Laguna Seca saw the conclusion of the 2026 season for the NTT IndyCar grid. It also saw Alexander Rossi return to the podium for the first and only time in 2026. It was a season to forget for the California native, who landed on the podium for the first and only time in 2026 at his home race.
Speaking following the final podium ceremony of the year, the ECR driver was candid about how his season had gone. However, he was also quick to praise his team for the progress they had made amongst the problem-ridden weekends.
“It’s no secret that this has been a pretty terrible year for myself and the whole ECR team with the litany of issue, some out of our control, some in our control.
“Just really proud of the whole organization and everyone involved for kind of staying true to the course and fighting through a lot of adversity. This is a great result to kind of reward that effort, just rebuild the confidence in everyone that we’re capable of doing this.”
Not an ‘a-ha’ moment at the Laguna Seca IndyCar race
The famous California racetrack was one of ECR’s best results in the 2026 season and the culmination of the ECR crew’s hard work. Rossi was once again candid when asked what he saw as the “main problem” in his 2026 season, stating:
“It was really everything. Anything that could go wrong really did go wrong from crashes to failures of gearboxes, hybrids, engines. Some struggles being on fire in pit lane. Some lack of performance at some events. Anything that you can think of has happened to us across both cars.”
Additionally, he quickly shot down the idea that the team had a ‘light-switch’ moment at Laguna Seca, saying it was just another step forward in performance.
“I think this was a step for us in performance, for sure, especially on the road courses. I think we had a test at Mid-Ohio where we started to uncover some shortcomings. The Mid-Ohio race we took a little bit of a step. Portland, a little bit of a step. Here was another decent step.
“It’s a huge step in the right direction. Now we have a lot of time to really understand.”
Quickly back in the shop
Work never stops for IndyCar teams, as teams quickly debrief and start working on the next season’s car. Especially after a tough, testing 2026 like the one ECR experienced.
However, Rossi quickly reiterated his earlier points, saying it’s an evolution of work and not a ‘magic bullet’. The 34-year-old said the off-season work would build on their 2026 foundation without requiring drastic changes, building bit by bit.
“I’ve said it often this year, that the team has done a lot of things better year over year from ’25 to ’26. Just unfortunately nothing really to show for it.
“I think drastic changes aren’t necessary. It’s a continual evolution. Just like in a car setup, there’s no magic bullet. It’s the same thing in putting together a season: there’s not one thing you have to do; you have to do everything a little better. There’s no wholesale changes needed. It’s just focusing on understanding our strengths and weaknesses and executing when we can.”
A unique opportunity
Following the Laguna Seca IndyCar finale, Alexander Rossi quickly found himself back in the car. The ECR pilot was the first of the IndyCar drivers to take the new IR-28 chassis around an oval track, in this case, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
After the race in California, Rossi quickly admitted what an honor it was to be one of the first drivers to test the new chassis alongside 5-time champion Alex Palou.
“It’s a great opportunity and a pretty big privilege to be the first guy to take it around, what is going to be our most important test of the car and understanding what it does on the Speedway. It will be interesting. Like, it’s exciting. It’s a little bit nerve-wracking ’cause I’m sure it will be good, but who knows. It will be a very, very interesting day.
“Again, just a huge honor and privilege to be chosen by Chevy to be the guy to kind of lead the charge on that with Alex.”
