IndyCar threw a wrench in the works in the middle of the 2024 season, waiting until after May’s famed Indianapolis 500 to introduce the new electrified powertrain from the Mid-Ohio round onward. That means the 2025 Indy 500 will be the first time these cars have run in anger across the yard of bricks with hybrid power. The typical April test at Indy went off without too much of a hitch this week at the speedway, and the juice seems like it might have been worth the squeeze. From the outset the two-day test looked fast as heck and if the weather holds and the drivers and teams get everything tuned up just right, we could see one of the fastest fields in Indy history.
During Thursday’s high-boost qualifying-style run on track two-time Indy winner Takuma Sato nearly matched Scott McLaughlin’s 2024 all-time record pole speed, Racer reports, running a 232.565-mph average lap without an aerodynamic tow. McLaughlin, benefitting from a slight draft, managed to top that with the best lap of the session, a 232.686-mph run. The two-day test’s fastest runs on lower race-spec boost levels saw Scott Dixon setting the pace on Wednesday with a 225.182-mph lap. There is about a three PSI difference between high and low boost settings.
For the teams to have already figured out this level of speed in April, with almost a full month at the speedway coming up, points to a seriously fast qualifying session when we get around to Fast Friday on May 16. Last year’s April test session, admittedly a rain-shortened effort, only saw one car run anything faster than 227 mph.
What of the hybrids?
There have been some minor complaints since the introduction of the capacitor-based hybrid system, as it hasn’t really seemed to add much to the racing action aside from another potential point of failure, while adding weight, complexity, and cost to the race cars. I think, and two-time defending Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden (above, speaking to Racer Magazine‘s Marshall Pruett) agrees with me, that the 60-horsepower hybrid energy boost will make or break a driver’s run at Indianapolis. It is imperative that drivers get a handle on charging the capacitors in traffic and implementing the power adding jolt at the right time to perfectly execute a pass or save fuel on a long run. If everything goes well during the race in late May, there’s an opportunity for the hybrid motor to really make a difference.
IndyCar has discussed increasing the hybrid power boost from 60 horses to 100, and I think that’s exactly what needs to happen for next season, if not sooner. With a bit more oomph, the electric boost will be given an opportunity to shine. And that’ll give drivers another opportunity to go for another all-time fastest pole time in 2026. If we don’t see the Speedway’s all-time fastest single-lap record, a 239.260-mph run in practice by Arie Luyendyk in 1996, fall this year it’s bound to happen soon. Are you ready for May at the Speedway? It’s going to be big.