Roger Penske has issued an apology for the mistakes that resulted in the disqualification of two of his drivers from the St Petersburg IndyCar season opener. As a result, several members of the team, including the team’s president in charge of operations and Josef Newgarden’s engineer, have been suspended. Penske conducted a review of the incident and found that the drivers were able to use push to pass on restarts, which goes against IndyCar rules. The team’s president, Tim Cindric, explained that the issue occurred because a line of code was accidentally left on in the cars’ software from a hybrid test. Luke Mason, who was recently promoted to Newgarden’s lead engineer, has also been suspended for two races. Ron Ruzewski, the team’s managing director, and Robbie Atkinson, the senior data engineer on Newgarden’s car, have also been suspended for two races. The affected races will be the Indianapolis road course and the Indy 500. Roger Penske expressed his regret and apologized for the errors that were made, acknowledging the impact it has had on the sport. The team admitted that there were significant failures in their processes and internal communications. Despite their explanation, Team Penske has faced criticism from various sources, with many in the paddock doubting their explanation regarding the code left on the car. Pato O’Ward was promoted to victory following Newgarden’s disqualification, ending McLaren’s winless streak in IndyCar since 2022. Will Power, who did not use the push to pass, was fined 10 championship points due to Penske’s error. The fact that Roger Penske’s companies own both IndyCar and the race team has drawn criticism. The disqualifications have had a greater impact on McLaughlin and Newgarden, as they currently sit ninth and 15th in the standings, respectively. Chevrolet, Penske’s engine supplier, has also faced criticism for not noticing the push to pass use between St Petersburg and Long Beach. General Motors conducted a thorough review and found no evidence of any Chevrolet employee’s involvement in the matter.
Aryna Sabalenka, a prominent tennis player, was invited as a special guest by the American team for the recent race weekend in Italy. It is not uncommon for...
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