Marcus Ericsson currently leads the IndyCar standings over Pato O'Ward by 3 points and this year we have seen a different Marcus Ericsson compared to seasons past and given that he is out of contract for the 2024 season, where could the Swedish driver land?
What is Ericsson's season up to Indy Road Course?
It is no secret that the one area that the Huski Chocolate Honda driver needed to improve on was qualifying and in 2 of the first 3 races of the 2023 season, that improvement has been clear to see. St Petersburg, he qualified in 4th and was there or thereabouts within touching distance of the cars in front but when he needed to seize the opportunity of a race win and that he did. At the last race in Long Beach, he was less than a tenth of a second off pole which sounds impressive but when you consider that he was on a scrubbed set of alternates (compared to pole sitter Kyle Kirkwood, who was on fresh alternates) and started P2. Once again he had the pace of the leader, even after an incident with O'Ward. Texas was a race where anything could have happened which was proven but the Swede qualified a lowly P16 but came up to finish P8 but a lap down.
Moving to Barber and it was an average weekend for the Swede with a P13 qualifying spot on Saturday was rounded out with a P10 on Sunday. Barber Motorsport Park was a different race from the 3 prior as there wasn't any chaos or fuel-saving but it was a strategy race. The options for the race are to do a major fuel-save and do a 2-stop race or do a minor fuel-save and do a 3-stop. The Huski Chocolate crew gambled on a 2-stop strategy
There's no doubt that season on season Ericsson has always improved and the 106th running of the Indianapolis was a fine example of that improvement, driving in a manner that we haven't seen before by swerving side to side in the closing 2 laps. This season the biggest difference is that Ericsson has been consistently quick from the get-go which has put him in a position to achieve the desired results.
Race | 2022 Qualifying | 2023 Qualifying | 2022 Race | 2023 Race |
St Petersburg | P8 | P4 | P9 | P1 |
Texas Motor Speedway | P14 | P18 | P3 | P8 |
Long Beach | P8 | P2 | P22 | P3 |
Barber Motorsport Park | P12 | P13 | P12 | P10 |
Where has Ericsson improved?
The 8 team had an engineer shuffle with Mike O'Gara, formerly on the timing stand for Ericsson, has been moved onto the Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing IMSA program so to replace him the team poached Taylor Kiel from Arrow McLaren and so far in 2023, they have developed a mentality that has excelled so far with a win, a podium, and 2 Firestone Fast 6 appearances.
2024 options?
It is no secret that 2023 is a contract year for the Swede and he isn't short of options. You'd think the best place for him is to re-sign with Chip Ganassi Racing as he has had his best few years in motorsport with them. The biggest question for Ericsson will be what sort of a driver he will be on any team. Currently at Chip Ganassi Ericsson is considered a paid driver meaning he brings all of the funding for the number 8 Huski Chocolate Honda whereas his teammates Scott Dixon and Alex Palou are all fully funded by the team but should Chip Ganassi Racing decide not to retain Ericsson just what are his options for the 2024 season?
Arrow McLaren:
Having recently speculated that the team will look to add a 4th car onto its' roster and with Alexander Rossi and Pato O'Ward already tied down, it is once again a battle for Felix Rosenqvist to remain in the 6 NTT Data Arrow McLaren Chevrolet with Alex Palou joining the team for the 2024 season. So if Rosenqvist is not to be retained by the team and a 4th car is introduced, surely Arrow McLaren and Zak Brown will be all over Ericsson which would see the Swedish driver return to the team that he made his IndyCar debut with, just under a different name (Arrow Schmidt Petersen Motorsport). If Ericsson was to leave then I don't see a return to Arrow McLaren for Marcus Ericsson mainly because of the stable of drivers that they have at their disposal.
Meyer Shank Racing:
A team that really needs some spark, even though they have 4x Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves and 1x Indy 500 winner Simon Pagenaud, the team really hasn't closed the gap towards the main 4 teams in the series (Arrow McLaren, Chip Ganassi Racing, Andretti Autosport, and Team Penske). Bringing in Ericsson would revitalise the team given what he brings to any team, given he has improved his qualifying starting position then that would put Meyer Shank Racing (if he went there) on the podium more often than what they have been on a Sunday. If Ericsson was to leave then I don't see Ericsson dropping to a team that is struggling to compete for the top 10 on a regular basis.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan:
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is in the same boat as Meyer Shank Racing, they haven't really improved since they fell back down the pecking order and haven't won a race since 2019 at Barber Motorsports Park with Takuma Sato but haven't really ever looked like competing for a podium yet alone for a race win, so would it really be an attractive move for Ericsson? If Ericsson was to leave then I don't see Ericsson joining Rahal Letterman Lanigan purely because they aren't a team that seems the be on the up and it would mean that the team would have to go to a 4-car team if the team doesn't move any of the current drivers on.
Andretti Autosport:
Andretti Autosport could be an interesting one for Ericsson and if it was to happen then surely he would replace Devlin DeFrancesco in the number 29 machine. We would also get to see Romain Grosjean and Ericsson as teammates and if everyone casts their minds back to Baku 2018 and the famous "Ericsson hit us" when Grosjean crashed into the wall by himself. Andretti Autosport looks back to their best with Grosjean being a podium sitter this season, Kyle Kirkwood a race winner, Herta who's having an average season by his standards, and DeFrancesco who is underperforming. So maybe it is a move that could be of interest to the Swede. If Ericsson was to leave then I could see if moving to Andretti Autosport as he wouldn't be a pay driver anymore but that all depends on Michael Andretti keeping a 4 car team.
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