Who will replace Dario Franchitti? (6th Update)
"The primary objective for me is to stay in Formula 1. But more importantly, it's to stay driving because I've got a lot to offer. I'm still young, I've got plenty of fire left in me. I've won championships and I hope I'll continue to win races."
11/19/13 Paul di Resta’s future with Force India in Formula One is far from certain, the Scot may have to shift his focus stateside to IndyCar.
The cousin of now retired star Dario Franchitti, di Resta admittedin an interview with The Guardian in the UK that IndyCar needs to be taken seriously as an option.
“I’ve always been slightly concerned about the safety of it [IndyCar], but sitting down and looking at it logically, it’s a serious option to look elsewhere because of the success he has had," he said.
Di Resta made into F1 after starring in German Touring Cars; interestingly, Franchitti’s last year before he began his IndyCar career (then called the CART championship in 1997) was spent racing touring cars for Mercedes in the precursor to the modern DTM. It was Mercedes that brought Franchitti to the U.S. with Carl Hogan’s team.
You figure di Resta would only come to IndyCar for a “top drive," and the open seat now vacated by Franchitti at Chip Ganassi Racing would fit the bill. And while Ganassi has taken on drivers from Europe in the past – a list that includes Alex Zanardi, Juan Pablo Montoya, Bruno Junqueira, Nicolas Minassian and Ryan Briscoe – he hasn’t pulled the trigger on such a move in nearly a decade.
Di Resta would also need to learn ovals, and with CGR expecting a challenge at the Indianapolis 500 every year with its fleet of entries, he’d need to learn them quickly.
Right now, just mark it down as another “potential" and only if he gets bounced from Force India after three seasons.
11/18/13 IndyCar driver Tony Kanaan showed up at NASCAR's season finale wearing a red Target hat.
It may have been a show of support. It also may have been a sign of things to come.
Kanaan, a Miami native, spent time with car owner Chip Ganassi as well as close friend Juan Pablo Montoya at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday. But Kanaan offered no insight into what changes might happen at Target Chip Ganassi Racing in the coming weeks.
There has been speculation that Kanaan will move from the No. 8 to the No. 10, the Target-sponsored seat that suddenly opened earlier this week when four-time IndyCar champion and three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti abruptly walked away from racing.
"That's not my call,'' Kanaan said when asked about the potential swap. "I'm a Ganassi employee. I will do whatever they tell me to do, and I'll be available for anything."
Ganassi made it clear Friday it could happen.
"Is he a possibility for the 10 car?'' Ganassi said. "It's not out of the question." AP Story
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| Franchitti's cousin and current Force India F1 driver, Paul di Resta, could drive the Target IndyCar |
11/16/13 (GMM) Paul di Resta could rescue his career in America's premier open wheel series IndyCar in 2014.
Curiously, the retirement of his famous cousin, Dario Franchitti, could have opened up the vacant seat for the Scot, Italy's Italiaracing reports.
Fellow West Lothian-born Franchitti, 40, has called time on his career on medical advice, in the wake of his horror crash in Houston recently that caused head and spinal injuries.
"Racing in America is slightly different, isn't it?" di Resta, who could be replaced after three years at Force India after next week's Brazilian grand prix, said in Austin when asked about his cousin's retirement.
"In Europe he (Franchitti) is probably under-appreciated," he is quoted by the Mirror.
"To sit there at 40, having won four IndyCar titles and three Indy 500s — I would like to be in that position."
Italiaracing said di Resta could be a contender to succeed Franchitti at the Ganassi team.
But the 27-year-old said in Austin that he hopes to stay in F1, even though the 2014 driver market seems to be speeding ahead without him.
"I think it's very late, given where it all is at the moment — but what can you do?" di Resta said.
Other candidates include Ryan Briscoe, second-generation IndyCar driver Conor Daly, GP2 runner-up Sam Bird and a host of others dying for a chance to drive for the top IndyCar team.
11/14/13 Q: Even with all that you could contribute at another team, could it be that you might end up without a drive for 2014?
PEREZ: Yes, that's possible. There are not many options out there right now and there are exactly two races left to find a cockpit – but as I said: not at any cost. Probably I will leave Formula One and find something else for a year or two.
11/14/13 Carlos Slim is already in bed with Chip Ganassi with his Grand-Am Telmex sponsorship. Sergio Perez is out of a ride and Ganassi has a prime seat open. Hmm….
11/14/13 With the announcement that Dario Franchitti is forced to retire from the sport as a result of injuries sustained in this year's Houston GP, there is speculation on who will replace him in the #10 Target machine. Check back here and our 2014 IndyCar Silly Season page for the latest.