Will Buxton makes his feelings known on $15M-worth Graham Rahal’s influence on RLL Racing's 2025 IndyCar season

The vastly experienced Graham Rahal has been a major influence on the Zionsville, Indiana-based Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. He has so far competed in a whopping 278 races and in light of this, IndyCar pundit Will Buxton has given his take on Rahal's influence on his team's upcoming 2025 season.

The $15M-worth (as per Celebrity Net Worth) Graham Rahal is joined on RLL Racing by Devlin DeFrancesco (34 race starts) and the 2024 Indy NXT champion Louis Foster. The two drivers don't possess much IndyCar experience and thus, Buxton feels Rahal might also have to play the role of a mentor in the 17-race campaign.

Via IndyCar's official X account, Buxton said:

"RLL, who always seems to be there or there about, consistently netting results to bring about a strong team finish, but the headline results feel like a rarity. In Graham Rahal, they have one of the most experienced drivers in the field but how much will he be focusing on his own season and how much will he be thrust into the role of mentor for his young teamates," Buxton said.

He added:

"Devlin DeFrancesco returns to IndyCar after a year out and he's keen to prove that his absence in 2024 was just a blip. He's never had a top-ten finish and that's something he'll be looking to rectify from the very first weekend in St. Pete. Louis Foster, the young British Indy NXT Champion, he dominated Indy NXT, the junior category and honestly, looked phenomenal in race situations."

Graham Rahal ended the 2024 IndyCar season in 18th place in the Drivers' standings with 251 points to his name.

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Graham Rahal has a new lead engineer for the 2025 IndyCar season

While Graham Rahal has the added responsibility of looking after two new drivers on RLL Racing for 2025, the team has gone through some major changes. Ashley Higham, who engineered Rahal’s car in the second half of 2024, will now work with DeFrancesco from St. Pete onwards.

Whereas for the senior pro, the Zionsville, Indiana-based team has roped in the former technical director of Juncos Hollinger Racing. Yves Touron will take on the mantle of lead engineer for Graham Rahal in the 2025 season. Moreover, one of the sport’s most experienced engineers and an Indy 500 winner, Todd Maloy, is now RLL’s technical director.

36-year-old Rahal's last win in IndyCar came at the 2017 Detroit Grand Prix. Last season, he was not able to achieve even a single top-five finish. Keeping this in mind, he will be charged up to at least have a better run than 18th in the upcoming 17-race tussle.