Michael Andretti thrilled to have Honda, driver lineup secured for the forseable future

Michael Andretti has described his team's decision to stick with Honda engines for next year's IndyCar Series season, despite a public courting of Chevrolet earlier this year.

Andretti Autosport ran Chevrolet engines for the first two seasons of the DW12-era, but reunited with Honda in 2014 - a partnership that has led to three Indianapolis 500 wins in four years.

Despite that, on the whole Honda has lagged behind Chevrolet in terms of performance, particularly in recent seasons when each engine make has has to use manufacturer-specific bodywork. Changing to Chevrolet seemed like a real possibility earlier this year, but ultimately Andretti will remain with Honda in a move that the team boss feels will be more convenient for the organisation.

"Ultimately continuity I think is what kept us here," Andretti said. "We had two great years with Chevrolet but we would have had to get used to the whole procedure thing again whereas we’re very much entrenched at Honda so we just felt in the end that [it] was best for us to stay with them."

"They’ve done a great job with their engine and obviously with the new, everybody having the same (aero)kits, we’re hoping that that will be an advantage that hopefully they can keep," he added, referring to the new universal aerokit that will come into play next year. "We know that Chevrolet is going to be very tough but hopefully if Honda’s going to pull a little bit more out then we’ll be the ones that can do it."

As well as securing a Honda engine supply for 2018 and beyond, Andretti Autosport have also finalised their driver lineup for the next few seasons, with Zach Veach joining Ryan Hunter-Reay, Marco Andretti, and the recently-re-signed Alexander Rossi in the team. It is the first time in the team's history that they have secured their driver lineup so early on, and what's more, all four drivers are tied to the team on multi-year deals.

"It’s the first time in the history of this team, dating back all the way to 2003 that we’ve actually had all our cars ready to go and announced before the last race or during the last race," Andretti said. "It’s huge for the team and they’re all multi-year deals on top of it which is really great for continuity."

"Being able to keep Alexander [Rossi] part of the team and bringing in Zach Veach for a three-year deal, it’s going to be great to build on that," he added.

"I’m very excited about next year, happy with our driver lineup, I’m happy with our team itself, I think we’ve made some really good moves over last off-season and now. Everybody having the year to work together I hope is going to make us that much stronger even next year."



Images: Joe Skibinski/IndyCar Media