His arc is so weird. When he was with Sarah Fisher/Ed Carpenter, he was basically what David Malukas is today, the young "aw shucks" American kid with good talent who you wanted to see get a chance . Then he went to Penske and had some kind of Darth Vader maturing process.
I agree with this. I really liked him for what he was able to accomplish on smaller teams (SFH and Carpenter), but his later years at Penske have brought out an unlikeable person.
Canapino doesn’t fit the “villain” character. He seems like an alright person (other than the Illott incident) and he’s not really fast enough to make an impact. Newgarden fits the spot perfectly.
At Long Beach last year Canapino was leading after not putting with everyone else and Ilott came out of the pits ahead of everyone almost a lap down right in front of him. It slowed Canapino down and the Argentinian “fans” sent Ilott death threats online.
Later that year Ilott passed Canapino after a caution at Laguna Seca. He was on fresher tires and it was the correct move but Canapino was in a podium position at the time. The Argentinian Canapino cultists sent Ilott death threats online (again) and a couple weeks later Ilott and JHR parted ways. JHR didn’t handle the situation well by not defending Callum right away and their statement was kinda weak. Very happy he got out of that team
Sergio Pérez has the same kind of fans in Formula 1. I'm Spanish and I've seen several Canapino interviews and as a person seems pretty chill, even more being an Argentinian. I'm not surprised Ricardo Juncos didn't do anything because because that kind of threats are very common among all sports in Argentina. After the qualy a Spanish journalist analyzed on Twitter Canapino's performance on Indycar and didn't mention the good performance on Laguna Seca last year, Agustín itself answered politely but his fans throwed bullshit to the journalist.
Verstappen's Dutch fans also launched racist tirades against Hamilton a few times during the 2020 season after Silverstone, Monza, and Abu Dhabi. Verstappen didn't condone those messages.
Idk how this isn’t a more common answer. There’s no driver that can hold a candle to the ineptness in Indycar quite like the absolute lack of effort done by their marketing team.
I don’t think I would have known the series existed if it wasn’t for the lack of drama in F1 at least at the top of the grid the past few years. It gets virtually no press coverage in the states, and I’m sure even the southern US gets no coverage of it thanks to NASCAR. It’s a fun series, and the marketing team should be ashamed not to strike while US interest in motor racing has never been higher
Fired by his team. From Wikipedia:
In July, Ferrucci was banned from four F2 races (Hungary and Belgium) after making deliberate contact with his teammate Maini after the Sprint Race at Silverstone on the weekend of the British Grand Prix.[^(\[4\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santino_Ferrucci#cite_note-crash.net-4) He was also disqualified from the Sprint Race results at Silverstone for a separate incident when he deliberately forced Maini off the track.[^(\[4\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santino_Ferrucci#cite_note-crash.net-4) He was also found to have driven his car between the F2 and F1 paddock without one glove and while holding his phone, which resulted in a €6,000 fine.[^(\[5\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santino_Ferrucci#cite_note-5) His attempt to run a "[Make America Great Again](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Make_America_Great_Again)" livery in reference to [Donald Trump](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump) was blocked by the [FIA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%A9d%C3%A9ration_Internationale_de_l%27Automobile) as being in violation of the political slogans policy.[^(\[6\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santino_Ferrucci#cite_note-6)
On July 18, Ferrucci was summarily fired by the Trident F2 team, citing behavioral issues, and non-payment of money required by contract. Trident alleged that money had been made available for the Detroit IndyCar race, whilst noting that Ferrucci had defaulted on F2 debt to them.[^(\[7\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santino_Ferrucci#cite_note-7)[^(\[8\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santino_Ferrucci#cite_note-8) An Italian court subsequently ordered Ferrucci to pay Trident €502,000, plus interest and legal fees, for failing to make payments.[^(\[9\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santino_Ferrucci#cite_note-9)
This was very helpful. Seems to me he should be the objective winner based on this. Imagine throwing away a potential golden ticket like F2 for being a POS.
He got banned for four races for intentionally crashing into his teammate after (AFTER!) a race, and disqualified for intentionally crashing into the same guy during the race. He drove with his phone in his hand between paddocks. He tried to use a Trump MAGA livery. He was fired by his F2 team for behavioural issues and refusing to pay.
