IndyCar: Harding Steinbrenner Racing form technical alliance with Andretti Autosport

As expected, Harding Steinbrenner Racing have formed a technical alliance with Andretti Autosport for the 2019 IndyCar season.

Following the conclusion of the 2018 IndyCar season, Harding Racing and Steinbrenner Racing announced that they would be partnering for the 2019 season and that they would become Harding Steinbrenner Racing.

While Harding Racing were a Chevrolet-powered team throughout the 2018 season, which was their first season of full-time competition in IndyCar, it was expected that Harding Steinbrenner Racing would rely on the technical expertise of Andretti Autosport, as Steinbrenner Racing and Andretti Autosport had previously formed a partnership for the 2017 and 2018 Indy Lights season.

A few months later, it was revealed that Harding Steinbrenner Racing would switch their engine manufacturer from Chevrolet to Honda for the 2019 season, eliminating what would have been a conflict of interest when it came to relying on the technical expertise of Andretti Autosport.

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Now it has been confirmed that Harding Steinbrenner Racing and Andretti Autosport have, in fact, formed a technical alliance for the 2019 season.

As a result of this new technical alliance, Harding Steinbrenner Racing are also set to receive technical and development support from Andretti Autosport, and they are set to have access to the same damper program used by Andretti Autosport’s cars. Also, the engineer team of Harding Steinbrenner Racing is set to be staffed by veteran race engineers who have experience at Andretti Autosport.

Rookie Colton Herta is set to be the Harding Steinbrenner Racing’s lone full-time driver for the 2019 season after it was announced that Patricio O’Ward, who was set to be his teammate and the driver of the #8 Honda, and the team had parted ways. Herta is set to drive the #88 Honda.

Here is what Herta had to say about Harding Steinbrenner Racing’s technical alliance with Andretti Autosport, according to Autoweek.

"“We are going to have a technical partnership with Andretti, that’s not really new news, but we’ll share setups and they will help us out when we need it. Once we get started out on the weekend and get a good platform, I’m confident in my engineers because they have been around for a while. Anything we find, we can help them and anything they find, they can help us. It’s making the program stronger and stronger.“It’s going to be tough not having Pato as my teammate this year after we raced together in Indy Lights last year. We pushed each other in Indy Lights and made the car a lot better for Andretti Autosport and we bettered ourselves as well. Whether I was on pole, he was right there before him and whether he was on pole, I was right there behind him.“It’s a great year — it bettered both of us, it will be tough not having him there to push me — but I’m sure I will get that from the drivers at Andretti Autosport.”"

Meanwhile, Andretti Autosport’s driver lineup for the 2019 season is set to be the same as it was in the 2018 season. Zach Veach is set to drive the #26 Honda while Alexander Rossi is set to drive the #27 Honda, Ryan Hunter-Reay is set to drive the #28 Honda and Marco Andretti is set to drive the #98 Honda, although Andretti is technically set to drive for Andretti Herta Autosport.

The 2019 season is set to be Veach’s second season as a full-time driver and his second season driving for the team while it is set to be Rossi’s fourth season as a full-time driver and his fourth season driving for the team. It is set to be Hunter-Reay’s 15th season as a full-time driver and his 10th season driving for the team and it is set to be Andretti’s 14th season as a full-time driver and his 14th season driving for the team.

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How will Harding Steinbrenner Racing perform in their first season having a technical alliance with Andretti Autosport? The 2019 IndyCar season is scheduled to get underway in under one month with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. This race is the first of 17 races on the schedule, and it is scheduled to take place on Sunday, March 10.