"He's not for me" - Santino Ferrucci shares honest reason for avoiding a friendship with Josef Newgarden

AJ Foyt Racing's Santino Ferrucci recently appeared on the Chase Holden YouTube channel podcast. The IndyCar driver reflected on the 2024 season and looked ahead to the upcoming one. During the conversation, Ferrucci explained why he keeps his distance from Josef Newgarden.

Holden detailed how Josef Newgarden had a personality capable of becoming the face of IndyCar, and that the Team Penske driver does indeed act like the “flag man” of the sport. Ferrucci then shared his opinion on Newgarden's nature, explaining why he avoids a friendship with the Indy 500 winner. He said,

“Newgarden’s just, he's just a very, I don't know. He's very much for the drama, and I don't know him that well inside the paddock. I've heard some of the things that he's talked about, and just, I don't know. He's not for me that way.” (26:40 onwards)

“Just not for me. So, I mean, I think there's different, different drivers, there's different, Everybody's very different. So, like I said, he, his fan base, and for him, for what he's done at Penske has been nothing short of awesome. But, yeah, I don't have too much interaction with him, and that's partly intentional,” he added.

Santino Ferrucci built a reputation for being troublesome with other drivers in the F2 and the IndyCar series. The American received a two-race ban in 2018 for colliding with F2 teammate Arjun Maini after the race at Silverstone. During the 2024 IndyCar season, Ferrucci was involved in multiple clashes with drivers including Romain Grosjean, Colton Herta, and Kyle Kirkwood.

However, the AJ Foyt Racing driver admitted his mistake and apologized for his actions at the 2024 Detroit Grand Prix where he shoved Kyle Kirkwood in the pit box after having a collision with him on track during Free Practice.

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Santino Ferrucci details his feud with Romain Grosjean

Roar Before The 24h - Source: Getty

After the incident with Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood during Free Practice at the Detroit Grand Prix, Santino Ferrucci got involved in a brawl with Romain Grosjean after the qualifying. The AJ Foyt Racing driver allegedly blocked the Frenchman in qualifying, which halted Grosjean's progress, and led to the feud. Explaining the feud, Ferrucci said on Chase Holden’s YouTube channel,

“So starting off the 24 season it was kind of getting our bearings back and trying to earn some of that respect from other drivers that didn't really necessarily think of us as a threat. And there are some things that I know I didn't do or didn't handle quite well, some of the Grosjean situations, some of the Detroit situations.” (3:35 onwards)

“But you know it was more out of, in my opinion those guys didn't really respect me or respect us as a team and I took it a little too personally. So I was definitely on edge or very edgy for those couple events.”

Santino Ferrucci had a few run-ins with Romain Grosjean earlier in the season, culminating in a feud at the Detroit Grand Prix.