One of few drivers who benefitted from a chaotic Grand Prix of Madison at Gateway this past weekend was Linus Lundqvist.
The Swede took his second career IndyCar podium after his Chip Ganassi team nailed his strategy to hand him almost fresh tyres for the final restart.
Sitting fifth after a late red flag caused by Will Power’s huge crash, all Lundqvist had to do was effectively hold his nerve to get past teammate Alex Palou and Colton Herta, who were on much older tyres.
His performance was exactly the sort he needed in order to establish himself further in the running for a 2025 seat, with the upcoming charter system set to shake up his team’s running plans.
Why Linus Lundqvist was worried about his podium charge
Speaking about the race with Motorsport.com, he said: “I was nervous as anybody. Basically when they said we were P5 in the restart, I was like, ‘All right, I wouldn’t be too unhappy if I saw a chequered flag right now. I’d take a P5.’
“Then the red came out. I was a little bit worried about what was going to happen with the guys behind us. They said, ‘Everybody else was a lap behind.’ That makes me feel a little bit better.
“I knew we had a pretty big tyre advantage going forward. I think Alex and Herta had, like, 45- or 50-lap-old tyres. We were basically on stickers.
“I knew we might have a possibility to do something here. Obviously, got around Alex as he got squeezed into Turn 1, then one or two laps later we got the move done on Herta.”
What next for Lundqvist?
The 25-year-old has at least four more races to prove his prowess after enduring a tricky season to date.
Three top six finishes, and a 17th-placed standing in the championship is not the sort of return that a team like Chip Ganassi would expect from one of its drivers.
With PREMA joining IndyCar for 2025, Chip Ganassi could be forced to field only three cars – with two of those spots likely filled by Alex Palou and Scott Dixon.
That means it could be a straight fight between Lundqvist’s rookie teammate Kyffin Simpson and Marcus Armstrong for the remaining gig.
If he can manage to secure another top 10 finish or two, it could go a long way towards securing his IndyCar future with one of the sport’s premiere teams.