Following several recent driver confirmations, the full-time driver lineup for the 2019 IndyCar season is officially set.
Several recent driver confirmations pertaining to the 2019 IndyCar season have taken place over the last several months. Following the most recent ones, the full-time driver lineup for the 17-race season is officially set.
A total of 20 drivers are set to compete in the sport on a full-time basis in the 2019 season. There were a total of 20 drivers who competed on a full-time basis in the sport in the 2018 season as well. However, of these 20 drivers, only 17 actually competed in all 17 races on the 2018 schedule.
Two teams changed in size are far as their full-time driver totals are concerned from the 2018 season to the 2019 season, with one having two full-time drivers this season after having just one full-time driver last season and another one having just one full-time driver this season after having two full-time drivers last season.
Here is a grouping of drivers who are set to return to their teams from the 2018 season in the 2019 season, drivers who are set to switch teams for the 2019 season, new drivers who are set to enter IndyCar in the 2019 season and drivers from the 2018 season who are not set to return to the sport in the 2019 season.
No change
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Marco Andretti, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Alexander Rossi and Zach Veach are all set to return to Andretti Autosport while Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud and Will Power are all set to return to Team Penske and Graham Rahal and Takuma Sato are set to return to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
Tony Kanaan and Matheus Leist are set to return to A.J. Foyt Enterprises while Sebastien Bourdais is set to return to Dale Coyne Racing, Max Chilton is set to return to Carlin, Scott Dixon is set to return to Chip Ganassi Racing, James Hinchcliffe is set to return to Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports and Spencer Pigot is set to return to Ed Carpenter Racing.
New teams
There are no drivers who competed full-time in the 2018 season and are set to compete full-time in the 2019 season for a different team than they competed in the 2018 season.
New drivers
Colton Herta is set to drive for Harding Steinbrenner Racing while Marcus Ericsson is set to drive for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Santino Ferrucci is set to drive for Dale Coyne Racing and Felix Rosenqvist is set to drive for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Old drivers out
Robert Wickens will not return to Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (now Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports) in the 2019 season as he continues to recover from the severe injuries that he suffered in a nasty crash during the race at Pocono Raceway late in the 2018 season.
Gabby Chaves, meanwhile, will not return to Harding Racing (now Harding Steinbrenner Racing) after driving for the team in 13 of the 2018 season’s 17 races. Part-time drivers Zachary Claman DeMelo and Pietro Fittipaldi will not return to Dale Coyne Racing, as Santino Ferrucci is set to replace them as a full-time driver for the team.
On a side note…
Ed Jones drove full-time for Chip Ganassi Racing in the 2018 season. He is set to be replaced by Felix Rosenqvist, but he is still set to drive on a part-time basis in the 2019 season. He is set to serve as Ed Carpenter Racing’s full-time road and street course race driver.
Jordan King, who served as Ed Carpenter Racing’s full-time road and street course race driver in the 2018 season, is set to drive for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in the 2019 Indianapolis 500 only.
Patricio O’Ward was set to be Harding Steinbrenner Racing’s second driver for the 2019 season, which would have made the full-time driver total for the 2019 season one driver higher than it was in the 2018 season. However, he and the team parted ways a few weeks ago, and he is not set to drive on a full-time basis for any team this year.
Charlie Kimball drove for Carlin on a full-time basis in the 2018 season, but he is only set to drive for the team in five races throughout the 2019 season. It is not yet known who will drive for Carlin as Max Chilton’s teammate in the season’s other 12 races.
The streets of St. Petersburg, Florida are scheduled to host the 2019 IndyCar season opener. This race, the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, is scheduled to be contested next Sunday, March 10.