IndyCar: Graham Rahal on the Hybrid in Toronto

Today’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES  practice was enlightening for the 27 drivers of the new hybrid. Everyone had to relearn the track and brake zones with the extra weight from the hybrid.

Graham Rahal, driver of the No 15 United Rentals Honda, was very direct about the fact that the heavy hybrid unit has changed how you drive around this circuit.

“It’s tricky out there. Very bumpy.  I thought this was the most that I felt the negative effects of the hybrid. The regeneration side of it, the effect on the balance, as well as just the mass. So I think there’s a lot of work to be done overnight.”

“I think we tried to come here with a setup that was similar to what we improved with at Detroit, things like that. I think with the weight differences and stuff, I think we didn’t quite have it today.”

” We’re going to try some stuff on Saturday morning. Not a lot of practice time, as you guys all know now. This afternoon seems pretty chopped up with the traffic here, 27 or 28 cars. It’s not a lot of just clean lap time.”

“My point is this is the most I felt that sort of mass and change. But, I mean, it’s always a challenge around this place. It’s always going to be. It’s tight confines. The last corner… Every corner is tricky. The last corner is totally blind. You clear the wall. It’s a very interesting place to come.”

“Everybody has to figure out how to maximize it come qualifying time and all that sort of stuff. We’ll see. I thought the concrete was very slippery, which is typically on day one. Turn one was very, very, very low grip. Turn five, if you miss the apex at all, extremely low grip. We’ll see how it develops.”

Lucille Dust reporting live from Toronto