#driver lore

[indycarmarshall]

Gil de Ferran, 2000, Laguna Seca.

[dystini]

Indycar Driver Lore

Indycar Driver Lore Masterlist

Marcus John Armstrong

Birthdate: July 29, 2000 Hometown: Christchurch, New Zealand Residence: London, UK/Indianapolis, indiana Height/Weight: 5’9”/130lbs

Rookie Year: 2023

Team: Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR)

Follow him on: Instagram Twitter

Career Stats

2023: Chip Ganassi Racing #11 (road and street courses only)

The Side Pod (with Callum Ilott) on You Tube Screaming Meals (with Clement Novalak and James Harvey Blair) on You Tube Screaming Meals on Twitch Screaming Meals on Instagram

Past Racing

2017: Italian Formula 4 - 1st overall ADAC Formula 4 - 2nd overall Toyota Racing Series - 4th overall

2018: FIA Formula 3 European Championship - Prema Theodore Racing -5th Overall Toyota Racing Series - 3rd overall

2019: FIA Formula 3 - Prema Racing - 2nd Overall Toyota Racing Series - 2nd overall

2020: FIA Formula 2 - ART Grand Prix - 13th overall

2021: FIA Formula 2 - DAMS - 13th overall

2022: FIA Formula 2 - Hitech Grand Prix - 13th overall

His father owns Armstrong's, a major car dealership chain in NZ

Has two older half-brothers, a younger sister, and a younger brother

Started karting in NZ at 10 years old, winning multiple national titles

Member of the Ferrari Driver Academy from 2017 - 2021

Finished second in the 2019 Formula 3 championship standings driving for Prema

Multiple race winner and podium sitter in Formula 2

Was Lundgaard's teammate in F2 in 2020

Pescatarian (and very vocal about it)

Drinks a lot of espresso

Has a video podcast called Screaming Meals co-hosted with his childhood friend James and F2 driver Clement Novalak, with an offshoot called The Sidepod that he hosts with Callum Ilott

Lived with Callum in Italy when they were both Ferrari Driver Academy members

Speaks Italian, but will only do so after a few drinks

Hobbies are going to the gym, listening to podcasts, going to restaurants, and watching American football

Used to be an avid cyclist, but gave it up due to it keeping his weight too low and causing problems with his ability to handle the car

Has a serious issue placing bets with his friends, to the extent that he had to pay to take fellow F2 driver Jehan Daruvala on vacation because he owed him so much money from lost bets

Scott Dixon was his childhood hero, and Kimi Räikkönen was his favorite F1 driver as a kid

Hates video games

Doesn’t like animals, but loves children

Iconic/memorable moments Indycar: Marcus Armstrong At IndyCar Spring Training New Indy Car Driver Marcus Armstrong about the Grand Prix of St Pete OVER THE WALL // ACURA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH Marcus Armstrong Long Beach Preview Marcus Armstrong Post Qualifications Marcus Armstrong rocked up to Turn 1 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to see what 235mph looks like… Callum and Marcus chat during pre-season testing:

F2 and earlier: F2 Speed Date: Marcus Armstrong The Wet Head Challenge HOW TO BECOME A FERRARI DRIVER, A CONVERSATION WITH MARCUS ARMSTRONG F2 DRIVER | Sector 1 Marcus Armstrong Interview | Sky Speed Marcus Armstrong: All the way from New Zealand Keeping it cool at Prema “Michael Shakespeare”: Bullying from Callum and James: Marcus wins “best late lunge” award from F2: Marcus Armstrong Once Said…: Marcus absolutely annoying the shit out of Arthur Leclerc during a virtual GP: F2 Speed Date (2020): Marcus sings “Rocket Man”: Marcus attempting to be sweet with Callum, who is absolutely not having it:

Doing fast laps around Goodwood in his dad’s car: 16-year-old Marcus talks about leaving home to move to Europe alone: Clem Novalak loves Marcus: He likes pineapple on pizza: Interesting content:

Marcus is a self-proclaimed "lover not a fighter". He's known to be very friendly and approachable, with a significant portion of the Formula 2 grid mentioning that he was the driver they got on with best in the paddock during his time there. His results in F2 were mixed, moving teams in 3 successive years, as he sometimes had difficulty getting to grips with the F2 car and tyres, however it’s generally agreed that his midfield championship positions during his F2 tenure aren’t an accurate reflection of his genuine ability and talent. Multiple Ganassi team members (including the boss) have commented on how impressed they are by his raw speed, work ethic, and attitude since his arrival in IndyCar. Marcus himself has already talked about how much more enjoyable the Indy car is to drive and how much fun he’s having now after several years of struggling with the notoriously difficult F2 car. He also appears to be getting on well with his CGR teammates and in particular has talked about how much he likes Marcus Ericsson.

He moved to London in early 2022 after spending several years living near Ferrari’s HQ in Maranello, Italy, and is known to enjoy city nightlife, being a big fan of wine. He’s a major foodie who likes taking photos of good food almost as much as he enjoys complaining about bad food. He is known to be determined to the point of stubbornness, causing himself permanent damage to his knee during a half-marathon due to refusing to stop when he was in pain. He had a low attendance record at school due to focusing on his racing career and moving to Europe at the age of 14, and as such, although he’s not unintelligent he’s known to be somewhat lacking in general knowledge (such as thinking Shakespeare’s first name was Michael). However, he has the characteristically Kiwi dry, sarcastic sense of humor and very much enjoys mutual teasing and banter with his close friends, something that’s often on display in the Screaming Meals podcasts.

Fanfic Lore

Usually paired with Callum Ilott, or F2 driver Clement Novalak due to their extremely close and physically affectionate friendship - was Clem’s teammate during their karting days, and has said that they talk every day while he’s in the US Likes to tease Callum and wind him up to his face, but often calls him his best mate and praises him when he’s not around. However Callum rarely (if ever) reciprocates the latter, probably due to his intense Britishness Good friends with multiple drivers from various series, including Juan Manuel Correa, Jüri Vips, Guanyu Zhou, Nick Cassidy, Max Fewtrell and Felipe Drugovich Also has a tendency to “adopt��� younger drivers and refer to them as “little bro”, including Jak Crawford and Dino Beganovic Has said on several occasions that he doesn’t wear underwear, and also shaves his legs (and possibly elsewhere, having claimed that he is “hairless from the eyebrows down”) Claims he can’t tell the difference between someone being nice to him and someone flirting with him

credit for most of this post to @whitewindhowl and friends

[pia55tri]

carlossainz55 started following you.

[fcaruana]

he told a fan to get the 43 tattooed and then got scared when she did it for real 😭

it doesn't come off?

[endofbeginings]

Fangio was just an insane guy, he started competing in f1 in his forties, outdriving his fitter and younger rivals every single time. He broke his neck but came back to f1 a year later and won 4 consecutive titles. When he was at ferrari he would fight with enzo constantly bc he didnt want to follow his strategies. Then he left ferrari for maserati and enzo called him a whore for not being loyal to only one team. At one point he got kidnapped at the cuban gp and asked the kidnappers not to take stirling moss as well because he had just gotten married and he didnt want them to ruin the mood!! Then he said he was treated very well and became friends with one of his kidnappers LMAO

[vroom-vrooms]

Charles answering with “we have a good relationship” to a question about beating Max is like the direct opposite of Lewis answering with “I remember the first time i looked up the girls. When I met my girlfriend. I remember the first time having sex” to someone asking if he remembered meeting Nico

Lewis tries and fails to deflect in the most unconvincing way possible, Charles chooses to expose himself very clearly

Weird tactics but ok guys 🙄

[finn95o]

Versainz lore is 10 times the lore Lestappen will ever be.

