Marcus Ericsson endured another tough weekend after dropping out of the Grand Prix of Madison prematurely.
The Swede was forced to retire on lap 151, having led 13 laps in the race – the third most of any driver by the time the chequered flag came down.
He has finished sixth in the IndyCar championship for three years in a row, but 2024 has been far less kind to him so far.
He sits down in 13th place with just four races to go, and his luck failed to improve on Saturday evening after being plagued by an engine issue.
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The lowest placed of all three Andretti entries, Ericsson’s teammates, Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood, lie second and seventh in the championship respectively.
The 2022 Indy500 winner was fighting well in the opening stages of the race before his day turned south.
“Yeah, I just saw the MGU fault come up on my dash and we were leading our strategy until then,” he told NBC Sports.
“Obviously don’t know how the race will play out but we were having a really strong day and just painful.
“The team had done a tremendous job all year, but there’s been so many things going against us and same today.
“We were having a really good weekend and fighting for a win and then you just get [it] taken away from you.”
How can Ericsson turn the tide?
With a handful of races in the season to go, Ericsson has an outside chance of extending his streak of consecutive seasons in the top ten to four.
Next week’s Grand Prix of Portland marks the final non-oval event of the year – something which should suit the 34-year-old and his circuit racing roots.
He signed a multi-year deal with Andretti before the season meaning that he will be back in 2025 with an opportunity to avenge the bad luck he feels he has suffered this year.
Ericsson will also be eager to take another IndyCar victory, having claimed one in every season since 2021.
He came closest at the Detroit Grand Prix this year, coming second to Scott Dixon by under one second.