Team boss insists IndyCar racing 'INFINITELY BETTER' than F1

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IndyCar

Team boss insists IndyCar racing 'INFINITELY BETTER' than F1

The team owner has experience in both series

Rhys Thomas

Saturday 13 July 2024 16:00

An IndyCar co-owner has claimed that the racing in the series is far superior to Formula 1 as he compared ownership in both.

Both championships see some of the world's fastest cars battle for position, though F1 has been plagued by complaints of poor racing in recent years with cars struggling to follow one another closely.

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The 2022 regulation changes made some improvements to this, and it is hoped the next iteration of changes in 2026 will further help.

However, Juncos Hollinger Racing (JHR) co-owner Brad Hollinger believes that IndyCar is still way out in front in the racing department.

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Why is IndyCar racing 'better' than F1?

Comparing the top two open-wheel series, Hollinger considered some key similarities and differences.

““In some ways it’s almost identical,” he told Autosport. “The enjoyment, the passion, the thrill, it’s very similar, no doubt.

"I happened to hit it quite perfectly with Williams. Williams had floundered after the BMW deal, then they brought in Toto Wolff and he made some changes, all for the good. [They] brought in Pat Symonds, who did a great job.

"The first race I went to after I bought in, in 2014, was Austria; we qualified first and third. We ended up third that season, third the next season. So, it was quite a good fairytale to say the least.

"Then, as they tend to do in Formula 1, the money dried up a bit. Claire [Williams] took over for her dad and it became difficult to be competitive. That was not so fun. It became more of a pure business and a whole lot less a fun, passionate sport.”

Brad Hollinger was the second largest shareholder at Williams F1 for six years

Hollinger sold his 15% share in Williams and in 2021 invested in Ricardo Juncos' vision, becoming co-owner of JHR as the team began to race full-time in IndyCar, where at Laguna Seca Romain Grosjean recently scored the team's best-ever result with fourth.

"It’s meaningfully different," Hollinger said of IndyCar. "The racing, to me, is infinitely better.

"It’s fiercely competitive and close, but the atmosphere I love because, to me, it’s much more collegial, much more open, not so much this cloak-and-dagger shit that you have in Formula 1. Like, my God, you can’t take a picture; they hide everything. It’s like, ‘For God’s sake guys, it’s racing!'

"So, it’s just a much more collegial atmosphere, I find. In IndyCar, people help each other out. Yeah, there's a bit of cut-throat and drivers changing hands and all that good kind of stuff. That’s normal in any sport, whatever it is, whether it’s football, soccer, basketball. So, I really enjoy IndyCar. IndyCar is just flat out more fun."

Hollinger and JHR will be hoping to resume their upward trajectory this weekend at Iowa after a costly spin for Grosjean last time out at Mid-Ohio saw the team's cars come home in P22 and P23.

Formula 1 IndyCar Juncos Hollinger Racing