Motorsport: Marcus Armstrong ready for next step as he leaves Formula 2 for IndyCar

Marcus Armstrong welcomes the opportunity to tame another animal.

After a successful, albeit inconsistent, stint in Formula 2, the 22-year-old driver will take his talents to the United States in 2023, inking a deal with IndyCar heavyweights Chip Ganassi Racing.

Armstrong will compete in the road and street course races for the team next season, joining fellow Kiwi and perennial IndyCar championship contender Scott Dixon in the Chip Ganassi Racing stable. He becomes the third Kiwi driver in the series, alongside Dixon and Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin.

The four-time F2 race winner had been linked with a move to the American series, and those rumours heated up after he did some testing with Dale Coyne Racing in October. While Chip Ganassi Racing might not have been quite so heavily linked to signing the talented young Kiwi, Armstrong told the Herald he had been “in and out of casual communication” with the team, and those discussions ramped up recently, leading to a contract for 2023.

He said it was an extraordinary opportunity and he was looking forward to a new challenge after three seasons in F2, particularly after getting a glimpse of IndyCar earlier in the year.

“IndyCar is an absolute animal. It requires you to push it hard, the tyre can accept you to slide a lot, which is quite the opposite to Europe,” Armstrong said.

“In Europe, we have a tyre that is designed to be very temperature sensitive and we need to manage it like a baby. It’s a different philosophy in America and I’m looking forward to it.

“You make the most of the car you have. That’s the same in every car – you drive it to the limit. It’s going to take a little bit of time to understand the nuances of the car and what it requires to really get the maximum from it. On that side, I’m really looking forward to getting to work and doing my best.”

While he won’t be driving the oval track races in 2023 – with the team yet to announce who will drive the No 11 Honda on the ovals – Armstrong said he would like to have that opportunity in the future, but understood why he wouldn’t in 2023 given he hasn’t raced on oval tracks before.

For the immediate future, he was eager for the opportunity, which begins next week when he travels to Indianapolis to meet his new team.

He said he was excited about the prospect of teaming up with Dixon, who has been leading the way for Kiwi motorsport.

“Scott will be my teammate for the road and street course races. It’s fantastic. I know Scott casually; I don’t know him extremely well, we never raced against each other before – he’s a little bit older than me – so it’s going to be really cool to learn from him,” Armstrong said.

“He’s obviously been consistently successful over the past decade in IndyCar, so he’s an encyclopaedia of information, I’m sure, about the championship and it’s going to be really interesting to work alongside him.”

Armstrong’s first race will be on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, in early March.