[fewwawihater]

fun facts/lore about kimi antonelli from the tortellini interview! (the trailer)

so sky aport italy invited kimi to an Italian restaurant (Mattarello Bolognese) in England and had a dinner session with him (i.e. kimi being bombarded with questions while all he wanted to do was eat because he was starving after making tortellini for the table)

he's still allowed to eat pasta. but sergi wanted him to have a varied diet, so for example he would have salmon with rice and chicken pasta (kimi: "you can tell my trainer is not italian")

he's never had tortellini with mortadella in them??

he spent two weeks in Italy during the winter holiday, and went on to do physical tests at adidas, the jerez test driving w11 (said the car was a beautiful monster and felt much lighter)

he did the f1 intro just before the interview (said that he was considering doing the italian hand gesture but maybe not this year)

saved toto wolff as "toto" in his phone. "i have a great relationship with him on the track, obviously a professional one, but even outside the track we have a good personal relationship, and he's a great person. i am really happy to have someone like him". the host mentioned that when kimi is in England, he sometimes stays at toto's house, and asked him what toto likes to have for dinner. kimi replied that it depends because sometimes toto isn’t even there

final exam (high school graduation/maturità) this year falls between Canada and Austria. but maybe the school would be able to accommodate another date. the host joked that they could ask stefano domenicali for a favor (and then they played a video message from domenicali)

fears? was afraid of the dark as a kid and had trouble falling asleep. of not performing.

message from the vr46 academy and from bez. he praised the healthy competition on the motor ranch. about vale being a legend but also a very simple, very humble person despite his achievements. also about pasini getting very touchy when he loses but they are good friends. but when asked about f1 he said that it wasnt possible to have similar friendships among drivers

prefered music from the 2000-10s. message from simone giani

asked about who he talked to in his difficult moments—his dad, and "a small group of people you trust and with whom you have the confidence to express your feelings"

message from marco antonelli: ciao tesoro. we've arrived, it's starting now. listen, you’ve come a long way since you were holding the simulator in my arm and the time we used to go karting together. what i can say? it's going to be difficult, but as i was before, i am here now, for whatever i can do. a big hug, and good luck. see you soon my darling

message from veronica, who greeted kimi with "ciao topo" (hello mouse?): well, you know i’m not really into these things, but anyway, listen, do you remember when we used to go to karting races together? and i’d sometimes try to convince you to stop, to change paths, to change sports, because I knew that where you wanted to go, it would be impossible to reach, and yet here you are. it's not a point of arrival, but a departure, with all the complications that come with it. we’ve talked about this a thousand times, but after all, impossible challenges are always possible. we wll always be close to you, we wll always put up with you and whatever you need, we wll always be there. a kiss

kimi and vicky started crying, the essence of a mother... even when kimi became a formula 1 driver his mom still calls him a rat (affectionate). every now and then, kimi can go back to being small when he's with his parents, because in f1 he must be a man

he then talked about marco not wanting him to compete either, to protect him from heartbreaks because f1 seemed like an unattainable dream to them, one that would only lead to huge disappointments. and also when he was a kid, he was good but didn’t have a strong character. so his parents were worried that he would give in to the pressure

the food arrived (finally!). kimi said that he loves making pasta when he's at home

his sister being his no.1 fan. she doesnt support any other drivers

other sport he likes: nba, big michael jordan fan

name? people call him kimi. his family, best friend, call him andy

max is ruthless and made him understand that you can have no friends in f1. and then kimi was saying something about if you look "all smiley" and too much like a nice guy they will see that you can be taken advantage of easily (but also kimi during the australia drivers parade was literally smiling and chatting to everyone so idk)

does he get allowances from his parents? (i can feel that at this point, kimi really, really wanted to eat his food in peace) he doesnt think about the money, and his family keeps him in line with that. maybe one day he will organize a nice trip with his friends

beat charles's rental kart record at mykonos (i think back in 2022?)

he’s too self-conscious to watch himself on tv properly and wouldn’t want to watch interview replays either. he’d get embarrassed

[estebunny]

esteban ocon sharing 10 things he loves

via GP Racing August 2024

Marvel Cinematic Universe - I'm a big fan of superheroes and all the Marvel films. I've watched them many times, recently with my girlfriend. We caught up on 20 years of Marvel movies in one month, which was pretty good! I've also used them as inspiration for some of my special helmet designs. Like the one with Spiderman in Austin a few years ago or Deadpool in Vegas last year. And there's more to come, for sure.

