Bobby Rahal is aware that Christian Lundgaard is one of the most sought-after IndyCar free agents still available. With Lundgaard’s contract set to expire at the end of the season, and his manager having tested the waters at other teams with opportunities to pursue, Rahal wants to keep the impressively fast and consistent Danish product in the No. 45 Honda for 2025, and possibly longer, if they can reach an agreement.
As more seats are filled or removed from other teams’ rosters, the shrinking alternatives in the paddock may benefit RLL, but there are no guarantees their top performer — who finished eighth in last year’s championship and leads the team this year in 11th — will return.
“I’m not sure where else, aside from maybe Penske, that would be better,” Rahal told RACER on Monday. “We’ve been faster than all the other guys in a number of races. So I’m not sure why he’d look elsewhere, but you always have to see what the market will bear. But we intend to re-sign him. And, as I previously stated, I do not believe he is looking to go anywhere.
“But we must continue to provide him with high-quality race vehicles and perform admirably for him. Let’s see what happens. And sooner rather than later, we’ll know what the scenario is. But we absolutely intend to keep him.”
As Rahal informed RACER while addressing the future of Juri Vips, another RLL driver, the organisation needs to make a decision with Lundgaard and choose how many cars and drivers it will field in 2025.
Along with Lundgaard, RLL veteran Graham Rahal in the No. 15 Honda (15th in the drivers’ standings) and newcomer Pietro Fittipaldi in the No. 30 Honda (20th) are part of the three-car programme, and Rahal said, “Right now, it’s all about finding the financial backing to do whatever we want to do, whether it’s two cars, three cars, four cars, or whatever.”
Along with expanding, one of the three would go, making it easier to complete the four-driver conundrum.
“It’s just a matter of we’re putting our head down making sure that we have the financial resource to do a good job for our drivers next year,” Rahal reported. “I can’t tell you what it will look like just now; obviously, we like Pietro and hope he stays. But, yeah, there are too many butts and too few seats at this point. We could drive a fourth automobile. That is contingent on what Honda or Chevrolet, whatever we are with next year, may say.
“We’re actually just looking at putting together all of our sponsorship packages, and we’ve already received a few of re-ups, which is great. It’s also the time of year when, I’m sorry to say, anything can happen. It’s simply a matter of getting through the next race. Then we’ll take a break after Toronto and get a better understanding of where things stand.”
With the uncertainty surrounding Honda’s future in IndyCar beyond its current contract, which runs through 2026, Rahal, who introduced the Japanese brand to the series under the Rahal-Hogan Racing banner in 1994, wants to continue with the firm and possibly extend its own contract.
“We’re fulfilling our agreement, our commitment for this year, and we’re happy to do so,” according to him. “All I know is that we’ve had a long history with Honda, but engine count is a major thing these days, and appropriately so. We would love to stick with Honda, but it never seems to be the obvious choice. We may be forced to look elsewhere. I hope not. But we will find out.