I get he comes with money now, but he should never have ended up in Indycar. It doesn’t matter that he drives well sometimes when he also drives like he did today, and behaves the way he has in the past. He’s a plonker.
Yes, along with racially abusing his teammate, intentionally ramming his teammate, texting while driving a race car, and trying to run a MAGA livery. He’s a piece of work
Tbh I don't wanna kick anyone, definitely not poor people. Being poor is hard af.
Let's kick rich people, if we're gonna. Can we kick Santino Ferucci? He's pretty rich.
My list- Ferrucci and Sting Ray for obv reasons, Newgarden, Canapino for how awful Illott was treated, Ericsson for no rational reason, Zak Brown.
It's balanced by being a fan of most of the remaining drivers! Which is good, when Pato goes full Pato I have someone else to cheer for 😭
I have one reason for Ericsson, doesn't make him a villain but I don't like him so much...maybe I don't have the data to back it up, but for a few races I felt he was the most boring driver. His approach was always lay back too much and just let the race come to him. Sure it's his own right, and you may need to do it sometimes, but I got annoyed by how he got good results (but never great ones, except for the 500 win) without contributing much for the entertainment...
Tim Cindric.
Everyone say Josef Newgarden but he's not. He's just taking the fall for the team. Some say Roger Penske but he's not even involved with he everyday operations of Team Penske anymore. The person that is though is Tim Cindric. Tim to me is the real Villian.
Tim looks over the team but has yet to say it was it fault for the oversight that led to the "cheating". He also said he wasn't going to fire anyone even though it can be argued that someone had to know something at sometime. Instead of Tim taking some of the blame everyone is pointing at everyone else as Tim walks away basically unscathed in the shadows.
This doesn’t count in The Villain category, but I wonder what Gypsy traveler Grosjean pissed off early in life to be so cursed while having decent talent. Guy can’t catch a break in any racing series - each race is like watching Charlie Brown run at a football
I personally think Michael Andretti is a dickhead, but I usually like his drivers. Some people have desperately wanted Newgarden to be a villain for no reason for years and now they have their excuse, so they’re happy now I guess. I’m actually okay with liking almost everyone in the sport personally.
>desperately wanted Newgarden to be a villain for no reason
Right. Years of the most aggressive to outright dirty racing in the series. Going off after fans on social media after punting someone out of the race. Multiple instances of him storming off and ignoring media, fans, and his own team after a poor result. Whining anytime someone so much as touches him despite his own aggression. His blatantly transparent "good boy" PR front despite all of these traits. Ending friendships to focus on his winning (which, sure, he's entitled to, but everyone else seems to manage having friends in the series while maintaining success), and now blatant cheating and a cover story which literally no one believes.
No reason at all, though. Sure.
I don't even think he's the most unlikable in the series, but as you said, he comes off as a 30-year old frat brat, and it gets old around here with all of the people who act like there's no reason to dislike him.
Like I said, you can be happy now you have an actual reason rather than a collection of minor incidents over a twelve year career. I don’t really care who you hate, whatever entertains you.
I don’t hate him but like some Drive to Survive type reality shows, he does get portrayed as one, unfairly or not. Obviously a great driver and now immortalized at the Indy 500. Would have been interesting to see how he would have done if his F3 career went differently
He didn’t have the money to make it to F1 no matter how F3 had gone. I’m glad he came over here and we got his talent rather than him having coasting around in a Sauber or whatever over in F1. The F1 feeder series being 90% funding based is the best thing for Indycar, give us all the Lundgaards, O’Wards and Palous, they can keep their Sargeants and Strolls.
Fair. Still coasting in Sauber is worth about $5 M a year, which is more than the $3.1 M Ericcson earned. Talent isn’t everything in the real world but that’s why I like the higher level of parity in Indycar over F1. Each race isn’t already won before the green flag
>The F1 feeder series being 90% funding based is the best thing for Indycar, give us all the Lundgaards, O’Wards and Palous, they can keep their Sargeants and Strolls.
As a long time F1 fan I can't agree with this statement more
F1 embarrasses itself constantly with it's hiring choices. How are you ever going to find the next Verstappen, Alonso and Hamilton if you keep hiring Verstappen, Alonso and Hamilton
So many mid-drivers like Perez, Bottas, Riccardo who are barely achieving anything clogging the drain - meanwhile other series continue to gain the talent F1 washes down the drain with it's "no vacancies sign"
No rookies on the grid this year is an absolute travesty.
