IndyRivals "Personnel Thread": Dixon v Felix, Colton v Pato - and other intriguing battles!

By immensely popular demand, and finally possible with Pato's official arrival, here is the thread to keep track of two of the most fascinating "team mate battles" (or actually one team-mate battle that never was!) in this year's NTT IndyCar Series!

Usually Scott Dixon has little to fear from his team mate, ever since Dario's departure from racing... but this year, he faces a formidable fresh face that might just be able to put the fight to him in Sweet Swede Felix Rosenqvist! 

Likewise, two of the brightest young talents who are in their first full season (more or less) in IndyCar this year ... and who were SUPPOSED to be team mates, until the surprising turn of events that left Patricio O'Ward without a ride at Harding-Stoneburner, who are now solely running second-generation rising star Colton Herta - these two will make for a highly interesting duel, as well!  Even though they aren't technically team mates. Anymore.  But shush!  

While these four drivers are the headliners, and probably the most fascinating face-offs this season, there is of course much more in the offering:

Andretti Autosport's Alexander Rossi vs. Butterball Turkey's Ryan Hunter-Reay (deliberately omitting "Don't forget the HEAT" pun here.  Or am I?)

Andretti Autosport's youngster Zach Veach vs. Uber Autotaxi's Marco Andretti for the honor of not being last of the 4 Andretti cars!

Penske's Dynamic Duo Will Power vs. Josef Newgarden... aaaaaaand will Simon Pagenaud be able to re-join the heights of those 2, or is he off to an IMSA Acura in the near future?

Rahal's Graham Rahal vs. Valhalla's Takuma Sato!  Mortals should never do battle with immortals, but anything is nonetheless possible in IndyCar!

and of course, the Basement Brawl, Foyt's Tony Kanaan vs. Matheus Leist, for the honor of NOT coming LAST of all the full-season entrants!

Make your predictions, take your sides, keep score.  Have at it.  It's already turning into another hell of a season!   

Edited by maximilian, 23 March 2019 - 16:28.

<insert squabbling over previous years' line-up which has no relevance to the current year here>

<insert squabbling over previous years' line-up which has no relevance to the current year here>

You're confusing this thread with another motorsport series, methinks 

You're confusing this thread with another motorsport series, methinks 

Well, you know, Ganassi had this pay-driver last year, and... etc. 

Back on topic, it appears Pato has gotten up to speed pretty quickly, despite a severe lack of testing, so while he is at a definite disadvantage in terms of in-car-time at the moment, we may yet get a close battle between the two youngsters this week already.

Meanwhile, I remember seeing Felix on top of the practice timesheets a lot more than Dixon... but Dixon is a stealthy bastard, as we know.  I am most intrigued how it all pans out in Qualy.  [insert conspiracy theory here how Ganassi deliberately slowed Felix's pit stop in St. Pete to make sure Dixon is ahead in the end] 

Meanwhile, a well-meaning hug to the Reigate Rocket, the ACTUAL team mate... but not much of a battle?  Who knows, maybe Maxipad will raise his game, as well. 

Edited by maximilian, 23 March 2019 - 17:32.

<insert squabbling over previous years' line-up which has no relevance to the current year here>

SPM should've kept Aleshin!!11

* sigh * 

So!  Frozenqvist is up 2-0 on Dixon in Qualy.  How'bout them apples?

Edited by red stick, 23 March 2019 - 20:45.

Herta was kinda hiding in Pato's shadow before, but now when it's time for the big league he's definitely making an excellent first impression. I don't think anyone expected quite as much. 

I was VERY skeptical at Herta's COTA Spring Training pace, but it sure appears to have been genuine.  Remarkable progress for this young team and driver. 

Yep. Pleasantly suprised with how Colton has been getting on. I think the injury did hamper him after all - I wasn't convinced at Sonoma last year compared to Pato but maybe the occasion got the better of him. I was also sceptical of Harding Steinbrenner's pace in testing; I'll admit I thought they were doing it to try and find some sponsorship but they've certainly proved me wrong after the first couple of races. Add to the fact that Colton appears to have his head screwed on remarkably well for a 19-year-old, going by how he's presented himself with the media and I'm leaning towards being a fan quite quickly.

It's also good for Harding Steinbrenner to put the bad PR aside, too.

Edited by Frood, 23 March 2019 - 23:52.

They do have some special rookie talent again this year, exciting times for Indy Car

Edited by red stick, 24 March 2019 - 12:30.

Of course, Dixon is the kinda magician who may well lose Qualy 3-14 and races 7-10 to Rosenqvist, and STILL ends up winning the Championship!   

Rosenqvist outqualifying Dixon

Edited by maximilian, 24 March 2019 - 13:52.

