"We had a lot of consistency": Kyle Kirkwood reflects on Andretti Global's performance in 2024 as he embarks on his third season with the team

26-year-old IndyCar driver Kyle Kirkwood is entering his third full-time season (fourth overall) with Andretti Global and is confident about continuing the team's and his performances in 2025.

In a conversation ahead of Sunday's Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Kirkwood spoke about how the team had taken a big step forward in 2024 and how the lessons from last season will help them.

Bob Pockrass from FOX Sports recently sat down with Kyle Kirkwood for a chat ahead of the season-opening round and asked what the team could bring from last season into 2025.

"I think last year at Andretti we had a lot of consistency across all of our cars and a lot of performance. Colton (Herta) being second in the championship, having a couple of wins, my consistency, a lot of top 5s, a lot of top 10s, just more of that. But I think with what we learned on the ovals and on the short ovals, we should be able to carry what we learned from last year through the off-season now into this season, and hopefully, we'll be even better. So, we're excited to come into the 2025 season and I think a lot of positives to take from last year," Kyle Kirkwood said.

Kyle Kirkwood started his stint with Andretti on a high note in 2023, winning two races that year and went on to place 11th in the standings. It was a massive improvement from 2022, when he finished 24th with the A.J. FOYT Racing team.

While he didn't win a race last season, with P2 being his best and only podium-finishing result, Kirkwood showed massive improvements in almost every other metric. His average finish went down from 13.06 in '23, to 8.71 in '24. His average qualifying spot also went down from 11.59 to 10.

The 26-year-old also improved his final standings, finishing 7th in the championship while scoring 68 more points compared to 2023.

While feeling positive about his team’s growth, he also claimed how PREMA Racing will be at a massive disadvantage in 2025.

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Kyle Kirkwood discusses PREMA Racing's 12-year disadvantage in IndyCar

PREMA Racing is set to join the NTT IndyCar series in 2025. The Italian team is known for developing young talent, especially in the junior Formula series, but now aims to establish itself as a serious competitor in IndyCar. However, Kyle Kirkwood feels that despite its reputation in Europe, the team has a big advantage to overcome in IndyCar.

PREMA will be stepping into a field where most teams have been working with the same car for over a decade. The current IndyCar chassis, the Dallara DW12, was introduced in 2012 and has undergone only a few major updates, including the addition of the aeroscreen and the introduction of hybrid engines in 2024.

These limited changes mean existing teams have had years to refine their setups, while new teams like PREMA will have to play catch-up. When asked by Bruce Martin, host of the Pit Pass Indy podcast, if PREMA could be a threat to teams in the midfield, Kirkwood explained:

"Some of that has to do with the age of the car. The current car that we are in was so developed that now we are fighting for thousandths of a second that makes a big difference. And with that being said, for a team like PREMA it would be hard for them to develop as quickly. I mean, we have 10/12 years of experience with this current chassis and development on this chassis so, it's tough for them." (36:20 onwards).

Kyle Kirkwood will be back in IndyCar racing action on Sunday, March 2 at the St. Petersburg GP.