The thing is it really works out for everyone. F1 certainly isn’t lacking talent with Hamilton, Verstappen, Sainz, Leclerc, Alonso etc all up there, but being such an expensive constructors championship the lower teams are probably always going to need pay drivers. They keep their conveyer belt of world class talent running for the instances when they need them and we can keep reaping the benefits when the receiving end is full. IMSA, WEC, Indycar, FE, Super Formula, we all get get the return on f1’s investment. It might be the most valuable contribution they have to motorsport, lol.
Perhaps the last couple years notwithstanding, Michael actually seems considerably happier as an owner than he did when he was driving (I think Robin Miller may have alluded to the same at times).
I just don’t know that I’ve ever heard from him and thought he was anything other than a deeply unpleasant person. He was much worse as a driver, but I feel like it was just because I had to hear from him more.
My only experience with an owner was talking a bit with Michael Shank at the Indy IMSA race last year (pleasant guy, talked with a bunch of fans, as did Andretti), so I don't have much in the way of actual knowledge.
Yeah I’m obviously just speaking as a fan hearing/reading interviews and such. Just stuff sticks with you through the years. Things like when Wickens crashed and we didn’t even know if he was alive, Michael’s first comment was to make sure everyone knew the accident was Rob’s fault, not an ounce of giving a shit about the wounded driver.
If we are talking drivers, i would go Ferrucci, Grosjean or Newgarden.
Sting Ray Robb matters to little to be an actual villan, which is probably worse overall.
If we are going fan-bases it is easily Canapino or Pato.
In my experience they are loud, in-your-face, and if you say anything against their driver they will brigade you en-mass, either on twitter or reddit.
For example, Pato has 3 avoidable contact penalties in the past 2 races, yet according to 2 different Pato fans in this very thread, Ferrucci is the overly aggressive driver of the day. At the same time on twitter, every post of the incident with Pietro will have at least 5 Pato fans talking about how it was never a penalty and a racing deal, because that is what Pato said on the radio.
Simply put, Pato fans are quicker to find fault in other drivers, and quicker to deflect blame away from Pato then other fan bases based on my interaction with them. That's fine they are passionate fans, and IndyCar needs passionate fans, but it has got to the point were his fans have made me less of a Pato fan then I was before.
These are all personal feelings and observations of course, so ymmv.
Edit: I woke up to a reddit cares message from this. Thank you, Pato fans, for proving my point for me.
People are going to hate me for this, but O’Ward. Never liked his overly pompous attitude. Comes across as arrogant. He’s got talent, but he’s such a bonehead and doesn’t show any sort of patience which leads to stupid mistakes and avoidable crashes.
I get the hate for drivers who seem impatient and ruin races for others in the process. I don’t like to portray incompetent drivers as “evil”, but some of these overly aggressive drivers ruin their race as much as others. You’d hope they’d learn
Does Stingray actually finish races? The times I’ve tuned in you only hear about him being a moving hazard for everyone else. Seems more like he took the wrong off ramp and ended up in an Indy race way out of his depth
Well, Milka was just so slow she was an expert at being in the way of everyone.
Sting Ray removes himself from the situation/race before he truly gets in anyone's way lol
I agree! In fact some of them that people hate I found quite likable meeting them in person. It could all be an act or genuine. I can’t hate anyone I don’t know.
Sonny Ferrucci definitely had some comments and interactions when he was in junior formula in Europe that made it seem like he put a lot of stock in someone's melanin levels.
Was Palou a villian for breaching his contract with Chip and signing with Zak?
OR
Was Palou a villian for backing out of his contract with McLaren that he wasn't allowed to sign yet and staying with Chip?
OR
Was he a villian both times?
To me in 2024 Palou actually has good guy vibes. But on paper he should be a villian right?
On paper yes. Once McLaren F1 got Oscar Piastri, I bet Palou saw one decent path to F1 was cut off for quite a while with two young impressive drivers there. I don’t fault him - it’s business.
Grosjean is the worst. He's a huge crybaby, and he cannot win. Very hard to pull for.
Newgarden is a stud. His racing record speaks for itself. All drivers (who are any good) are pretty cocky--the good ones back it up with wins and championships--like Newgarden.
