Alexander Rossi’s move from Arrow McLaren to Ed Carpenter Racing was among the biggest changes on the IndyCar grid for 2025. The American driver discussed the terms of his move, how it all happened and how he is getting ready for the new challenge.
A radical rebrand
The former Andretti driver began by describing the changes his new team is undergoing thanks to the significant sponsorship recently signed by ECR with sweetener brand Splenda during a media session attended by Pit Debrief and other accredited media.
“I think the team is changing at a rapid rate, which is pretty exciting to witness and be a part of. I think that there’s a lot of excitement internally about the things that are going on. It’s certainly a busy time for everyone involved. We’re all still trying to find our place a little bit in somewhat of a totally new organization.”
Rossi has already had his first impact with Ed Carpenter Racing. In fact, he was part of a brief test at Indianapolis. However, he was left wanting for more as he looks forward to the beginning of racing season in St. Petersburg.
“But it’s going really well, and the experience that I’ve had so far has been nothing short of awesome. Looking forward to getting on track in February at Sebring. And then, seeing where that takes us for the first week of March.”
First impressions are everything
Asked on how positive had the experience been, the winner of the 2016 Indy 500 replied he was left satisfied by the operating level of the team.
“Yeah, for sure. That was a good one to get under our belt kind of right before the super long break kicked off. The car and team operated at a level that you would expect based on their previous results and past performances at Indianapolis. So that was a pretty seamless day and an exciting day for everyone, to have our new partners in Splenda and Java House on board and represented.
“As I said, it’s growing and changing every day. So what you saw in October, it’s going to be a very different look come February and March,” he added.
Slow and steady evolution
Ed Carpenter Racing will also be a brand new challenge for Rossi. In fact, rather than joining a front-running team like he did so with Andretti and McLaren, he is now part of a growing organisation instead. The former Formula 1 driver stressed the importance of mentality and the positive evolution the team will undergo, especially with the new resources now available.
Nonetheless, he reminded that it won’t be an easy process. ECR have only won one race this decade as Rinus VeeKay took out the 2021 event on the Indianapolis road course.
“I don’t really look at it that way so much as I think if you ask everyone at the organization where they’ve been the past couple years is not where they want to be, where they expect to be. So there was the effort and the search, I guess is the right term maybe, for how do they and we now as an organization change what the past couple of years have been.”
Incredibly competitive
“This series is so competitive, and there is every year more cars and drivers that are capable of winning. Like what do we need to do from a staffing, investment, procedure, mindset standpoint to bridge the gap and make the step that everyone else is making. That’s a work in progress. That doesn’t happen overnight.
“But I certainly think that steps are being made in the right direction, steps that are very cool to see.”
All in all, Rossi has a good feeling for the upcoming season.
“I think there’s the potential to surprise a lot of people at points in 2025. Obviously, as I said, nothing happens overnight. We’re not going to go from the results that have existed the past couple of years to all of a sudden winning every race sort of thing, but I do think that everything in this sport is very small margins.”
Focus on long-term
“We’ve often talked about this car has been around for so long. It’s not that there’s some magic thing out there. It’s about putting puzzle pieces together correctly and executing efficiently, and that can add up to results pretty quickly.
“We have the tools and resources and are gathering the tools and resources that didn’t necessarily exist in the past. That’s opening doors and opportunities for what should be a step forward for the organization in ’25.”
Another reason why the Nevada City-born driver is so positive is the long-term plans at ECR.
This, tied with a great, tightly knitted team structure all aiming for the best results has him totally committed to the project.
“Then this is a long-term thing that I’m a part of. Something that’s very exciting to be a part of, to contribute to. To do it alongside someone that I have a very good working and personal relationship. With Ed, something that I feel like we as a group, Ed, myself, Christian, Ted Gelov from Heartland, we can all do as this kind of foursome and push things forward and get the results that we want.
