"He's like Adrian Newey" - IndyCar presenter gives honest take on AJ Foyt Racing losing its technical mastermind

AJ Foyt Racing's former Technical Director Michael Cannon left the IndyCar team after the 2024 season. The IndyCar commentator Tom Gaymore was featured on the latest episode of Divebomb IndyCar podcast and made his feelings clear on how Cannon’s departure will affect AJ Foyt Racing.

Gaymore and the host of the podcast discussed AJ Foyt Racing’s chances of being a title contender for the 2025 IndyCar championship with David Malukas and Santino Ferrucci. He brought up Michael Cannon’s departure as he said:

“Think the biggest story of this off season is Michael Cannon. It was the biggest story when he joined AJ Foyt. It was a smash and grab from Penske to get him away from Chip Ganassi.”

The IndyCar presenter detailed that despite having the data from the previous years under Cannon, it won't be of much use since Firestone is developing new tires.

“The tires are going to be different this year, we think, because of what they learned last year. Firestone takes six to eight months to build their tires for the season. So we're going to have a much bigger gulf, certainly on the road and street courses, the delta between the Primary and the option. So I think we'll be going back a few years in terms of seeing that sort of tire deg,” added Gaymore.

“And can they survive without him? I genuinely think he's like Adrian Newey. So I don't think they'll be going for the championship. Certainly now is not in their stable. He might go back, you never know. No one knows.”

Michael Cannon joined AJ Foyt Racing before the start of the 2023 IndyCar series. Team Penske tried to pursue the IndyCar genius to their outfit but failed. Cannon later helped AFR set a technical alliance with Team Penske and is still accredited by many for the strides made by AJ Foyt Racing in the last couple of years.

Cannon confirmed his departure from AFR in November 2024 and announced PREMA as his new team.

Michael Cannon’s short-lived PREMA career after AJ Foyt Racing exit

Michael Cannon joined the newest team on the IndyCar grid, the Italian outfit PREMA, in the last week of November 2024 as the Head of Engineering. However, reports of the IndyCar genius leaving the team started flooding in as early as mid-January, just a few days after PREMA’s livery launch event.

Cannon was at the launch event held on January 10, in Charlotte, North Carolina, hosted by Williams Buxton as Callum Ilott and Robert Shwartzman took the covers off the livery. Neither PREMA nor Michael Cannon has come out to comment on the departure yet.

The IndyCar mastermind is yet to decide on the team he will be joining. Given Cannon's stature in the IndyCar market, it won't be long before he secures a deal with one of the teams.