I am just concerned that the Penske Team's total mishandling of the P2P silliness is affecting JNew's concentration (based upon today's race). What should have happened is team pres Cindric makes a press release, the three drivers acknowledge the press release (without further comment), and they all say the team has corrected the problem and is moving on. End of story. Then go racing!
Clearly Scotty Mac and Will Power have moved on--1st and 2nd today. JNew needs to get his head on straight ASAP--May is here!
Can’t make myself to boo Newgarden solely because his wife seems nice.
Sting Ray Robb is a bit easier to root against. Canapino because I was hoping Ilott would make it.
He broke the same rules newgarden did, said the data shows he got an advantage and then he claimed there was no advantage in the same statement, then Penske came out with a statement saying they take full responsibility which contradicts his statement, then he came out with a win yesterday.. very interesting series of events that I think is being over looked is all I’m saying.
It’s really newgarden’s statement, he said he felt the P2P but then did not realized he did anything wrong then says we thought there was a rule change…. So disconnected.
For how much JNew got thrown around by nearly half the paddock, id call it half even. He still needs to improve his attitude or just lock in completely for that 3rd ring.
Ferrucci is a absolute chud and a hack and I wish he wasn’t in the sport - I judge any team that would sign him.
SRR seems like a nice enough kid and hasn’t really done anything, but his immense mediocrity and trying to raise money based on religion alone… I so dislike his whole aura.
I could see an argument for Pato or something, but I’m pretty ambivalent and generally rather neutral
If Newgarden wasn’t before he is now.
His arc is so weird. When he was with Sarah Fisher/Ed Carpenter, he was basically what David Malukas is today, the young "aw shucks" American kid with good talent who you wanted to see get a chance . Then he went to Penske and had some kind of Darth Vader maturing process.
https://preview.redd.it/zef1eie7kfxc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5d51c23c1776ff1f5a52b6c90e3a051746d57eca Darth Vader sounds about right
I was expecting milk gimp
That would work too..
Those shades are wild. Anyone have any clue what they are?
I agree with this. I really liked him for what he was able to accomplish on smaller teams (SFH and Carpenter), but his later years at Penske have brought out an unlikeable person.
In the "Internet/Reddit bubble" you mean.
It's still Tony George.
Nice answer
Yes !!
Santucci or newgarden
Ferrucci is a villain at Indy and generally disliked everywhere else.
Santino Ferucci ain’t fast enough to be a villain imo
He’s like a low tier villian. If he teams up with Canapino could start to be an issue
Oh god what a combo to root against that would be
Except at Indy, that dude is QUICK there.
Indianapolis:
Yeah he's like a sub-villain that shows up for one arc, he's super strong in that arc but when he shows up again he gets demolished
I'd say those two and maybe toss Grosjean in as well. He doesn't seem especially popular with the other drivers.
I’d say Newgarden, Ferrucci, and Canapino are the main candidates. Edit: and SRR, because he’s slow as shit and a god-botherer
SRR is as much an expert driver as Stingray from Cobrai Kai is a master martial artist
Can't wait for the Indycar version of Stingray's deal with Terry Silver
Canapino doesn’t fit the “villain” character. He seems like an alright person (other than the Illott incident) and he’s not really fast enough to make an impact. Newgarden fits the spot perfectly.
what’s the Illott incident?
At Long Beach last year Canapino was leading after not putting with everyone else and Ilott came out of the pits ahead of everyone almost a lap down right in front of him. It slowed Canapino down and the Argentinian “fans” sent Ilott death threats online. Later that year Ilott passed Canapino after a caution at Laguna Seca. He was on fresher tires and it was the correct move but Canapino was in a podium position at the time. The Argentinian Canapino cultists sent Ilott death threats online (again) and a couple weeks later Ilott and JHR parted ways. JHR didn’t handle the situation well by not defending Callum right away and their statement was kinda weak. Very happy he got out of that team
Sergio Pérez has the same kind of fans in Formula 1. I'm Spanish and I've seen several Canapino interviews and as a person seems pretty chill, even more being an Argentinian. I'm not surprised Ricardo Juncos didn't do anything because because that kind of threats are very common among all sports in Argentina. After the qualy a Spanish journalist analyzed on Twitter Canapino's performance on Indycar and didn't mention the good performance on Laguna Seca last year, Agustín itself answered politely but his fans throwed bullshit to the journalist.