Diabolo Fraise - This is my favourite drink. It's very French. You may not have heard of it, but in France you can go into any bar and order it. They'll know what it is. It's a strawberry syrup with lemonade: very sugary, but very, very nice.

Table football - I like table tennis a lot and table football - foosball - as well, which is very French. I got a table football set for Christmas and I'm always very competitive.

The smell of fuel - It's hard to explain, but I just love the smell of fuel. Not diesel, not kerosene, not ethanol. But unleaded, 98, no ethanol in it - I have a weird addiction to it. I grew up in a garage because my dad was a mechanic and I just loved that smell, always. And I remember once he saw me trying to take a sip of it - when I was five or six years old - but fortunately he managed to stop me because I was really about to drink it! It hasn't changed to this day. It just smells so good…

Five Guys burgers - Burgers are my cheat meal. And when I want a proper one, I go to Five Guys because it's awesome. Double bacon cheeseburger with mushrooms and medium fries - nothing beats it! And if it's Saturday night, the Five Guys on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, with friends, it's just perfect.

Bowling - I'm good at it. In the town where I grew up there weren't many things to do in your spare time. And on weekends it was a simple choice: either go to the cinema or go bowling. More often than not we went bowling. Of course it got competitive. I'm not a pro, not even close, but my personal best is 190, which isn't too bad. That's where I am at the moment, but hopefully I'll get to 200 one day - it won't be easy, but we'll see.

Sim Racing - Of course it helps. A lot of drivers use it as a training tool, but I like it a lot too. And even if I wasn't a professional driver, I think I'd still do a lot of sim racing. I like to compete - and Gran Turismo is always fun.

Drifting - We sometimes organise something with Mick Schumacher and my friend Thomas Neubauer, who drives for Ferrari in GT - and have a bit of competition. It's all about who can reach the maximum speed at the maximum angle, so it's always fun. I also like off-road buggies. That's what we do a lot with friends - take a day off and go through a track in the woods, stop and have a snack, enjoy the scenery. I like motocross - but I can't really do it, because it's a bit dangerous. My dad broke his leg when he was younger so I know it's not a joke. But I'm sure I'll get on a bike one day.

Tuning cars with my dad - I really like cars. It may sound like an obvious statement from a racing driver, but there aren't too many petrolheads among us drivers. But it's one of my passions. I didn't like it so much before, but now I love putting my hands in cars. It gives you a better understanding of things if you're really into it. With my dad we love to tune cars every now and then, experimenting to make them go faster. It's great because we have no restrictions, or rules. So we can make something that wouldn't necessarily be allowed on public roads, but could be a great track car.

Radio-controlled cars - This is something I do a lot, also with dad. It reminds me a lot of the times we did karting together. It's very similar, only the cars are smaller. I like the 1/8 scale TT category, nitro version, not electric, and find it interesting because you can do it on all terrains. I love the setup side and the competition. I'm not a pro, although if I'm honest I'm not too far away - and one day I'm sure I'll be competing at a more serious level. In F1, there are a few drivers who are very good. Lewis Hamilton, for example, you could see he did it as a kid and he hasn't lost it. And Oscar Piastri is also good. Of the three of us, he's probably the best because I think he's competed at a national level in Australia. I've had the chance to race against pros, but only during test sessions. But in the future I'm going to compete for real.

[padmestrilogy]

george lucas has been unintentionally funny all his life but the number 1 the greatest bit he's ever done is almost die in a car crash as a teen, an accident so traumatic it made the NEWS, then make his magnum opus about how cool it would be if you could do that in space . and affirm throughout the rest of his career that he very much still loves cars

[indycarmarshall]

[dystini]

Indycar - Social Media

Who, what, where to follow.

