IndyCar: Santino Ferrucci to drive for Dale Coyne Racing in 2019

Santino Ferrucci is set to drive full-time for Dale Coyne Racing in the 2019 IndyCar season as the driver of the #19 Honda.

After having been tipped to drive for Dale Coyne Racing full-time in the 2019 IndyCar season back in early October, Santino Ferrucci has now been confirmed as the team’s full-time driver of the #19 Honda for 2019.

The 20-year-old Woodbury, Connecticut native made the first four starts of his IndyCar career this past season. He competed in the two races of the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit on the streets of Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan as the driver of the #19 Honda, and he competed in the Grand Prix of Portland at Portland International Raceway as well as the IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma at Sonoma Raceway as the driver of the #39 Honda.

Here is what Ferrucci had to say about the opportunity to drive full-time for Dale Coyne Racing in the 2019 season as the teammate to four-time Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais, who drives the #18 Honda, according to IndyCar.

"“I’ve said it before, I’m extremely grateful to Dale and everyone at Dale Coyne Racing for believing in me and for giving me this opportunity to race a full season in the IndyCar Series. I enjoyed the time I spent with the team this past year in the IndyCar Series and I’m looking forward to doing a full season with them. While I’ll still be considered a rookie, I feel like I’ve already gained valuable experience in INDYCAR that will serve me well next season. However, I’m well aware that I still have a lot to learn and I’m looking forward to it.“Testing in Texas as a rookie was very fun. Sebastien gave me a lot of insight of things to look for and to train for. There’s a lot to learn about racing on an oval and I very much look forward to my first oval event being the Indy 500.”"

Here is what Dale Coyne Racing team owner Dale Coyne had to say about Ferrucci signing with the team for next season, according to IndyCar.

"“We were very happy with Santino’s performances this season in the races he did with us. He showed a lot of maturity and the desire to learn and to keep improving. Had it not been for some unfortunate luck at Portland and again at Sonoma, he could have picked up even better results than what he did. We’re very excited to have him back full time in 2019 and seeing how he continues to grow and perform throughout the season.”"

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Aside of Ferrucci, both Zachary Claman DeMelo and Pietro Fittipaldi spent time driving the #19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda this past season. Neither one of them has signed with a team to continue driving in IndyCar next season.

The former Formula 2 driver, who was fired by his team, Trident, in July after the races at Silverstone Circuit, crashed out of the first Belle Isle race and ended up finishing in 22nd place as a result of it. He finished in 20th in the second Belle Isle race, one lap off the lead. A mechanical issue in the Portland race relegated him to another 20th place finish, four laps off the lead. He finished on the lead lap in the Sonoma race by recording a career-high 11th place finish after starting back in 20th.

Ferrucci, who has also been a development driver for Haas, the lone American Formula 1 team, was fired by Trident because of the fact that he crashed into teammate Arjun Maini after the sprint race at Silverstone. It was also discovered that he drove his car from the support race paddock to the pits while he was holding a mobile phone and wearing only one glove.

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How will Santino Ferrucci perform in his first season as the full-time driver of the #19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda next year? The 2019 IndyCar season is scheduled to get underway on Sunday, March 10, 2019 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, which is set to be broadcast live from the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. Be sure not to miss this race or any of the other 16 races on next year’s schedule.