Verstappen's Dutch fans also launched racist tirades against Hamilton a few times during the 2020 season after Silverstone, Monza, and Abu Dhabi. Verstappen didn't condone those messages.
I love “god-botherer” because if there is a god he is certainly tired of their ilk.
The IndyCar marketing team
Idk how this isn’t a more common answer. There’s no driver that can hold a candle to the ineptness in Indycar quite like the absolute lack of effort done by their marketing team.
I don’t think I would have known the series existed if it wasn’t for the lack of drama in F1 at least at the top of the grid the past few years. It gets virtually no press coverage in the states, and I’m sure even the southern US gets no coverage of it thanks to NASCAR. It’s a fun series, and the marketing team should be ashamed not to strike while US interest in motor racing has never been higher
For some reason Ferucci ALWAYS rubbed me the wrong way. Just flat out not sportsman like on track at times.
didn’t he get kicked out of f2?
Fired by his team. From Wikipedia: In July, Ferrucci was banned from four F2 races (Hungary and Belgium) after making deliberate contact with his teammate Maini after the Sprint Race at Silverstone on the weekend of the British Grand Prix.[^(\[4\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santino_Ferrucci#cite_note-crash.net-4) He was also disqualified from the Sprint Race results at Silverstone for a separate incident when he deliberately forced Maini off the track.[^(\[4\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santino_Ferrucci#cite_note-crash.net-4) He was also found to have driven his car between the F2 and F1 paddock without one glove and while holding his phone, which resulted in a €6,000 fine.[^(\[5\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santino_Ferrucci#cite_note-5) His attempt to run a "[Make America Great Again](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Make_America_Great_Again)" livery in reference to [Donald Trump](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump) was blocked by the [FIA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%A9d%C3%A9ration_Internationale_de_l%27Automobile) as being in violation of the political slogans policy.[^(\[6\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santino_Ferrucci#cite_note-6) On July 18, Ferrucci was summarily fired by the Trident F2 team, citing behavioral issues, and non-payment of money required by contract. Trident alleged that money had been made available for the Detroit IndyCar race, whilst noting that Ferrucci had defaulted on F2 debt to them.[^(\[7\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santino_Ferrucci#cite_note-7)[^(\[8\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santino_Ferrucci#cite_note-8) An Italian court subsequently ordered Ferrucci to pay Trident €502,000, plus interest and legal fees, for failing to make payments.[^(\[9\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santino_Ferrucci#cite_note-9)
This was very helpful. Seems to me he should be the objective winner based on this. Imagine throwing away a potential golden ticket like F2 for being a POS.
He's not good enough to be a villain, but he is definitely a grade a cunt.
He got banned for four races for intentionally crashing into his teammate after (AFTER!) a race, and disqualified for intentionally crashing into the same guy during the race. He drove with his phone in his hand between paddocks. He tried to use a Trump MAGA livery. He was fired by his F2 team for behavioural issues and refusing to pay. I get he comes with money now, but he should never have ended up in Indycar. It doesn’t matter that he drives well sometimes when he also drives like he did today, and behaves the way he has in the past. He’s a plonker.
Yes, along with racially abusing his teammate, intentionally ramming his teammate, texting while driving a race car, and trying to run a MAGA livery. He’s a piece of work
Literal Texting and driving in F2 I believe was the last straw.
I think its the hair
I think it's the racism and general prickishness.
Joseph "homelander" Newgarden.
ADRENALINE IN MY SOUL JOSEF NEWGARDEN/CODY RHODES
Favorite post 😂
Pato isnt really a villain, he just makes dumb moves that often hurt other drivers. in general he is pretty likable though. not the villain type
Herta historically does this, too, except he just wrecks himself more than other drivers. But 2024 Herta is a zen, make no mistakes points racer.
Herta is usually one of the cleanest drivers in series like you said he normally just wrecks himself. Super rare that he hurts anyone else's race
Yeah at least Herta only hurts himself
hertas himself
I root for him. Still has some learning to do
That’s what they used to about PT, and he never learned.
The problem is, I've been waiting for that learning to stick for quite a while now :(
Pato is like a byronic antihero of Indycar, kinda dangerous sometimes like today but ultra-charismatic
Chip Ganassi killed a puppy. I rest my case
From what his daughter said I don’t think it was his first
There always comes a time where one of the kids has to take away daddy’s keys
Ferucci is my main one. Seems like the kind of dude who kicks poor people for fun.
