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Andretti Global conducted its first IndyCar test of 2025 at the Thermal Club, California on Tuesday (Jan. 28). Marcus Ericsson topped the sheets among six drivers taking part in the test.
The No. 28 driver ran 60 laps and recorded an unofficial time of 1 minute 40.136 seconds to beat teammate Kyle Kirkwood by 8 hundredths (0.08) of a second. Andretti Global's third driver Colton Herta, who finished runner-up in the 2024 championship, slotted in fifth place behind the two PREMA Racing drivers Robert Shwartzman and Callum ilott. Dale Coyne Racing's Jacob Abel wound up last, 1.451 seconds slower than leader Marcus Ericsson.
After the test, the 2022 Indy 500 winner admitted that his team had made considerable progress after a subpar performance at The Thermal Club in 2024, where IndyCar conducted the non-points paying $1 million challenge.
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"Last time we were out here in Thermal, we felt like it wasn’t maybe our strongest track or weekend. So it’s good to come back here and work through some stuff. We had a good program trying different things on the three different cars, and I think we learned a bunch that should help us when we come back here in March," he said via RACER.
The $1 million challenge had a unique format, consisting of drivers being divided into two groups to compete in two different heat races. The Top 6 from each would compete in the main event for the big prize. Marcus Ericsson, who was in Heat Race 2, was eliminated after finishing 12th out of 13 drivers.
Marcus Ericsson owns up for subpar 2024 season with Andretti Global: "Not a believer in bad luck"
Marcus Ericsson's first year driving for Andretti Global in 2024 wasn't exactly smooth sailing. The Swede only managed four Top 5 finishes, including a second-place podium finish at Detroit. After three years of winning at least one race in a season with Chip Ganassi Racing, he couldn't continue the streak with a new team. Moreover, several DNFs cost him valuable points.
Ericsson eventually finished 15th in the standings, a drop from 6th position in the previous three years. At IndyCar's content days in mid-January, Ericsson did not deflect the blame for his setback onto the team or bad luck. When asked about his motivation going into 2025, he replied [2:29 onwards]:
"Last year's results gave me even more motivation to work even harder. I'm not a believer in bad luck. A lot of people would say to me, 'Oh, sorry for last year. Had a lot of bad luck'. I don't really believe in that. I think you make your own luck and I just didn't do a good enough job last year, so I wanna make sure I'm better this year."
In the IndyCar offseason, Ericsson also did simulator testing for the Cadillac F1 team, whose F1 bid was approved after Andretti Global owner Dan Towriss renewed the talks in November 2024.
