCAST
Alex Palou celebrates his Indycar championship title with an atypical vehicle
Why Romain Grosjean is happier in Indycar
