Santino Ferrucci is looking to bounce back in the 2026 IndyCar season. An inconsitent year saw him finish 16th in the standings in 2025, a drop of 7 places compared to 2024.
Unforced errors hampered 2025 campaign
The Foyt driver was self-conscious as to where his 2026 campaign could improve compared to last season, which did see a couple of podiums in the middle of the year.
“Yeah, I think some of the inconsistencies are kind of more on my side of things than anything else. I think the team really straightened everything out come the 500 to the end of the season. I kind of made some unforced errors in a couple of races, which kind of put us on a back foot.
“Being able to go through those and get everything sorted going into this year will be a big deal. I think having a more consistent platform this year with the team will be a big help and a big change for us as far as a steadier pace.
“I think there’s no reason as to why we can’t keep that same pace that we had in the middle of the season this year with a couple of podiums and top 5s.”
Consistency is key for Ferrucci
Next season will be Ferrucci’s fourth with A.J. Foyt Enterprises, providing IndyCar’s enfant terrible with a stable background going into 2026.
“Obviously every year we continue to build the team with Larry,” Ferrucci explained to Pit Debrief and other media outlets. “I think me coming back and working with the engineers and mechanics, like I said, this is the first year — I talked with Larry, I think it’s one of the first years in a long time the team has had almost zero turnover, if any at all, year after year as far as mechanics and engineers go. So it’s a really big deal.
“We’re building something consistent, something that is competitive, and I’m just really happy to be a part of it, and with now the full-time sponsor of Homes For Our Troops, the livery won’t change all year, which is another big thing. Less work for the mechanics, less things to worry about come race weekends.”
When asked, Santino Ferrucci emphasises that consistency is the thing bringing the 14 car back into the top 10 of the 2026 IndyCar championship.
“Just consistency with the team,” the 27-year-old replied. “I think we had crew changes last year, with engineering changes last year, everything staying the same from the middle of the ’25 season going through the ’26 season will be a big step forward for us.
“Car prep is a big thing. Indy we missed a couple of things, so we’re very much ahead of that, and just overall consistency with the team.
“Having a good teammate again [Caio Collet], there’s just a lot of things that are going to make this year a little bit less stressful and easier for everybody.“
Indy 500 win is on the table
With the Foyt cars traditionally being strong at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Santino Ferrucci is again looking at a great finish at The Greatest Spectacle in Racing. In fact, he even thinks an Indy 500 win might be feasible, with the preparation the team is having.
“I don’t see why we can’t have the same expectations,” he explains. “I think losing a bunch of points in Detroit and then a couple of the races to where I wasn’t at my best really hurt us. There’s no reason as to why you can’t sit there and continue to fight to be in the top 5 of this championship, given the consistency and the prep that we’re at and the team this winter.
“I think the odds for us to win the 500 for our car are higher than they’ve ever been. There’s a lot of big things going into this year, a lot of momentum that I’m very excited about.”
