Whether it was the leaders of IndyCar’s youth movement and the impressive rookie class of home-grown and imported talents, or a pack of resurgent, tenured veterans enjoying continued success or rediscovering their old form once thought lost, there certainly was no shortage of interesting driver narratives that played out over the course of the 2022 season.
In the first of this two part countdown, we look back at the ten best drivers of this year’s IndyCar season, starting with drivers ranked tenth to sixth.
10 – Alexander Rossi – Andretti
Right as he announced his decision to leave Andretti Autosport for McLaren SP next season, the Alexander Rossi of old began to burst from out of a perplexing two-year slump.
Yes, it’s fair to argue that his first victory in 49 IndyCar races should not have stood – when his number 27 car failed post-race scrutineering checks at the Brickyard Grand Prix in Indy – but holding off Rookie of the Year Christian Lundgaard to take the chequered flag was the culmination of a resurgence that had begun just as he was making his 2023 transfer official.
After finishing fifth in the Indianapolis 500, he came within a second of overhauling Will Power at Detroit with an aggressive tyre strategy. Then he brought an end to a two-year pole drought in Road America and converted that strong start into third place. At his very best, Rossi is one of IndyCar’s most dynamic, well-rounded, and ruthless competitors – though the ugly side of that latter point boiled over in Mid-Ohio, when his and Romain Grosjean’s private friction spilled out onto the track, ruining their races as well as their team mates’.
Rossi will bring that same intensity to a new team with serious ambitions of breaking into IndyCar’s elite class. Just the prospect of adding the 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner to what could be considered the best Chevrolet-powered team at the 500 in recent years is enough to get the attention of rival competitors.
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9 – Colton Herta – Andretti
There should have been much more for Herta to celebrate in 2022. Expectations were certainly high after ending 2021 with a brace of consecutive victories at Laguna Seca and Long Beach.
His incredible save and perfectly-executed wet weather strategy that won him the Grand Prix of Indianapolis in May was a reminder of how good this 22-year-old, second-generation driver already is – as well as what promise he holds for the future. But his…
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