Annoyed along with his first winless season since 2021, Marcus Ericsson has turned inwards to get again to the place he desires to be within the NTT IndyCar Sequence.
The Swede was a front-running driver at Chip Ganassi Racing, taking a pair of victories in his first yr with the workforce, including two extra wins in 2022, together with the Indianapolis 500, and yet one more in 2023 earlier than signing with Andretti International. These three straight runs to sixth within the championship with Ganassi didn’t switch within the transfer to hitch Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood at Andretti.
If one in every of their drivers skilled misfortune in a race, it was normally Ericsson within the No. 28 Honda, and regardless of incomes a podium at Detroit and three different high 5 outcomes, there wasn’t a lot to indicate for 2024 as he positioned a distant fifteenth within the standings. Pushed by every little thing that didn’t dwell as much as expectations, the six-year IndyCar veteran is pushing himself to new heights throughout the offseason to get again to the place he desires to be when the brand new season will get below method.
“When we now have the longest offseason within the historical past of offseasons, I would as effectively do one thing with it,” Ericsson advised RACER. “The vehicles, they don’t get simpler to drive with the hybrid, and the burden of the automotive going up, it’s positively a handful in there. I’ve added 10 kilos of muscle, so it’s fairly vital for me. I began on that throughout the season, however I’ve been working actually exhausting because the finish of the season.
“From a yr in the past, I’m up 10 kilos, principally. I’ve this mentality that I don’t actually consider in unhealthy luck. I consider in getting ready your self to succeed. And for me, that’s working exhausting and dealing exhausting in all totally different areas. This can be a method of placing the work in, and I believe it goes hand in hand with the steel facet as effectively, and being disciplined. I’ve been along with my psychological coach, simply making an attempt to place up a plan on getting higher on daily basis, each week and ensure after I get to St. Pete, I’m able to kick some ass.”
Ericsson is utilizing the forgettable season with Andretti — and the transfer into the second yr of his two-year contract — as motivation to gasoline his offseason preparation.
“It has so much to do with it,” he mentioned. “Typically you want to get overwhelmed down somewhat bit to achieve new heights. And this yr was a bit like that. It clearly didn’t go the best way I wished or the best way it ought to have gone, results-wise. But it surely’s about the way you reply to that that makes you who we’re as a driver and an individual, actually. Not that I didn’t work exhausting earlier than, but it surely’s giving me that further push to essentially present for myself primarily, however everybody else as effectively, that I can carry out and win races.
“And this yr, I didn’t win a race for the primary time in a number of years, and that sucks. I’m pissed off about that, and I need to be again within the victory lane and preventing up entrance. And that’s not going to occur simply by sitting round and being like, ‘Oh, I want I could possibly be higher subsequent yr.’ It comes from working exhausting and dealing on all areas to be higher, and that’s what I’m making an attempt to do. So it’s been enjoyable. If you really feel such as you’re bodily sturdy, it lets you be extra mentally sturdy as effectively, and vice versa. I’m excited for what’s to return.”
