Colton Herta shared his thoughts on Friday regarding the disqualification of Team Penske in a recent IndyCar race. The disqualification was a result of the team’s misuse of the Push to Pass system, which allowed them to achieve a double podium finish at St. Pete in March.
Herta expressed his lack of enthusiasm for Josef Newgarden’s explanation as to why he was permitted to use the system when it should have been disabled. He specifically pointed out that the team had loaded illegally modified software onto their cars in Long Beach, which eventually led to the discovery of the system’s misuse in the previous event.
“It’s difficult to know what everyone else is doing,” Herta stated to a small group of reporters. “I’m not affected by it. I don’t believe everyone is cheating. Perhaps it was simply a mistake.
“But it’s hard to believe it was a mistake when they kept it in the car in Long Beach and intended to use it again. Regardless of the reasons given for its presence in the car.
“By the way, it was in their hybrid car, which is not one of their race cars.
“What other capabilities does that software have? Could it be used to bypass the countdown for the Push to Pass system? I don’t know. There are many unknowns.
“Clearly, I now have complete trust that nothing will happen in the future. They will be under such close scrutiny that it will be challenging for them to do anything. It could have been an honest mistake at St. Pete. It’s difficult to believe that Long Beach was.”
“Ultimately, the biggest issue is that it’s a mistake made by Penske. It’s not the driver’s fault for being in the car. However, it is the driver’s responsibility for using it and planning to use it again in Long Beach. They were all okay with it in Long Beach. No one said anything.
“I find it hard to believe that anyone wouldn’t notice an extra 50 horsepower in the car. Any excuse they have is nonsense.”
Newgarden admitted to intentionally using the Push to Pass system during the restarts at the St. Pete event. He claimed that he and his team believed there had been a rule change allowing its use. However, there were no actual rule changes for this season, and he activated the system with the expectation that it would work on the first lap of the restart.
Herta also questioned the idea that an experienced driver would not be familiar with the rules.
“You simply know the rules,” Herta continued. “It’s mentioned in every driver’s briefing when overtaking is allowed. You know it.
“How long has he been driving in IndyCar? It has always been disabled until you reach the start/finish line. He tried it 29 times before, and it didn’t work. Then, when it did work… I don’t know.
“It’s interesting to see Newgarden having to defend his actions. I don’t feel sorry for him at all. I don’t understand how someone couldn’t know the rules. Especially someone who has been in the series for over 10 years.”