Social Media

NTT INDYCAR SERIES YouTube - videos go back 15 years. Twitter Instagram TikTok

Team Penske (Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin, Will Power) YouTube - a mix of all the series Penske runs in. Go look for the Penske Games - they're hilarious. Twitter Instagram TikTok

Andretti Autosport (Colton Herta, Kyle Kirkwood, Romain Grosjean, Devlin DeFrancesco, Marco Andretti) YouTube Twitter Instagram TikTok

Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team (Pato O’Ward, Alexander Rossi, Felix Rosenqvist, Tony Kanaan) By far the most active and on-trend of the Indycar teams. YouTube Twitter Instagram TikTok

Chip Ganassi Racing (Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson, Alex Palou, Marcus Armstrong, Takuma Sato) YouTube Twitter Instagram TikTok

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Graham Rahal, Christian Lundgaard, Jack Harvey, Katherine Legge) YouTube Twitter Instagram TikTok

Juncos Hollinger Racing (Callum Ilott, Agustin Canapino) YouTube Twitter Instagram TikTok

Ed Carpenter Racing (Rinus Veekay, Ryan Hunter Reay, Ed Carpenter) YouTube N/A Twitter Instagram TikTok N/A

Dale Coyne Racing (David Malukas, Sting Ray Robb) YouTube N/A Twitter Instagram TikTok N/A

AJ Foyt Racing (Santino Ferucci, Benjamin Perdersen) YouTube N/A Twitter Instagram TikTok N/A

Meyer Shank Racing (Helio Castroneves, Simon Pagenaud) YouTube N/A Twitter Instagram TikTok N/A

Indianapolis Motor Speedway YouTube Twitter Instagram TikTok

Indy NXT (Indycar Junior series) YouTube Twitter Instagram TikTok

Media/other

RACER YouTube Twitter Instagram TikTok N/A

Marshall Pruett YouTube Twitter Instagram TikTok N/A

INDYCAR on NBC YouTube Twitter Instagram TikTok

Nathan Brown (IndyStar) YouTube N/A Twitter Instagram N/A TikTok N/A

Dalton Kellett (former driver) YouTube Twitter Instagram TikTok (tech explanations)

Speed You Later YouTube N/A Twitter Instagram TikTok N/A

TikTok

Misc Caterina Masetti Zannini (Callum Ilott's girlfriend) Behind the scenes and Indycar tech explained, some F1 content. James and Becky Hinchcliffe (hasn't been updated in some time) Honda Performance Development - features all series that use honda engines so you'l have to search for the Indycar stuff.

Drivers Pato O’Ward Conor Daly Callum Ilott Christian Lundgaard Alex Palou

Instagram

Misc PitFit (The gym a lot of drivers use)

Podcasts

Racer's Roots - A deep dive into the history of motorsports and the genealogy of the racers we know and love.

The B1tch Stop is a podcast about motorsport hosted by Charlotte, Almay and Steph: an exasperated sports fan who'd make a better team principle than half the paddock, someone that reads about the aerodynamics of cars for fun, and a woman with a lot of opinions and no driver's licence. Follow for biweekly breakdowns of major race series (including F1, 2 and 3, Formula E, W Series, F1 Academy and IndyCar), the judgement of professional drivers based on their birth chart, and very valid and correct opinions about which drivers would catfish each other.

The Race IndyCar Podcast Race reviews and analysis from the fastest circuit racing in the world. Jack Benyon hosts, ex-Indycar racer JR Hildebrand adds expert knowledge, while a host of special guests bring colour and insight. Join us for the ride!

The Week In IndyCar The Week In Indy Car features one or more guests to weave through the latest news in North America's premier open-wheel series and its related junior formula. Like The Week In Sports Cars show, it's an interactive affair driven by listener questions submitted via social media.

Motorsport101 - covers F1, MotoGP and FE as well as IndyCar

Did I miss anything? Have a podcast to recommend? Send me a message.

[wisteriagoesvroom]

i’m not ready to let go of carcar after this season

[bleue-flora]

Wait... Dream was born on August 12, 1999 and Dream was arrested in the Disc Finale on January 20, 2021 soo... wait, wait, wait, that means he was only 21 when he was imprisoned for life in a small lava covered box!... Did I do that math right? 21?! Man was barely able to drink legally in the United States and they gave him a life sentence in a boiling cell with nothing but lava, raw potatoes, a clock, and some books?!... oh my god...

[waterbendingwaves]

sebastian grandfather allegations confirmed

[oscahpitlane]

not oscar beating his dad and also smoking the rest of their rc car competition