Marcus Ericsson shares his feelings about Michael Andretti's importance to IndyCar

Marcus Ericsson joined Andretti under Michael Andretti's leadership, but within a year of his new switch, the former IndyCar champion had departed from the team. Having firsthand experience of Ericsson's exit, the Swede shared his insight into how the 62-year-old plays an important role in the IndyCar sphere.

After leaving the F1 world behind, the 34-year-old joined Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. His impressive performances had left a mark on the paddock and was quickly signed up by Chip Ganassi Racing.

At CGR, Ericsson won several races and, most importantly, the Indy 500 (in 2022). On the other hand, he decided to part ways with his former team to join Andretti in 2024, and Michael Andretti had been a key factor in Ericsson's arrival at the fabled team.

However, Andretti had decided to leave his role as the head of day-to-day operations and made Dan Towriss the head of the organization. Since then, the 1991 CART champion was spotted at the season opener in St. Petersburg, where he revealed his relief of not worrying about managing a team anymore.

But Michael Andretti's presence was an important factor for IndyCar, as Ericsson said:

"It's always good to have Michael [Andretti] around. It's always the case, and it was great to have him there in St. Pete and hopefully he will come to more races." (6:13 onwards)

"To be honest, things in the race team hasn't changed much. It's still very similar to last couple of years, so we just keep focusing, keep working towards the same goal. I trust 100 percent what Dan [Towriss] and the other guys are doing at the top ownership. They are really pushing hard and wanting us to be the best we can be, so that feels great to be part of that."

Meanwhile, Marcus Ericsson suffered a subpar 2024 season, where he only secured a solitary podium finish.

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Marcus Ericsson does not cater to excuses in his racing career: "I think you make your own luck"

Marcus Ericsson at the IMSA Twelve Hours of Sebring - Qualifying - Source: Getty

A single podium finish for a driver who has won multiple races revealed the extent of problems for Marcus Ericsson in his first year with Andretti. Despite his efforts, he finished a lonely 15th in the championship standings.

Nonetheless, all of his results were not in his hands as he suffered some mechanical problems throughout the year, which people deemed as bad luck, but the Swede dismissed the notions of 'bad luck' as he said (via IndyCar):

"I think with last year's results, it gave me even more motivation to work even harder. A lot of people would say to me, ‘Sorry for last year; bad luck.’ I don't really believe in (bad luck). I think you make your own luck. I just didn’t do a good enough job last year, so I want to make sure I’m better this year."

St. Petersburg ended on a good note for Marcus Ericsson as he finished P6, and he would be hoping to continue adding further top-10 results to his 2025 tally.