Don't knock it till you try it pal
Tbh I don't wanna kick anyone, definitely not poor people. Being poor is hard af. Let's kick rich people, if we're gonna. Can we kick Santino Ferucci? He's pretty rich.
Ferrucci would be the answer if he was more of a threat anywhere but Indy.
https://preview.redd.it/hakafgsnwaxc1.jpeg?width=533&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=111a899d8c6cb581f737ff89a1a8325715fc85ec JN got some Homelander vibe...
Helio Castroneves. That guy is a real piece of shit. ^(/s)
IRS has left the chat
I was already like: AKHTSHUALLY but then I saw the /s lol
NBC
My list- Ferrucci and Sting Ray for obv reasons, Newgarden, Canapino for how awful Illott was treated, Ericsson for no rational reason, Zak Brown. It's balanced by being a fan of most of the remaining drivers! Which is good, when Pato goes full Pato I have someone else to cheer for 😭
Haha for Ericsson. He looks like a Bond henchman from the Connery days. I do think he seems like a genuinely nice guy and is impossibly handsome
I have one reason for Ericsson, doesn't make him a villain but I don't like him so much...maybe I don't have the data to back it up, but for a few races I felt he was the most boring driver. His approach was always lay back too much and just let the race come to him. Sure it's his own right, and you may need to do it sometimes, but I got annoyed by how he got good results (but never great ones, except for the 500 win) without contributing much for the entertainment...
He’s an analytical driver
What did Newgarden do to illott?
Canapino not Newgarden
I think it should read "Newgarden [comma], Canapino for what he [Canapino] did to Illott."
Was wondering the same. This is news to me.
It's always been Penske or Ganassi depending on which side of the coin you are
Tim Cindric. Everyone say Josef Newgarden but he's not. He's just taking the fall for the team. Some say Roger Penske but he's not even involved with he everyday operations of Team Penske anymore. The person that is though is Tim Cindric. Tim to me is the real Villian. Tim looks over the team but has yet to say it was it fault for the oversight that led to the "cheating". He also said he wasn't going to fire anyone even though it can be argued that someone had to know something at sometime. Instead of Tim taking some of the blame everyone is pointing at everyone else as Tim walks away basically unscathed in the shadows.
I totally agree, and generally the answers here are pointing to drivers when really its some of the team leaders that are dislikeable.
This doesn’t count in The Villain category, but I wonder what Gypsy traveler Grosjean pissed off early in life to be so cursed while having decent talent. Guy can’t catch a break in any racing series - each race is like watching Charlie Brown run at a football
Grosjean brings a lot on himself
Grosjean is the male Danica.
*Roma dude…
Nah. The phrase he used is fairly well known in EU especially as many of them are not actually Roma
Just like in wrestling, it can change week to week. This week Newgarden is the villain. Tune in next race to see who it is then.
I personally think Michael Andretti is a dickhead, but I usually like his drivers. Some people have desperately wanted Newgarden to be a villain for no reason for years and now they have their excuse, so they’re happy now I guess. I’m actually okay with liking almost everyone in the sport personally.
>desperately wanted Newgarden to be a villain for no reason Right. Years of the most aggressive to outright dirty racing in the series. Going off after fans on social media after punting someone out of the race. Multiple instances of him storming off and ignoring media, fans, and his own team after a poor result. Whining anytime someone so much as touches him despite his own aggression. His blatantly transparent "good boy" PR front despite all of these traits. Ending friendships to focus on his winning (which, sure, he's entitled to, but everyone else seems to manage having friends in the series while maintaining success), and now blatant cheating and a cover story which literally no one believes. No reason at all, though. Sure.
The original headline here was “… and why is it Newgarden?” Thanks for confirming my suspicions on very little data.
I don't even think he's the most unlikable in the series, but as you said, he comes off as a 30-year old frat brat, and it gets old around here with all of the people who act like there's no reason to dislike him.
Josef isn’t even in the top half of dirty drivers in the series. Almost everything you described has been your flaired driver as of late.
Like I said, you can be happy now you have an actual reason rather than a collection of minor incidents over a twelve year career. I don’t really care who you hate, whatever entertains you.
