Graham Rahal talks hybrid power and takeaways from Indy 500 Open Test 

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing star Graham Rahal put forth his views on IndyCar's hybrid power system and takeaways from the Indy 500 Open Test on Instagram.

For the unversed, IndyCar officially launched the hybrid power system in 2024. It used an Energy Storage System (ESS) and a Motor Generator Unit (MGU) to enhance the vehicle's power, allowing drivers to restart stalled cars and increase acceleration.

Reflecting upon his performance at the Indy 500 Open Test, Rahal wrote:

"Productive couple of days here at the greatest race track in the world. It doesn’t get much better than a few days under the Indiana sunshine at IMS. The hybrid has added a whole new element to this program, tricky to figure out, but feeling positive about where we are heading into the month. Up next, the Augusta of Motorsports, @barbermotorpark. 👊"

The Indy 500 Open Test spanned two days on April 23 and 24, 2025. On the first day of the test, Rahal secured a huge save for himself by brushing the wall, damaging the right rear suspension. Updating his fans on the first day of the Indy 500 Open Test, Rahal mentioned:

"Cut it a little close in 3 and just barely caught the fence. We’re good though! Other than that a pretty solid first day and we get to crank up the boost tomorrow!"

---

Graham Rahal delivers honest take on 2025 Indy 500, reflecting on past struggles

Graham Rahal sat for an interview with an NTT IndyCar Series media personnel on Day 2 of the Indy 500 Open Test, wherein he commented on his vision for this year's Indianapolis 500-Mile race.

The RLL driver mentioned that the test helped him and his team check the car's natural speed, adding that speed wasn't something the team had since the last couple of years. While Rahal finished in the top 10 from 2015-21, one of the main reasons behind the speedster slipping to 18th place in the 2024 season was his ride's Honda engine, which kept getting him grid penalties. Owing to the same, Graham Rahal's best finish in the 2024 season was an 8th-place finish in Iowa.

Commenting on possible improvements before 2025's Indy 500, Rahal said:

"Obviously we still need to work on the car balance a little bit. Umm...tire wear was extremely high just being green track. I think I was one of the first three or four guys out on track so tire wear was pretty significant but you know I mean look uh all in all is just fine."

Talking about changes made to RLL's rides through the course of the off-season, Graham Rahal said that if the changes didn't work out this time, it'll have him "scratch his head" wondering what went wrong again.

Rahal added that bringing in engineers equipped with Formula 1 experience, who didn't have a good grasp on Indy and its methodology, brought the team on its back foot, resulting in Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing having to come out and start over.

---

6-time IndyCar series race winner Graham Rahal is 17th on the NTT IndyCar series points table with a total of 45 points.