IndyCar debut on the horizon for Kiwi driver Marcus Armstrong

Marcus Armstrong will make his IndyCar debut this weekend. Photo / Getty Images

A change of scenery has suited Marcus Armstrong nicely.

After three seasons in Europe driving in Formula 2, the 22-year-old is set to make his IndyCar debut on Monday when the season gets underway in St Petersburg, Florida.

Signed by IndyCar heavyweights Chip Ganassi Racing to drive the road and street courses, Armstrong has hit the ground running in familiarising himself with his new car. At a testing session in California last month, was the fifth-fastest of 27 entrants in the two days of testing. He was also one of only seven drivers to complete 100 or more laps.

It will be a different feeling heading into his debut race week as opposed to a testing session, but Armstrong told the Herald everything had been going to plan so far.

“It’s pretty lively. I’ve been pretty much at the factory every single day since I arrived in. So, there’s been a lot of work, but honestly, it’s been as good as I could have asked really,” Armstrong said.

“We’ve had a really good pre-season build up a couple of good test days, consistently performing well, so I’m feeling very optimistic heading into this weekend.

“It’s my first IndyCar weekend, so I don’t even really know what to expect in many ways, but what I do know is the team is great, Chip Ganassi Racing, the car is fast and I feel confident in the car. What more could I ask for?”

While this weekend’s event will be his first in the famed American series, Armstrong has shown he has the pace to challenge the front of the grid.

A young driver who constantly sets high targets to aim for, Armstrong won’t be able to challenge for the overall title even with his best driving as he is only running a partial programme in his debut campaign – with Japanese driver Takuma Sato taking the wheel of his car for the oval races.

Instead, it is race wins that he will be targeting in 2023.

“From a performance standpoint, I wanted to and expected to be there or thereabouts straightaway,” he said.

“I hope we can contend for race wins this year and I’d love to win one. But I’ve got to learn, I’ve got to figure out what I need to do to get that done because I don’t know what I don’t know.

“There are pros and cons to it. You can’t get inside your own head that way, but at the same time, it’s such a high-level category that you need to get everything nailed to win.

“This is what I love about IndyCar, I’m going to be challenging myself, I’m going to be really pushing to the maximum and that’s what I love about racing.”

Armstrong will be one of three Kiwi drivers on the grid in St Petersburg, alongside Chip Ganassi Racing teammate and six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon, and 2021 series rookie of the year Scott McLaughlin, who drives for Team Penske.