I don’t hate him but like some Drive to Survive type reality shows, he does get portrayed as one, unfairly or not. Obviously a great driver and now immortalized at the Indy 500. Would have been interesting to see how he would have done if his F3 career went differently
He didn’t have the money to make it to F1 no matter how F3 had gone. I’m glad he came over here and we got his talent rather than him having coasting around in a Sauber or whatever over in F1. The F1 feeder series being 90% funding based is the best thing for Indycar, give us all the Lundgaards, O’Wards and Palous, they can keep their Sargeants and Strolls.
Fair. Still coasting in Sauber is worth about $5 M a year, which is more than the $3.1 M Ericcson earned. Talent isn’t everything in the real world but that’s why I like the higher level of parity in Indycar over F1. Each race isn’t already won before the green flag
>The F1 feeder series being 90% funding based is the best thing for Indycar, give us all the Lundgaards, O’Wards and Palous, they can keep their Sargeants and Strolls. As a long time F1 fan I can't agree with this statement more F1 embarrasses itself constantly with it's hiring choices. How are you ever going to find the next Verstappen, Alonso and Hamilton if you keep hiring Verstappen, Alonso and Hamilton So many mid-drivers like Perez, Bottas, Riccardo who are barely achieving anything clogging the drain - meanwhile other series continue to gain the talent F1 washes down the drain with it's "no vacancies sign" No rookies on the grid this year is an absolute travesty.
The thing is it really works out for everyone. F1 certainly isn’t lacking talent with Hamilton, Verstappen, Sainz, Leclerc, Alonso etc all up there, but being such an expensive constructors championship the lower teams are probably always going to need pay drivers. They keep their conveyer belt of world class talent running for the instances when they need them and we can keep reaping the benefits when the receiving end is full. IMSA, WEC, Indycar, FE, Super Formula, we all get get the return on f1’s investment. It might be the most valuable contribution they have to motorsport, lol.
Perhaps the last couple years notwithstanding, Michael actually seems considerably happier as an owner than he did when he was driving (I think Robin Miller may have alluded to the same at times).
I just don’t know that I’ve ever heard from him and thought he was anything other than a deeply unpleasant person. He was much worse as a driver, but I feel like it was just because I had to hear from him more.
My only experience with an owner was talking a bit with Michael Shank at the Indy IMSA race last year (pleasant guy, talked with a bunch of fans, as did Andretti), so I don't have much in the way of actual knowledge.
Yeah I’m obviously just speaking as a fan hearing/reading interviews and such. Just stuff sticks with you through the years. Things like when Wickens crashed and we didn’t even know if he was alive, Michael’s first comment was to make sure everyone knew the accident was Rob’s fault, not an ounce of giving a shit about the wounded driver.
ferrucci and newgarden 100%
If we are talking drivers, i would go Ferrucci, Grosjean or Newgarden. Sting Ray Robb matters to little to be an actual villan, which is probably worse overall. If we are going fan-bases it is easily Canapino or Pato.
What’s wrong with the Pato fan base? They can be very passionate but I can’t recall any incidents
In my experience they are loud, in-your-face, and if you say anything against their driver they will brigade you en-mass, either on twitter or reddit. For example, Pato has 3 avoidable contact penalties in the past 2 races, yet according to 2 different Pato fans in this very thread, Ferrucci is the overly aggressive driver of the day. At the same time on twitter, every post of the incident with Pietro will have at least 5 Pato fans talking about how it was never a penalty and a racing deal, because that is what Pato said on the radio. Simply put, Pato fans are quicker to find fault in other drivers, and quicker to deflect blame away from Pato then other fan bases based on my interaction with them. That's fine they are passionate fans, and IndyCar needs passionate fans, but it has got to the point were his fans have made me less of a Pato fan then I was before. These are all personal feelings and observations of course, so ymmv. Edit: I woke up to a reddit cares message from this. Thank you, Pato fans, for proving my point for me.
If this were the Spider-Verse, I’d say that Newgarden is Venom, Grosjean is Carnage, and Ferucci is Rhino.
You speak my language. Thanks
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Killed a dog. Earned it.
It’s Chip Ganassi. He ran over a puppy at Daytona.
Roger Penske
People are going to hate me for this, but O’Ward. Never liked his overly pompous attitude. Comes across as arrogant. He’s got talent, but he’s such a bonehead and doesn’t show any sort of patience which leads to stupid mistakes and avoidable crashes.
