Alexander Rossi Questions All Aspects of His Sonsio GP Situation

Rossi Blasts IndyCar After Hybrid Failure at IMSGavin Baker - Getty Images

Becoming the second driver in as many NTT IndyCar Series races to fall victim to a failure with the hybrid system was just one of Alexander Rossi’s legitimate complaints during Saturday’s Sonsio Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. His compromised safety—and that of his fellow competitors—added to frustration.

The Ed Carpenter Racing driver’s No. 20 Chevrolet went silent on the front stretch of the oval, just past the famous yard of bricks. Expecting a yellow flag and receiving none, Rossi sat still for a moment. Then with officials signaling only a “local caution,” Rossi climbed out of his car with likely unsuspecting rivals whizzing past him at about 170 miles an hour and headed for his own pit. Eventually, the stewards changed the situation to a full-course caution.

Rossi, clearly perturbed but containing his anger, told FOX’s Georgia Henneberry, “Well, it’s pretty annoying to have failures on the car because of a product that we didn’t ask for that doesn’t improve the racing. So that’s frustrating,” he said.

“Second of all, the fact that it took that long to throw a full-course yellow when the car’s on the front straight and people are going by at 170 miles an hour also seems insane when they don't let us drive in the wet yesterday. So, I don't really know where the priorities lie. So, pretty frustrated.”

Rossi indicated Sunday via social media that he would elaborate on his opinion during his upcoming SiriusXM podcast, Off Track with Hinch and Rossi, with James Hinchclife. He complained about misleading information, posting on X, “A lot of false ‘reporting’ out there. The only statements regarding yesterday that came from me in or out of the car were to Georgia, Fox, and IndyCar radio. And soon to be on@AskOffTrack.”

Marcus Ericsson’s No. 28 Honda for Andretti Global expired on the streets of Long Beach, Calif., in the previous race with a similar problem.

Ericsson posted on social media after his Long Beach disappointment, “Well, that turned into a weekend to forget… Was having a decent race towards a potential top 10 finish when the hybrid failed and forced us to retire the car.”