Linus Lundqvist had moments of brilliance during his first full IndyCar season and improved over the campaign for Chip Ganassi Racing.
The Swedish driver suffered a difficult start at St. Petersburg but scored sixth place at the $1 Million Challenge at The Thermal Club.
Lundqvist floundered for much of the opening part of the season but enjoyed a brief upturn in form at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama, taking third place and his first IndyCar podium.
He had developed his racecraft in North America in Indy Lights, winning the championship in the junior series in 2022. Although Indy Lights didn’t fully prepare Lundqvist for IndyCar’s intensity ahead of stepping up to the top tier.
The final stages of the season were made up of a lot of oval races and Lundqvist was very impressive, taking three top 10 finishes from the final four events on ovals.
Lundqvist explained that he was pleased with the end of his season and highlighted the opening event at the Milwaukee Mile as the race he was pleased with when speaking to the official IndyCar website.
Linus Lundqvist is ‘very proud’ of the first race at the Milwaukee Mile in IndyCar
The Chip Ganassi Racing driver was brilliant over the season on ovals, taking third place at Gateway as well as sixth place at the Milwaukee Mile.
Oval circuits are very different to the road and street courses on the calendar, requiring a unique driving style and a lot of bravery.
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Lundqvist immediately adapted racing on banking when competing in the Formula Regional Americas Championship, winning at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The Swedish driver explained that the first race at the Milwaukee Mile was his favourite event of the season, scoring good points and recovering from issues in the pit lane.
He said: “The race one in Milwaukee was a race that I was very, very proud of. I think we drove really well. We had some misfortune in the pit stops, because otherwise I think we could have been right up there fighting for the race win, which I think, as well, shows the kind of the progress that we made throughout the year.
“Obviously, it’s been a year of up and downs, but I think toward the end we were able to put together strong packages, especially on the ovals, which been fun. We’ve shown when we put everything together, we can be as fast as anybody.”
Linus Lundqvist has some options ahead of the 2025 season in IndyCar
Lundqvist may not be staying at Chip Ganassi Racing for next season, with the team competing with three cars instead of five.
The Swedish driver is facing competition from Kyffin Simpson who is also looking to remain at CGR ahead of 2025.
The other options for Lundqvist are further down the field with Juncos Hollinger Racing as there is uncertainty over Romain Grosjean’s future.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan are also looking for two drivers, and Lundqvist may be on the shortlist, alongside Juri Vips and Theo Pourchaire.