After exiting FIA Formula 2 and taking on a new challenge by joining the 2023 Indycar season with Chip Ganassi Racing , Marcus Armstrong took the Rookie of The Year title at the season finale.
Armstrong lined up as the fourth car on the team alongside Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson and Alex Palou.
He competed in road and street courses only, with Takuma Sato racing the ovals and raced against previous F2 competitors like Christian Lundgaard and Callum Ilott.
The title came down to the last race between Armstrong and Agustín Canapino. Nerves were high throughout the whole action packed finale at Laguna Seca:
A multi-car collision in the opening laps left Armstrong off strategy to the field due to a pit stop to fix damage. He then proceeded to struggle to make up places from the back.
However, after sitting strongly in the top ten, Canapino picked up wing damage towards the end of the race and fell down the field.
Armstrong managed to fight past a defensive Canapino to finish eighth, scoring enough points to seize the title which comes as a proud achievement as all other rookies raced in all 17 races.
Motorsport fans all over the world have been impressed by his performance all year as he exits with some impressive statistics as well as the title. These include only being involved in race contact twice and out of 20 penalties given to rookies over the whole season , Armstrong only acclaimed two.
The 23-year-old now exits 2023 with a best finish of sixth as well as a multi-year contract with Chip Ganassi to partake in all races on the calendar.
This time he will race alongside defending champion Alex Palou, Scott Dixon and new rookie Linus Lundqvist who impressed teams with his performance whilst filling in for an injured Simon Pagenaud.
Image: Getty Images
