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IndyCar: Andretti Autosport to stay with Honda, retain Alexander Rossi

By Asher Fair

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 28: Alexander Rossi, driver of the #98 NAPA Auto Parts Honda, leads a pack of cars during the 101st Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on May 28, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 28: Alexander Rossi, driver of the #98 NAPA Auto Parts Honda, leads a pack of cars during the 101st Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on May 28, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /
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Andretti Autosport will be sticking with Honda in the 2018 IndyCar season, and they will retain Alexander Rossi because of it.

News recently broke that 2017 Indianapolis 500 champion Takuma Sato, who can only drive for a Honda team, was headed to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in the 2018 IndyCar season.

Because of this, Andretti Autosport, Sato’s current team, was suspected to be making the move to Chevrolet, which would also likely force 2016 Indianapolis 500 champion Alexander Rossi to find a new ride.

However, that will not be happening, as Andretti Autosport will be sticking with Honda in the 2018 season for the fifth straight season since making the switch from Chevrolet to Honda after the 2013 season concluded.

Because of this, Rossi, who has become a threat to finish on the podium at all types of tracks, will be staying put in the #98 Honda for Andretti Herta Autosport next season.

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Ryan Hunter-Reay, the 2014 Indianapolis 500 champion, is also slated to return to the team for the ninth season, the eighth of which piloting the #28 car. Marco Andretti, son of team owner Michael Andretti and 2006 Indianapolis 500 runner-up, will also be back for a 13th season with the team, the fourth of which behind the wheel of the #27 car.

This still leaves the seat of the #26 Honda open for Michael Andretti to fill before next season, if he indeed intends to maintain his four-car operation, which hasn’t won a non-Indianapolis 500 race in over two seasons. With plenty of drivers slated to be on the move this offseason, he should have plenty of options to fill the seat.

While James Hinchcliffe or Tony Kanaan could make a return to Andretti Autosport, a driver like Zach Veach would make perfect sense to fill the spot. Veach has driven for the team for five seasons in the U.S. F2000, Star Mazda and Indy Lights championship series. He drove in his first two career IndyCar races this season, so he is definitely in the immediate picture.

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Do you think sticking with Honda was the right move for Andretti Autosport? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to follow along with Beyond the Flag for the latest news, opinions and analysis stemming from a number of different motorsports series. You don’t want to miss any of it. Also be sure to follow Beyond the Flag on both Instagram and Twitter.