IndyCar’s Historic End Of An Era As It Move To The Hybrid Engine

Alex Palou’s victory in the June 23 Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey was historic for a variety of reasons.

The two-time NTT IndyCar Series champion for Chip Ganassi Racing has never finished off the podium in his four races at the beautiful 2.238-mile, 11-turn WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca on the Monterey Peninsula of the Central California coast. In those four races, Palou has finished second in 2021, won in 2023, third in 2024 and another victory in 2024.

Palou scored his 11th career victory, his second of the 2024 season as he won the race from the pole.

But it also brought an end to an historic era of IndyCar racing.

It was the final race where every car in the field was powered by an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) – the workhorse of motorsports and of the automotive industry for well over a century.

When IndyCar returns to action with the July 7 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, every car in the field will include a Hybrid Power Unit that was developed in a unique collaboration between Honda, Chevrolet and IndyCar.

Honda helped develop the ultracapacitor Energy Storage System (ESS) and Chevrolet/Ilmor helped develop the Motor Generator Unite (MGU). Ilmor will assemble and distribute the combined package to the IndyCar Series teams.

With the automotive industry moving toward electrification of some type, many motorsports’ series around the world have already taken the giant leap toward that technology. Formula E has become the world’s leader in an all-electric powerplant in racing. World Endurance Challenge (WEC) and IMSA have already moved into the Hybrid Era, combining electrification with the Internal Combustion Engine to get the best of both in extreme motorsports competition.

NASCAR continues to rely on the ICE, but there are discussions for a future that includes Hybrid technology.

For 95 laps at Monterey on June 23, the IndyCar Series drivers raced hard using the tools at hand including the push-to-pass system that is a time-limited horsepower booster.

In two weeks, the additions of the Hybrid Assist and push to pass will create a combined 120 additional horsepower to each driver.

The end of one era is the dawn of a new era in two weeks.

“I have two emotions,” third-place finisher Alexander Rossi of Arrow McLaren told me after the race at Monterey. “I’m sad because it’s the end of an era. We grew up falling in love with this sport with kind of the framework of what it is now.

“At the same time if you look at where the world is going, where manufacturers are going, you have to evolve.

“It’s an exciting time for the series to take that step towards the future. It’s something that’s important to all of us and the partners involved.

“It’s happy and sad. It’s cool to be able to introduce new technology into the cars, but also, it’s sad that this phase of motorsports is coming to an end.”

I asked second-place finisher Colton Herta if the additional tool would have helped him in his battle with Palou for the victory at Monterey.

It’s early days for the system, which will undoubtedly need to be developed.

“I don’t know how much of a difference it will make,” Herta said. “It’s a short burst of energy. If you have a run going, it might give you the edge to pass somebody. I don’t think it will create the opportunity to pass. I think it’s going to be more of a factor of how much push to pass you have.

“If you don’t have the battery fully charged on a restart, you probably deserve to be passed. I’ll say that.”

According to information IndyCar provided to Forbes Sports Money, both components of the hybrid power unit will fit inside the bellhousing – the size of a milk crate – located between the internal combustion engine and the gearbox.

During regeneration, acting on the clutch shaft, the MGU builds power to be stored in the ESS. The additional horsepower is deployed through the same motor generator on driver demand, according to IndyCar.

Teams and drivers can use regen options that include automatic through braking or throttle position or manually through selected steering wheel paddles or buttons.

Deployment is only available through a latching button similar to the existing push to pass system.

Hybrid assist will be added to the options of traditional push to pass on road and street courses but cannot be used at the same time on ovals.

Using both at the same time will give drivers a boost of over 120 horsepower.

It will be the first time at IndyCar engine has produced more than 800 hp in two decades.

Additional horsepower is expected in the coming years as hybrid unit development evolves, according to IndyCar.

A safety advantage of the new unit is if a car stalls on a road or street circuit, the driver can quickly restart the car using the hybrid and continue without the need for the AMR IndyCar Safety Team to be deployed.

“It’s different,” Herta said on June 21. “It’s sad to see that the current formula is going, but it’s exciting to see what we’re moving to. It’s cool.

“This is all I’ve known for IndyCar since I’ve been a driver in it. The format hasn’t changed, nothing’s really changed. It is exciting to have a little bit of a change with the hybrid technology. I know a lot of people are excited about it from the engine manufacturer’s side, because it’s a new challenge for everybody.

“And definitely for the driver’s side, it seems more challenging, as well.”

Herta believes it’s still a learning process for some of the drivers and teams to determine when best to use the new system in a race.

“I think how the regen has an effect on the balance of the race car under braking, under lifting, will change,” he explained. “It will change throughout a stint. It’s going to be a little bit different.

“I don’t think you’ll see like a massive shake-up sort of thing. I think you will see maybe some guys take a little bit longer, or rather teams taking a little bit longer getting the setup right. It might change some things slightly.

“I know from the driving side; it will make it a lot busier inside the car and a lot more stuff to do for us.”

One of Herta’s teammates at Andretti Global is Kyle Kirkwood, who said he believes the transition to the new unit will be relatively seamless.

“I’m not concerned about it,” Kirkwood said. “Based on pre-season testing, the way the Milwaukee test went, I think it should be a pretty fluid transition.

“It changes weight distribution on the car, makes the car heavier, but those are tough that you can tune to. It’s not impossible to tune to it.

“Also, we had zero failures at Milwaukee, which was a question mark before. I don’t think it is now for any of the teams.

“We’re excited to get into it. I don’t see it being a big ordeal for us. It’s not a massive change, I think.”

After he won the pole on Saturday, June 22, Palou liked the prospect of having more tools for the drivers to use inside the car and how the hybrid will create different strategies on the race track.

As the leader of the pack heading into the next IndyCar Series race as he attempts to win his third championship, I asked Palou about the historical significance of ending the era of the current engine platform before entering the Hybrid Era at Mid-Ohio.

“I love it,” Palou said. “I know it doesn’t mean a lot more, but it’s going to stay there whenever we talk about the last race that somebody won without the hybrid.

“Hopefully, our name appears when somebody watches that race replay.

“I’m excited. I’m excited for what we had and I’m super excited for the future.”