Alexander Rossi's Turn To 'Rough Up' IndyCar's IR-28 At Sebring
· Yahoo Sports
Alexander Rossi in the IR-28 during testing at Sebring Raceway on October 13, 2026.
Visit sweetbonanza-app.com for more information.
INDYCAR Photo by CHRIS OWENS 2026IG:@CHRISOWENSCHRISOWENSPHOTOGRAPHY.COMA process designed to stress out the new Indy car to determine the weak areas of the IR-28, it was Alexander Rossi’s turn to rough it up on October 13 at Sebring International Raceway.
The Chevrolet driver for ECR was on the bumpy and rough road course one day after Honda driver and five-time NTT IndyCar Series Champion Alex Palou slapped it around in testing.
That is in contrast to the first two test sessions with the car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on both the road course and oval in early August and mid-September when the testing team wanted to make sure not to abuse the only IR-28 that currently exists.
“At Indy when we did the oval test you had to leave a very big margin there because there is no margin of error there,” Rossi explained on Tuesday. “Here, there are certain corners where you can take a bit more risk and there is runoff and you aren’t going to necessarily hurt anything. But the corners are where the penalty for getting it wrong is high when you leave a little bit on the table.
“That’s really no different what you would do on a race weekend in Practice 1 and Practice 2 before you risk it all in qualifying.”
Alexander Rossi peers through the aeroscreen of the IR-28 Indy car at Sebring, Florida on October 13, 2026.
INDYCAR Photo By CHRIS OWENS 2026IG:@CHRISOWENSCHRISOWENSPHOTOGRAPHY.COMWhat Makes Sebring Raceway Ideal For The Latest IndyCar Test Of The IR-28
The bumpy Sebring Raceway, home of the annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring IMSA Sports Car Race every March, is a valuable testing location during IndyCar’s offseason. The race track has characteristics for road courses and street courses on the IndyCar Series schedule and is quite active, especially before the season kicks off on the streets of St. Petersburg.
“What is good about this place is it’s the poorest quality surface you can have in a permanent road course, so it mimics a street course in some places,” Rossi said. “The main thing is because it’s a formula road course, it does get used a lot, it’s a higher grip level than a street course would be.
“In terms of bumps, pavement changes, difficult transitions in the asphalt, that is why everyone comes and tests here because it is at least somewhat of a preview what you will get on the street courses.
“Also, it’s mid-October and 80 degrees and sunny. There aren’t many places in the Midwest where you will get those conditions.”
IndyCar, and its partners in the IR-28 project including Dallara, Chevrolet, Honda and others took full advantage of those conditions with two days of testing. Palou was in the car on Monday and Rossi was behind the wheel on Tuesday.
What IndyCar Was Looking For In This Test
“I don’t know that anyone is looking for anything,” Rossi said. “The messaging we get is to run the car as you would your race car, if it was the No. 20. From there, we will see what issues, problems, surprises come out of that. All of the test list items were really accomplished in the first two test, just making sure things worked as you would expect.
“This test is more of a practical application. Does it perform over a two-day test as the current car does, as you would expect it too, and what little things come up that we need to address before the series starts producing a bunch of these.”
Rossi noted it’s not a case of addressing ‘A, B and C,’ it’s more “What is A, B and C?’ and how does IndyCar resolve that?
Alexander Rossi on the track at Sebring Raceway in the IR-28 on October 13, 2026.
INDYCAR Photo By CHRIS OWENS 2026IG:@CHRISOWENSCHRISOWENSPHOTOGRAPHY.COM“Visually, it’s an incredible car to look and it and it generates more grip in the high-speed corners,” Rossi said. “It’s a very nice car to drive. It feels well-built, incredibly well-engineered and put together.
“The cooling in the car, we’ve made a big step forward on that in this test in particular. It’s night and day difference in terms of comfort and drivability inside the cockpit.
“On top of that, as this car continues to develop, the 2028 version of it is not the end of the journey. There are a lot of things that are scheduled to come as time goes on that will make this car perform even better, race even better, and on even a better show for the fans, which is the No. 1 priority for all of us.”
Alexander Rossi Returns To Where His IndyCar Career Began 10 Years Ago
For Rossi, it was also a return to the track where he tested an Indy car for the first time as a rookie with Andretti Global in 2016. That test was a pathway for Rossi’s future.
Ten years later, Rossi tested IndyCar’s new car that is the path for the future for this form of racing.
“I think the similarities ended,” Rossi said. “It’s a new car for me at Sebring. Beyond that, I’ve had quite a few laps here since then, spent a lot of time in the series to develop myself as a driver and a person. Coming back here and being part of the next iteration of IndyCar’s future is a huge honor and it’s an exciting time for the sport.
“This car, in so many ways, is a pretty big upgrade from what we currently have. IndyCar, as a series, and its fans and partners have looked forward to this car and can’t wait for this car to be on track in 2028 because it doesn’t disappoint.”
Alexander Rossi of ECR was all smiles at Sebring, Florida on October 13, 2026.
INDYCAR Photo By CHRIS OWENS 2026IG:@CHRISOWENSCHRISOWENSPHOTOGRAPHY.COMThis article was originally published on Forbes.com