Note: This continues a series of 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES team previews on INDYCAR.com. The season starts Sunday, March 2 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding (noon ET, FOX, INDYCAR Radio Network).
Starting Lineup: Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 SiriusXM Honda), Marcus Armstrong (No. 66 SiriusXM/Root Honda), Helio Castroneves (No. 06 Cleveland-Cliffs SiriusXM Honda) for the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.
2024 in Review: Rosenqvist and Armstrong finished 12th and 14th, respectively, in the season standings. Rosenqvist started the season strong, qualifying in the second position for each of the first two events, including the exhibition race at The Thermal Club. His first five races featured finishes of fifth, third, ninth, fourth and 10th, and he won his fourth career pole for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. While a mechanical issue relegated Rosenqvist to a 27th-place finish in the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, he was the fastest Honda driver in qualifying (ninth place). His strong qualifying efforts continued through the summer races with a third-place start in the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, another third-place start in the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto, a second-place start in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline at World Wide Technology Raceway and a third-place start in the season-ending Big Machine Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway. Armstrong’s first full season in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES – second overall – with Chip Ganassi Racing was highlighted by a third-place finish in the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear, four top-five finishes (The Thermal Club, the Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, Toronto and the BITNILE.com Grand Prix of Portland). His first “500” began with a 16th-place qualifying position, although he completed only six laps before retiring with mechanical failure. Castroneves drove in three races, including his 24th consecutive “500.” He replaced series rookie Tom Blomqvist in the No. 66 Honda after Indy. David Malukas took over the No. 66 car in the final 10 races of the season, scoring a sixth-place finish in Toronto.
New for ’25: Armstrong joining the organization from Chip Ganassi Racing is the headliner, but don’t sleep on MSR’s new technical alliance with Chip Ganassi’s operation. The arrangement should make for a smooth transition for Armstrong, and Rosenqvist, who drove for CGR in 2019 and 2020, also should benefit, especially with the new pairing with engineer Ross Bunnell, who won five races with Scott Dixon over the past two seasons.
Keep an Eye on This: Quietly, Armstrong had his best season, posting five top-10 finishes in the final eight races, including a fifth-place finish with a lap led in Portland. In the first half of the year, he drove from 19th to finish third in Detroit and finished fifth on the IMS road course with three laps led. While Armstrong switched teams during the offseason, he will again work with engineer Angela Ashmore, for whom he has much confidence, and they will continue to work with Honda.
Little-Known Fact: While Josef Newgarden’s bid for a three-peat in the “500” will be the dominant storyline of May, Castroneves will take his fourth shot at becoming the race’s first five-time winner. The driver who turns 50 on May 10 also is in line to become the fourth driver with 25 or more starts at Indy (A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti and Al Unser are the others). He already is one of five drivers with four or more poles in the event.