IndyCar CEO Mark Miles wants to clarify why IndyCar has delayed implementation of the hybrid assist unit until after the 2024 Indianapolis 500. This is to ensure all teams in the series have the parts at hand. Same time.
I spoke with Miles over the weekend, and he stressed that if all teams did not have access to the parts before the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 10, IndyCar owner Roger Penske and his staff believed it was best to wait until after the 108th Indianapolis 500 on May 26, 2024.
“As far as the hybrid is concerned, we think all the work done so far, adding up the 15,000 miles of track testing and God knows how many hours on the dyno, has shown that the generation works for our needs,” Miles Me said in an exclusive interview. “The vast majority of testing was on prototype parts. Here are the steps you need to take to make the generation work.
“The challenge that caused this delay is similar to production portions. We keep getting data that didn’t convince us or that we could get good enough production portions in some portions on a giant scale so that they can all be tested and in the hands of the team so that they can get to St. Petersburg.
“If we couldn’t get to St. Pete, we weren’t going to be in any danger with the Indianapolis 500, we’d push them all the way.
“From our point of view, we take it for granted that this formula is going to work; All we have to do is produce it on a giant scale.
IndyCar announced on Dec. 7 that the hybrid assistance unit, a first for the IndyCar Series, would be delayed until midseason.
This sparked a wave of hypotheses on social media and other outlets that the formula would work.
Miles scoffed at those reports.
Penske Entertainment CEO Mark Miles
“The prototypes proved that to us through technology,” Miles said. “Now it’s a question of production.
“I don’t read social media. What worries me are the other people who perceive things and have that perspective.
I asked Miles if it was more about “prevention is better than cure” rather than rushing parts that might not meet the teams’ mandatory offer.
IndyCar has 27 full-time entries for the 2024 season.
“Of course,” Miles replied.
Miles also said a lot of paint has been done on IndyCar’s existing chassis to make it lighter for next season. Because of this, there will be a speed merit even before the assist hybrid unit is used later in the 2024 season. .
“We’ve got some wonderful careers,” Miles said. We did things to make the car lighter for the hybrid system. We’re going to go through that and do some racing, adding the Indianapolis 500 with the lightest car, the hybrid, and guess what’s going to happen?
“It will happen faster.
“When you add the hybrid, the weight will be linked. But by chance, enthusiasts could see the accidental result of a lighter car without adding the hybrid, but that will result in less weight for the existing engine.
“Interesting.”
Ideally, the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series championship would deserve to be contested under the same rules throughout the season. Starting the season without the hybrid and then implementing it mid-schedule, I asked Miles if there were any plans to wait until 2025 to abandon it. to reach the halfway point of the championship.
“We’re going to put him on track when he’s ready,” Miles said. “We believe that all groups will be in the same position. This is a fast hybrid formula and drivers will adapt to it at their own pace. Some will make it better than others when it comes to tactically deciding how to use it.
“We may not wait until next year to implement it. “
Chevrolet and Honda groups at the hybrid pit lane assist tests at Indianapolis MotorArray. [ ] Speedway in October 2023.
The current development of the hybrid support unit was accomplished as part of a collaborative effort between Chevrolet and Honda. Late last week, a Honda executive in the U. S. The U. S. is under pressure that IndyCar wants it to be more successful for the automaker to remain in the series after 2026.
“We have a very smart track record of controlling charges,” Miles told me. “We will continue to take control. We are going to launch the hybrid and continue working on the sequel. If the existing agreement is extended until 2026, according to my calculations, it will be 3 years.
“We’re going to work on all of this. We know it’s vital to lower prices for competitors and manufacturers.
“We all know that and we’re all working on it. “
The hybrid formula is made up of the engine-generator (MGU) and the power garage formula (ESS), either of which has internal crankcase compatibility, between the IndyCar series combustion engine and the gearbox. Various regeneration and deployment methods were tested, such as the force unit, generates and transmits force through the MGU before being recorded in the ESS ultracapacitor.
The additional force is deployed through the same motor-generator. Unlike IndyCar’s classic push-to-pass system, the hybrid powertrain will have no restriction on the total time spent in a race.
Additional testing and continued progression of the hybrid package will continue throughout the winter and spring months ahead of the first race in 2024.
More information on the competitive launch of the hybrid drive will be announced at a later date.
“I like what I think the hybrid will offer to enthusiasts, which is strength and more strategy in the hands (or feet) of the driver,” Miles told me last week. “I think it’s wonderful and that’s the promise of that, along with other things like protection and fewer yellows and shorter yellows.
“A large amount of painting has been done. Many hours and kilometers on the track, on test benches with parts as they were developed. It is very complicated because it is a formula that was originally developed. We do not buy the battery from anyone.
“Honda, Chevrolet and Ilmor, along with IndyCar, have worked hand in hand to achieve it all. Their collaboration has been very effective and will pay off for years to come.
“It’s not done, even if lots has been done. The last thing we want to do is put it in a race and not have it up to snuff. We have to get it right.”
Miles told me it would have been wonderful if he had been available for St. Petersburg, but it’s not the end of the world that maybe it isn’t.
“The most important thing is that when he shows up, he’s going to be reliable and it’s going to be our race,” Miles said. “It has to be reliable and it will supply more power. I think it’s pretty transparent how it will be used and will give the driver more options.
“Every new progression comes with risks. Change comes with risk. Technical progression comes with risks.
“Everything fixes itself over time. “
Hybrid allocation remains IndyCar’s priority for 2024 and making sure it works and that the whole box has the unit and all the parts.
“We are committed to the hybrid and its development. It’s still done. His arrival in the races has not yet been done and that is the priority. We want to clear that up before we start talking about what’s next with the car. “
“This is the step and it has to be our priority. “