I’m looking forward to the battle of Max vs. Other posters on the board as the emojis broke the forum

It's 2019, gotta speak the lingo of the times! 

Edited by maximilian, 24 March 2019 - 13:53.

Well, Colton all the way, but all in all an impressive debut from Pato, as well.  Wondering just how good those two would be together at Harding right now, if the team had only found the $$$ to run two cars!  Ironically, after this sensational win, they may well pick up sponsors... and might run a second car in due time?

Pato certainly made Maximum Reigate look like he wasn't even in the race...

Dixon 0-2 in Qualy and 2-0 in the races sounds very Dixon-ish.  Hell, he almost won the race, without the yellow... and that after struggling 95% of the weekend.  Amazing.  Felix is quick, but he's still erratic, which was also his weakness in FE - gets into too much trouble.  Although his crash wasn't necessarily his fault.

I know it's early in the season, but I'm sure there's a couple of drivers looking nervous in the big teams already with these rookies.

I'm sure Pagenaud's time is limited at Penske.

As much as I like him, VEACH needs to start kicking on in his second season at Andretti. Today was... not that. Poor show from him today, especially with Marco having a solid start to the season (he's even ahead of RHR on points!). I know Marco's not exactly in danger of losing his seat, but he's been quietly going about his business nicely in the first two races.

Hinch hasn't been looking stellar, either.

 

I'm sure Pagenaud's time is limited at Penske.

First thing I thought when I saw the #31 on Pato's car this week:

A sign of future things to come? 

Edited by maximilian, 24 March 2019 - 23:55.

 I know Marco's not exactly in danger of losing his seat, but he's been quietly going about his business nicely in the first two races.

 

Well, there is that rumour out there that he'll be headed down to Oz to compete in Supercars...  And if that would be the case, wouldn't you think Father Brian would want to have Son Colton driving the 98?

Like lots of people I think, the head to head I was looking forward to was Herta v O'Ward - and it was O'Ward my money was on, definitely, based on their records in Indy Lights. Now, although the comparison is obviously muddied by O'Ward switching teams at the last minute - Herta actually has won his third ever Indycar race. 

Pretty amazing stuff really. 

Edited by messy, 25 March 2019 - 09:46.

Like lots of people I think, the head to head I was looking forward to was Herta v O'Ward - and it was O'Ward my money was on, definitely, based on their records in Indy Lights. Now, although the comparison is obviously muddied by O'Ward switching teams at the last minute - Herta actually has won his third ever Indycar race. 

 

Pretty amazing stuff really. 

That may be so, but be reminded that Colton finished 8th in his 2nd IndyCar race.  Where did Pato finish in HIS 2nd IndyCar race?  That's right... 8th!      Therefore, it is a foregone conclusion that Pato will win the NEXT race! 

I know it's early in the season, but I'm sure there's a couple of drivers looking nervous in the big teams already with these rookies.

 

I'm sure Pagenaud's time is limited at Penske.

 

As much as I like him, VEACH needs to start kicking on in his second season at Andretti. Today was... not that. Poor show from him today, especially with Marco having a solid start to the season (he's even ahead of RHR on points!). I know Marco's not exactly in danger of losing his seat, but he's been quietly going about his business nicely in the first two races.

 

Hinch hasn't been looking stellar, either.

Pato is very young and looks like a more exciting prospect than Checo Pérez.  I would love to see him try his luck in F1.

Pato is very young and looks like a more exciting prospect than Checo Pérez.  I would love to see him try his luck in F1.

What I can't understand is, tossers like THE LLAMA Gutierrez seem to have sponsorship money thrown after them by Mexican interests, but an obvious talent like Pato doesn't get picked up.  Well, yet.  I hope it's only a matter of a couple more races until everybody really catches on.

Edited by maximilian, 26 March 2019 - 03:48.

IndyManiacs, how about we have a NEW little pick'em game based on the fascinating duels in our beloved series?  Simply pick the top finisher of the fascinating team mate (and quasi-team-mate) battles, post your picks here, and most correct picks wins, of course!   Did I just say fascinating twice?  I'll tally up everybody's picks (unless someone is a fascinating programming/accounting wizard and wants to assume the task) - also, we need a SNAZZY and fascinating name for this... any ideas? 

Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama:

Dixon vs Rosenqvist
Herta vs O'Ward
Power vs Newgarden vs Pagenaud
Kanaan vs Leist
Hinchcliffe vs Ericsson
Sato vs Rahal
Bourdais vs Ferrucci
Pigot vs Jones
Rossi vs Hunter-Reay
Veach vs Andretti
Chilton vs Harvey vs Hanley

Good idea?  Bad idea?  

Edit: maybe "Fascinating" should be part of the name! 

