So, this weekend kicks off the last Indycar season of the decade.

Last year was an absolute blast, but it also had some tough moments as well (how to forget the crash of Wickens). It was an amazing season to follow, and since I’m expecting this year to match it, I wanted to share it with all of you.

Even though I’m not from the US, I have access to all the races live and direct (and without breaks of any kind, so I don’t miss anything ). However, I don’t have access to the practice or qualifying sessions, the only exception is the qualy for The Race in Indianapolis because it follows a different schedule than anything else in the world. For that reason, I’m not really doing this as a report, but rather a discussion thread where everybody can drop in and speak their mind about the series as the season progresses.

While this season and the next one won’t feature many changes, due to the new engine regulations set to enter in 2021, it doesn’t mean it’s going to be a boring or in-pass season. There are a few interesting things to see, like if the aforementioned Wickens can return this year, if the Swede army of Ericsson and Rosenqvist can do well, and of course, the always close battle for the title.

Once again, the Indy 500 are going to be an incredible hit. Besides being a legendary race, this year it will welcome again Fernando Alonso, who impressed everyone in 2017. He switched to a Chevy engine this year, now not forced to pick Honda since McLaren had broken ties with them last year, so we’ll see if he has any better luck this time around.

This Friday the season will get rolling with the first race out of 17 scheduled for this year. There are two big changes to the schedule, one at the start and one at the end. ISM Raceway (Phoenix) was dropped, making way for COTA (Austin) to hold its first ever Indycar race, and also meaning one of the oval tracks was lost in favor of a permanent road course. Also, Sonoma Raceway was dropped in favor of Laguna Seca, meaning that the final race will stay at California but will now be held on a more internationally known racetrack (can’t wait until mid September to see how these guys will tackle The Corkscrew).

Other small changes include the date swapping of a few tracks, and also Iowa’s return to being a night race. This means that 3 out of 5 races in oval tracks will be night races. Quite of a big deal for me since I’m several hours ahead, so I’ll have to stay overnight if I want to watch them live. We’ll see if I do that, because my parents also like this series and they’d rather wait until Monday to watch it deferred.

Anyway, we’ll see what this season has in stock for us. The wait is nearly over, so hype is at its highest.

lol Alonso didn't qualify.
I haven't been active so I haven't been able to give my hot take.
Rossi is scary, Laguna Seca should be great.
The Indy 500 was really great, which is good, they really needed a good showing. I only wish Ed Carpenter could have won, but I guess there's always next year.
Unfortunately, Detriot is about to start this weekend, and it's probably going to be boring again. But we'll see.
My main hope is that they can forward conversations for Surfer's Paradise within the next few years. In addition, I'm actually kind of intrigued by the possibility of a shared weekend with NASCAR at the Roval, which has come up in the news recently.
And as always, Hornish needs to do something. I really miss seeing his name in the news.

Hidden Phantom : Yeah, Alonso didn't make it, and the reaction from our media was hilarious. A team like McLaren cannot enter a championship like this, the team was awful and under-prepared for the challenge...

They weren't too wrong, though. After all, the three cars that were bumped out were Carlin-entered, which clearly shows the team is a few steps behind the rest of the grid. At least they had the fearless Kimball in the fourth Carlin entry to somewhat save the day, but overall the team made a disastrous weekend.

Rossi is very scary. He's showing all season that he's here to win the big things, and if nobody dares to stop him, he will win this championship. The finale at Laguna Seca will surely have several drivers still in contention for the title, which will make it even more amazing.

I also believe Carpenter deserves a win. He's made pole three times, he's a great specialist in ovals, but he keeps being denied the bottle of milk. I really hope he can win it next year, we're running out of first-time winners that have both the skills and the car needed to win it.

Detroit wasn't that boring. The race was shortened due to rain, and seeing Marco Andretti fight with the car in slick tires along a flooded track was unbelievable. There were many mistakes, even by important drivers like Power and Dixon, and also impressive overtakes in a race that doesn't generally provide much action. Today the race will be in dry conditions, so it will be much different.

I don't think the Indycar is boring outside of Indy or ovals, like you imply to say. It's a different kind of race and driving (and car too), but I can tell you it's still lots of fun. Maybe it's because I'm used to the generally boring F1 and I see anything better than it as something spectacular

I do think Indycar needs at least one race outside of North America. Surfer's Paradise would be a nice addition, but I wouldn't mind that proposal of Juncos to have a race in Argentina (as long as the selected track is the bonkers Potrero de los Funes). We'll see what happens, though maybe the European drivers like the successful Pagenaud or the media king Alonso can bring the Indycar over here (because daydreaming is still allowed xD).

I didn't hear about that NASCAR-shared weekend. We don't get much coverage of NASCAR over here, so I'm all for it and finally get a full race coverage rather than just tidbits and highlights.