"Working with Penske had a big help" - Santino Ferrucci reflects on key influence behind IndyCar success

Santino Ferrucci has shared how he and AJ Foyt Racing greatly benefited in the 2024 IndyCar season after entering a technical alliance with the top-ranking Team Penske in mid-2023. He had a career-best result last year, finishing ninth in the standings.

This helped AJ Foyt Racing equal its best finish since 2002 when Brazilian driver Airton Dare finished in ninth place. Ferrucci found great consistency, recording 13 Top 10 finishes in 17 points-paying races, including two Top 5 results at the Milwaukee Mile.

In an interview with INDYCAR Radio yesterday, the Connecticut native spoke about how impressive AJFR's technical staff has been and how Roger Penske-led Team Penske's brilliance rubbed off on them.

"Having that continuity of the team, coming back for our second year... the engineering staff is incredible this past season and it's really good this season too. Working with Penske also had a big help, a big upper hand at things," Santino Ferrucci said.

"Working with their setups and their drivers and having some of their tools in our back pocket is a big deal, and everything just came together, especially in the end of the season. We start to get on a roll with Top Fives and almost another one in Nashville."

In the past two seasons, Santino Ferrucci and AJ Foyt Racing have found synergy. In 2023, he came the closest he's been to the top step of the Indy 500 podium, with an impressive P3 finish. Earlier this year, he shared how the Penske alliance could help him achieve his first win in IndyCar.

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Santino Ferrucci super-bullish on his chances of winning the 2025 IndyCar championship

AUTO: AUG 16 - Santino Ferrucci at NTT IndyCar Series Bommarito Automotive Group 500 - Source: Getty

Santino Ferrucci was one of the most consistent drivers of the 2024 IndyCar season. He finished outside the Top 20 in only two races. Though he couldn't grace the podium throughout the season, he ensured the team stayed in the Leaders Circle (Top 22).

After the season, the 26-year-old said they could win the championship in 2025. Though it sounded outrageous to some, the No. 14 Chevy driver reaffirmed that stance during IndyCar's content days in January.

"When I said that, I think a lot of people laughed at me. You look at where we would have finished in oval points, and then how you look at how we did at the end of the year for the last leg of the season. I wasn't messing around when I said I think we can run for a championship," Santino Ferrucci said. [07:35]

Ferrucci will have a new teammate for 2025 with promising talent David Malukas joining AJ Foyt Racing on a multi-year deal. The 23-year-old raced part-time with Meyer Shank Racing last year after being dropped by Arrow McLaren at the beginning of the season.