Two very different answers from two of IndyCar's star drivers about the series' next car, expected for 2027, set alarm bells ringing recently.
Josef Newgarden: "We certainly know the direction that they're headed."
Scott Dixon: "Nobody has even asked me about it, so I have no idea."
Supposed details about the new car leaked out via Racer just before Christmas, with most team bosses and some drivers having seen a render, which was then immediately criticised for not being radically different enough when compared with the current design.
IndyCar has said more details are coming on the 2027 project soon, but for now we're left to wonder at what stage the project is at, especially when the clock is ticking on getting all of the details ironed out and then giving all the relevant stakeholders time to develop, build and test their respective pieces of the puzzle.
Dixon not knowing what is going on is a bit concerning. He is the series' six-time champion, who is always at the forefront of new development and testing in IndyCar. He was the face of the testing of the aeroscreen device IndyCar now uses, and did a large part of the testing for the hybrid unit that was introduced last year, too.
"I haven't heard much about the whole new formula or what's coming or if anything is coming," Dixon said. "I know there's a car supposedly happening in '27, but…"
Asked if he had seen it he replied: "I haven't even… nobody has even asked me about it, so I have no idea. I wouldn't know if it's going to have two wheels, or three wheels or…"
Dixon should be at the forefront of the conversation, not least because almost all of the drivers in the series have spent their whole IndyCar career only racing the current chassis. However much the current car has changed from 2012 (when it was introduced), it is still the same chassis and one of the issues of having a car for this long is that you drain the pool of drivers able to remember what the previous car was like and bring some ideas based on that.
Luckily, most drivers in the field have raced sportscars and other categories that will bring some fresh ideas to the table. But of all the people you want spearheading that, Dixon is top of the list.
No doubt the IndyCar fans who criticise Penske Entertainment owning the championship and Team Penske having an entry in the series (and the conspiracy theories that come with that) will lap up the fact that Penske's driver Newgarden says he's familiar with the project. But ultimately, he's not the only one who acknowledged seeing and knowing about the 2027 car in recent interviews.
"They've given us a lot of time for feedback and opinion," said Newgarden, although that's clearly not the case for Dixon.
McLaren's Pato O'Ward might have an answer for why Dixon is in the dark.
"I have not seen anything, I have not talked to anybody about it because I've been, well, pretty much overseas a lot of this time," said O’Ward, who spent a large chunk of his off-season with the McLaren Formula 1 team.
"But I know there's a dinner somewhat soon or a couple drivers are going to get together with some of the leadership that hasn't really had a chance to share with them, one of them being me, and I'm assuming I'll hear more about it.
"But I have no idea what it looks like, how heavy it is, how much power it's going to have. I haven't seen anything. But I hope that it's just as good as Jay [Frye, IndyCar president] and everybody tells us."
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So, there's an upcoming meeting, which Dixon will presumably be a part of. He has also been busy at the turn of the year helping the Meyer Shank Acura group to a second-place finish at the 24 Hours of Daytona, missing out by less than two seconds after a day of racing.
With some free time, presumably Dixon will be fully brought up to speed.
That he hasn't been more involved in the planning of this car is a worry. But IndyCar hasn't announced what the project will look like yet or any of the details, and perhaps it feels it has enough of Dixon's opinions on the next car from over the years that he didn't need to be filled in. Or perhaps it wants a more complete project before taking it to Dixon.
The success of this future car does not hinge on how much Scott Dixon knows about it, but using all the resources you have at your disposal does seem wise.
It's also likely that IndyCar hasn't felt ready to share the project more readily because, well, it isn't ready to be shared.
The car needs to be testing on track next year though to be ready and the later its details are confirmed, the more vulnerable the project becomes to delays. Just look at the twice/thrice-delayed introduction of the hybrid.
But the only thing worse than being this late into proceedings without having sorted all this stuff out would be to rush through it to the point where there are fundamental flaws in the project. So in that sense, as we stand, IndyCar is in a lose-lose scenario in terms of perception on this until it unveils its plan to everyone.
Luckily, it's been racing the current car for so long that it knows its strengths and weaknesses and what the next car needs to be improved upon.
The drivers agree on one thing
There's one area of the current car that almost all of the drivers bring up when discussing a wishlist for the next chassis: bringing down the weight.
"It's developed into a pretty heavy race car," Newgarden said.
"I’m sure everybody says that," added Dixon. "But that [reducing the weight], I think, will make raceability a lot better. This will give the tyre some breathing window as well. The look definitely needs to be updated."
Dixon's right that it's a widely shared priority in the paddock, especially with the added weight of the new hybrid and the aeroscreen - which the chassis wasn’t originally designed for - which arrived in 2020.
This also matches another wishlist item, which is more power. That's something a lot of drivers want to see, both to increase the gap between IndyCar and its feeder series but also to make the spectacle of the car on track that bit more exciting.
Dixon would also like to see power steering.
"Those are some things that even junior categories have now where we don't, and that would help, especially with a lot of wrist and hand injuries. So on the safety side I think that would be pretty big," he said.
And Newgarden, winner of the last two editions of the Indianapolis 500, is among many drivers who want to see things improved at the centrepiece race, even if the current formula has now found something of a sweet spot at least in terms of overtaking and battling at the front.
"Indianapolis is probably one of the places that could be mixed up the most where we have a great racing product there but maybe it's not completely what we want," said Newgarden.
"Having more competition throughout the field and ease of passing throughout the field is something we're lacking at the moment. You can pass up front between two cars but not five deep."
So, there's plenty to work on here and plenty of opinions to collate.
It must be hard for IndyCar because its on-track product is so strong that the temptation must be to keep its next car very similar in the hope it produces the same result.
But doing the same thing over and over again won't necessarily match IndyCar's plans for growth in the future, so it's a trade-off between doing what it knows and has proven is brilliant versus taking some risks to boost the series' potential to attract new fans.
The next car is pivotal for IndyCar because despite the excellent on-track action, it hasn't exponentially increased the key audience metrics it is looking for.
Does it stick with hybrid? Does it go to a more basic formula to protect the close racing? Does it go to 1000bhp, wild cars to try to inspire the motorsport fanbase?
There's a lot riding on the next car and IndyCar's next phase. It's an exciting but daunting time for the series.