Edit 2: no idea why everything up to Pato is purple, and then green.  Also, full disclosure, I DID write Veach as per proper protocol, but it was overruled by the <code> command.

Edited by maximilian, 03 April 2019 - 14:13.

Edit 2: no idea why everything up to Pato is purple, and then green.  Also, full disclosure, I DID write Veach as per proper protocol, but it was overruled by the <code> command.

IndyManiacs, how about we have a NEW little pick'em game based on the fascinating duels in our beloved series?  Simply pick the top finisher of the fascinating team mate (and quasi-team-mate) battles, post your picks here, and most correct picks wins, of course!   Did I just say fascinating twice?  I'll tally up everybody's picks (unless someone is a fascinating programming/accounting wizard and wants to assume the task) - also, we need a SNAZZY and fascinating name for this... any ideas? 

Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama:

Dixon vs Rosenqvist
Herta vs O'Ward
Power vs Newgarden vs Pagenaud
Kanaan vs Leist
Hinchcliffe vs Ericsson
Sato vs Rahal
Bourdais vs Ferrucci
Pigot vs Jones
Rossi vs Hunter-Reay
Veach vs Andretti
Chilton vs Harvey vs Hanley

Good idea?  Bad idea?  

 

Edit: maybe "Fascinating" should be part of the name! 

 

Edit 2: no idea why everything up to Pato is purple, and then green.  Also, full disclosure, I DID write Veach as per proper protocol, but it was overruled by the <code> command.

Was Hænley overruled as well?

Edited by Myrvold, 03 April 2019 - 19:32.

Was Hænley overruled as well?

 

 

No, but I was too lazy to look up the ASCII code for the æ! 

Well, in terms of the vs. battles, Barber was a slight let-down ... Frozenqvist never looked like he would be seriously challenging Dixon all week, and Colton's DNF threw the wrench into his battle with Pato, although until then he had the clear upper hand, so I am almost inclined to still oward him the point.

Newgarden sure outclassed his team mates this time... somehow made it work reasonably and got the optimal possible result in a very difficult off week.

Ericsson for the first time turned some heads and looked like he can take the fight to The Mayor, so this might turn into a good battle yet.

Sato vs. Rahal would have been interesting if Graham had better luck, but given that Sato was ahead from the start, probably the same outcome.

Kanaan vs. Leist is almost turning into a who-cares contest at this point.  Both cars were almost invisible all race long, and I couldn't tell you from the top of my head who finished ahead.

Pigot the clear winner over Jones, whose remaining credit seems to be depleting quickly.  Too bad the #21's momentum didn't end in a good result.

RHR will have a hard time again against Rossi, but those 2 are just SOLID every race.  I expect them both to star in Long Beach.

Marco finishing behind Veach despite Zach's chaotic week doesn't bode well for him.  Totally anonymous race.

Santino's practice pace doesn't seem to want to turn into race performance so far.  I didn't expect him to be a real threat to Bourdais, and it doesn't look like he will be, so far.

The English Basement Battle clearly goes to Harvey, despite too much bad luck.  He was on track for another top-10 finish.  Chilton's crash wasn't "really" his fault...  DragonSpeed need to start finding a bit more pace.  Compared to other new team arrivals, they aren't looking too sharp - even Juncos wasn't dead last all the time with a decent driver when they first showed up.

In other news, I win the first round of the pick'em game, since nobody else played! 

Edited by maximilian, 08 April 2019 - 12:18.

Looks like the purported fascinating duel between Dixie and F'lixie is dudding out on us for now... 

Pato strikes in the battle of the been-mates, although Colton had him covered on pace... but big mistake that cost a lot of people a lot of tacos!  Tacoes?  Why isn't it tacoes?  It's potatoes!  It's tomatoes!

Rahal scores against Sato.  Satoes?  No way, there can only be one SATO!

Even the Penske tribattle is a bit lopsided at the moment...

Edited by maximilian, 15 April 2019 - 12:57.

Pato is being probably head-hunted by half the paddock.  After everyone saw the jump SPM got last year by grabbing Wickens we're back to the talent-hunting era.  I think the big miss though was last year.  O'Ward lit things up at Sonoma, and someone should have made their move then.  Now, they're facing a bidding war.  Good for Pato, bad for them.

What choice should Pato have made, btw? Would you have taken 8 races at Andretti, or 13 at Carlin?

^ ...... and he gets more races to demonstrate his talent.

Edited by jonpollak, 17 April 2019 - 00:39.

Also, I would be surprised if Pato doesn't get a deal put together to run the remaining races he's not yet confirmed for in a 3rd Carlin car.   How about McLaren pay for it and service it, as a dry run for next year's full-time entry? 

Edited by maximilian, 17 April 2019 - 01:51.