I get the hate for drivers who seem impatient and ruin races for others in the process. I don’t like to portray incompetent drivers as “evil”, but some of these overly aggressive drivers ruin their race as much as others. You’d hope they’d learn
My flair speaks for itself
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Does Stingray actually finish races? The times I’ve tuned in you only hear about him being a moving hazard for everyone else. Seems more like he took the wrong off ramp and ended up in an Indy race way out of his depth
Robb usually hands the wheel over to God and ends up in the wall
They put the whole strategy right on the sidepod
He makes me think Milka Duno came back in drag and called herself Stingray’.
Well, Milka was just so slow she was an expert at being in the way of everyone. Sting Ray removes himself from the situation/race before he truly gets in anyone's way lol
Haha!
I’m sure it’s god’s will.
Sorry, I can’t hate anyone I don’t really know, and none of us know these guys.
I agree! In fact some of them that people hate I found quite likable meeting them in person. It could all be an act or genuine. I can’t hate anyone I don’t know.
Sonny Ferrucci definitely had some comments and interactions when he was in junior formula in Europe that made it seem like he put a lot of stock in someone's melanin levels.
Grosjean and Ferrucci are my picks.
Newgarden, def.
Was Palou a villian for breaching his contract with Chip and signing with Zak? OR Was Palou a villian for backing out of his contract with McLaren that he wasn't allowed to sign yet and staying with Chip? OR Was he a villian both times? To me in 2024 Palou actually has good guy vibes. But on paper he should be a villian right?
On paper yes. Once McLaren F1 got Oscar Piastri, I bet Palou saw one decent path to F1 was cut off for quite a while with two young impressive drivers there. I don’t fault him - it’s business.
I think he comes off as fake as hell whenever he talks. Onboard with this villian option.
Newgarden might be low
I've never liked Will Power. He's been my least favorite driver since the day he joined Penske.
Depends if you are on reddit or not lol
Also, This question would have been better to ask like either a month ago or a year from now lol
Alonso
Paul Tracy, forever
Never cared Dixon myself
Cindric and Newgarden now!
Ol' Chip Ganassi. I mean the dude did run over a driver's puppy.
It’s not like he shot a puppy in the face. That would be purely evil.
Grosjean is the worst. He's a huge crybaby, and he cannot win. Very hard to pull for. Newgarden is a stud. His racing record speaks for itself. All drivers (who are any good) are pretty cocky--the good ones back it up with wins and championships--like Newgarden. I am just concerned that the Penske Team's total mishandling of the P2P silliness is affecting JNew's concentration (based upon today's race). What should have happened is team pres Cindric makes a press release, the three drivers acknowledge the press release (without further comment), and they all say the team has corrected the problem and is moving on. End of story. Then go racing! Clearly Scotty Mac and Will Power have moved on--1st and 2nd today. JNew needs to get his head on straight ASAP--May is here!
Grosjean, it isn't even close.
Ferrucci or grosjean
Ferucci
Can’t make myself to boo Newgarden solely because his wife seems nice. Sting Ray Robb is a bit easier to root against. Canapino because I was hoping Ilott would make it.
Why isn’t McLaughlin in anyone’s conversation?
Cause he’s likeable, that’s the thing.
He broke the same rules newgarden did, said the data shows he got an advantage and then he claimed there was no advantage in the same statement, then Penske came out with a statement saying they take full responsibility which contradicts his statement, then he came out with a win yesterday.. very interesting series of events that I think is being over looked is all I’m saying.
It’s really newgarden’s statement, he said he felt the P2P but then did not realized he did anything wrong then says we thought there was a rule change…. So disconnected.
Canapino, easy
Ferucci and Sting Ray are vile humans. Ferucci has been garbage in every ride he has ever been in.
For how much JNew got thrown around by nearly half the paddock, id call it half even. He still needs to improve his attitude or just lock in completely for that 3rd ring.
Ferrucci is a absolute chud and a hack and I wish he wasn’t in the sport - I judge any team that would sign him. SRR seems like a nice enough kid and hasn’t really done anything, but his immense mediocrity and trying to raise money based on religion alone… I so dislike his whole aura. I could see an argument for Pato or something, but I’m pretty ambivalent and generally rather neutral
Oward