Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Rossi, Maldonado in frame for IndyCar switch

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Alexander Rossi and Pastor Maldonado are both in the frame for a move to IndyCar after losing their F1 seats.

Maldonado was dropped by Renault after problems between the team and sponsors PDVSA, while Rossi lost out on a drive at Manor as the team opted for Pascal Wehrlein and Rio Haryanto as its race drivers. With Gabby Chaves losing the #98 Andretti Autosport-BHA seat in 2016, Bryan Herta says he is looking at those who missed out on F1 drives as well as J.R. Hildebrand.

“We have a shortlist of people we've spoken to – and J.R. is one of them – but it also includes drivers who are no longer in Formula 1 this year, or thought they were going to have Formula 1 rides but now don’t," Herta told Motorsport.com.

“I’ve been involved with the discussions between Andretti and the potential drivers, and right now I’d say there are three or four guys on the shortlist, and two serious ones. And the next 24 to 36 hours will be critical as to which way it goes.”

While Herta would only confirm he has previously spoken to Maldonado, when asked if Rossi is one of the ex-F1 drivers he is considering, he replied: “That would be a good guess.”

Will Stevens could also be in the frame after losing his Manor drive, with all race seats now taken in F1.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.