IndyCar announcement means top free agent won't get a full-time ride

Either Linus Lundqvist or Rinus VeeKay, or perhaps both, will not be competing full-time during the 2025 IndyCar season.

Lundqvist, the 2024 Rookie of the Year who lost his ride with Chip Ganassi Racing as a byproduct of the team's decision to downsize from five cars to three amid the new charter system, has long been looking for a seat for the 2025 season.

And VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing's most recent race winner from May 2021, was dropped after five seasons with the team, making room for 2016 Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi to join the team.

Both drivers have been considered the top remaining free agents on the market, and there had been two seats still open with Dale Coyne Racing. But Dale Coyne Racing's confirmation that Jacob Abel is set to drive the No. 51 Honda full-time in 2025 means that there is now just one seat still available.

Dale Coyne's team have yet to confirm a new driver for the No. 18 Honda.

In 2024, the team did not run full-time drivers; both of their entries were split between several part-time drivers for the first time since 2015. Unsurprisingly, they failed to finish on the podium, which also hadn't happened since 2015. But they didn't even manage a single top 12 finish, which hadn't happened since Coyne himself was behind the wheel for his team in 1987.

The team are aiming to make another confirmation within three weeks, and they would ideally like to make another full-time confirmation as they aim to return to being able to compete for decent results.

VeeKay tested for Dale Coyne's team at Indianapolis Motor Speedway back in October, so he remains a strong possibility. But confirming VeeKay would mean that Lundqvist is off the grid after a rookie season in which he twice placed on the podium. Likewise, Lundqvist signing with the team would mean the same for VeeKay.

Then there is the possibility that Dale Coyne Racing will go with somebody else entirely, which is still something to consider. The team could look to bring in the driver with the most funding for that second seat. Or, quite simply, they could view another driver as being a better option than VeeKay or Lundqvist, which is not that far-fetched when you look at how many drivers are still on the sidelines.

And of course, the team could end up signing multiple part-time drivers for that car after all.

Either way, the 2025 IndyCar season will not see both VeeKay and Lundqvist competing on a full-time basis, an unfortunate development considering the potential and talent both have demonstrated since climbing the ladder from the Road of Indy to the NTT IndyCar Series.

The 2025 IndyCar season is scheduled to begin on Sunday, March 2. Fox is set to provide live coverage of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg from the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida beginning at 12:00 p.m. ET.