Alexander Rossi sends strong message to IndyCar to solve burning calendar issue

The Ed Carpenter Racing driver Alexander Rossi recently brought the attention of the IndyCar's decision makers to the 'insane' long break in IndyCar. The 2025 IndyCar season has witnessed strong numbers in terms of fan engagement so far despite the burning calendar issue.

Rossi stressed that there shouldn't be long breaks, as he believes it disrupted the flow/momentum the 2025 IndyCar season picked up with the pre-season promotional activities and stuff.

On the Off Track with Hinch and Rossi show on YouTube, the 33-year-old racer added:

"I also think and it has to change, it has to change. Whoever is in charge of this, needs to, I don't care what the roadblocks are, fix it. The 3-week gap is insane. Like its just insane, we have so much investment and so much momentum, coming of the Super Bowl, going into St. Pete, record TV numbers, freaking everything's good, everything's bada**, and then we disappear." (From 31:25 onwards).

The first Grand Prix of the 2025 IndyCar season took place on March 2, whereas Round 2, the Thermal Club Grand Prix, took place on March 23. Moreover, Round 3 will kick-off from April 11 onwards. These long breaks are one of the main Achilles' heels in IndyCar's popularity, as per Rossi.

Alexander Rossi manages a P9 finish at Thermal Club

Alexander Rossi - Source: Getty

While Alexander Rossi has bashed the decision makers around IndyCar for the long breaks in the race calendar, he had a fruitful outing in last week's 65-lap Thermal Club Grand Prix.

The 33-year-old put in a stellar drive to end his outing at the event with a respectable P9 finish, ahead of the six-time IndyCar world champion, Scott Dixon.

Before the Thermal Club event, Rossi had the following to add via The Race:

"This car feels so...it brings me back a couple years, it's so much more familiar to me than anything that I had at McLaren. That gives me a lot of, happiness, I guess is the right word. Because the underlying fundamental elements of the car are very, very good. When you break it down to the simple stuff, is it good on the brakes? Yes. Is it good in straightline traction events? Yes. Is it good in high-speed [corners]? Yes."

Alexander Rossi has been competing in the highest class of open-wheel racing in America since the 2016 St. Petersburg race. He has so far made 147 race starts and has eight Grand Prix wins, 30 podiums, and seven pole positions.

In the 2024 IndyCar season, Rossi ended his 17-race campaign in 10th place with 366 points. In the process of doing so, he managed three top-five and 10 top-ten finishes. Keeping this in view, he would like a better overall finish this year.