Has Ferrari placed a Trojan horse in IndyCar?

Last weekend's Indy 500 saw the debut at the Speedway of Scuderia Corsa, which partnered with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing to run IndyCar veteran Oriol Servia in the blue ribbon event.

Founded by Ferrari dealers Giacomo Mattiolo and Art Zafiropoulo, Scuderia Corsa won the last two IMSA GT Daytona-class championships and also triumphed at Le Mans in 2016 in the GTE-Am class.

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Pinned against the backdrop of Ferrari boss Sergio Marchionne's persistent threats to pull out of Formula 1, Scuderia Corsa's involvement in IndyCar is interesting and could represent an unassuming pipeline into the US series for the House of Maranello.

In 2021, IndyCar, just like Formula 1, will usher in a new set of engine rules centered around a 2.4-litre V6 turbo unit expected to develop around 900 bhp.

Ferrari could set up its own team, with Scuderia Corsa currently acting as its Trojan horse, evaluating and testing the turf in the interim.

It could also eventually supply its engine to other teams, perhaps under the Alfa Romeo banner, the iconic Fiat-Chrysler brand picking up impressive sales momentum in the US.

Watch this space…

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