With the 2025 Indycar Season on the horizon, we’re on course for what is shaping up to be a really fun season, a pivotal one as it’s a foray with a new broadcaster.
With that will likely come new eyes and a fresh excitement in the sport. We’ve already seen a new media push for a bunch of Indy’s stars, and plenty of talk about the other key names.
However, that doesn’t mean all the bases are covered. Particularly as Indycar has grown its profile as a series and increased its international footprint.
Here are 3 drivers who I think are under the radar drivers and are poised to outdo expectations in 2025.
Christan Lundgaard
Mid last year, Santino would have been the pick on a list like this, particularly given the sub’s distaste for him. However, with his particularly hot finish to the year, and the stunning top 10 for a historically poor AJ Foyt venture, I think more than enough shine as been laid at the brash American’s feet.
So how about another youngster who managed to achieve the same shock top 10 standings finish just one year prior, yet has captured little acclaim despite being in the best position in his career to date?
Christian Lundgaard is by my opinion the most underrated driver among the big 4 teams.
Let’s not forget that he is the series’ most recent winner outside of the Penske, Ganassi, McLaren, Andretti quartet, taking the 2023 Toronto GP in simply dominant fashion, winning pole and remaining the class of the field throughout, finishing over 11 seconds ahead of the eventual season champion Palou. It was a signature performance for a season that would see Lundgaard finish the in the standings an impressive 8th, one better than Santino’s excellent 2024 result.
Whilst 2024 was a drop in both the standings and overall results, it was a challenging year for RLL as a whole, and Lundgaard seemed to make the most of it. It’s key here to examine his performance in that context.
While Graham Rahal is certainly not a title contender by any means and does appear to be losing pace to an increasingly young and deeper talent pool, he is not a slow driver by any means. Prior to Lundgaard’s arrival, he was a consistent fixture in the top 10. Yet these two past seasons, he’s endured major struggles as RLL has slipped back as a whole. Not being able to pick up a result better than 8th was certainly not it.
Contrast that to Lundgaard’s 2024. A podium run in the Indy road course was by far RLL’s best result all season, and he also managed 3 additional finishes ahead of Graham’s season best single race of 8th. And that’s to say nothing of their performance over Pietro Fittipaldi, who was firmly among the field’s back markers throughout.
The RLL context makes the move to McLaren tantalizing despite the fanfare of his switching being surprisingly minimal. Announced halfway through the 2024 season, that early timing is far back enough in the past that the move has been overshadowed, particularly given McLaren’s 3rd seat went through its own in-season saga in the meantime.
Even at the time though, the focus wasn’t necessarily on Lundgaard’s deserved step up but Rossi and McLaren choosing to part ways. I can’t help but feel like Lundgaard was lost in the shuffle among the headlines created by McLaren management.
There are admitted questions for Lundgaard to answer. While RLL’s struggles at the ovals were a factor, his exact prowess at that category of tracks certainly is an area to monitor, particularly with the 30% of the season on them.
Additionally, while an undoubted on paper upgrade, his transition to McLaren is also going to be key to watch given how it’s historically been cited as a tricky car to master given they’ve tailored it (rightly IMO) to their superstar driver Pato O’Ward.
But even with these potential caveats, I just flat out don’t see enough reverence for the 23-year-old race winner. Heck, Pockass put far less qualified teammate Nolan Siegal (who to be completely clear I do like as a prospect) in his top ten where as Lundgaard was off entirely. Sure, that’s an engagement bait play (and I've enjoyed Pockass as a NASCAR reporter), but it points to just how forgotten Lundgaard is in the pecking order.
He’s someone who’s consistently outperformed his equipment; a driver has quietly risen to a well-deserved opportunity on a team with the drive and potential to claim the championship. Pato is the obvious leader of the Papaya brigade, but don’t sleep on Lundgaard as dark horse challenger.
Rinus VeeKay
And now to the complete opposite end of the spectrum, a driver who had to cling onto his career, managing to find the last seat of the 2025 season. Still though, given known pace of the Dutch standout, I’m thinking there might be some real surprises to come.
By my estimation, no driver was more undeservedly forsaken than VeeKay. Everyone has pointed out (correctly to be fair) how on merit, Linus Lundqvist or Marcus Armstrong deserves the 3rd Ganassi seat over Simpson. Yet, despite that, VeeKay, on a team fathoms below the vaunted Ganassi group, managed to narrowly finish ahead both of them!
To continue this context, it’s stunning just how far forward VeeKay was able to pull Ed Carpenter Racing. We’re a long way from ECR’s stunning 2016 4th place at the hands of an ascendant Josef Newgarden, the team’s by far and away best result. He’s never been finished in the top ten, but does carry a 2021 win at the Indy GP, an inspired feat in his sophomore campaign.
He’s consistently bested his ECR teammates and showcased his high-end pace. Sure, neither Conor Daly or Ed Carpenter are world beaters, but they both are capable of putting results on the board should things go their way. Through each year at ECR, VeeKay was clearly a level above both.
In 2024, part time teammate Rasmussen was coming off of a good lower-level career as the reigning Indy NXT champion. Needless to say, VeeKay was easily the stronger driver. All things considered given the team experience gap of 4 full years between them, it was a completely expected result. What you might not expect though, is that Rasmussen is somehow the older driver between the two of them, being born 3 months earlier!
And yet here is Rinus, sitting in the car that missed out on the last Indy 500 bump day, the final full-time racer to be confirmed. His last-minute cast off meant by the time he was looking for opportunities in earnest, prime spots were essentially all gone or budget dependent.
It’s fair to be a little wary of the situation that VeeKay finds himself. The tough reality is that even in a spec series, if the car isn’t up to par, it’s just going to be difficult to move forward. He’ll be paired with yet another fairly successful Indy NXT product in Jacob Abel next season, his first Indycar teammate who will be actually younger than him. Things will be challenging as both drivers come to grip on a new team.
With that said though, if there is pace to be had at Dale Coyne Racing, I’m expecting VeeKay to make the most of it. Yes, Rossi is the highest profile free agent to ever join ECR, but he’s somewhat stagnated and I can’t help but believe VeeKay is out to make his former employers regret their decisions. Barring DCR being truly leagues below the competition, I’m thinking he very well could finish ahead of his newly elevated to full time ex-teammate Rasmussen again in what could be a consequential head-to-head for the final Winners Circle payouts.
Colton Herta
Okay, okay, okay! I know what you’re thinking.
“Last year’s runner up? Why on earth is he on this list?”
That’s just it though. For the series’ runner up, it feels like he’s kept relatively under the radar. As far as Indycar’s renewed marketing push goes, we’ve seen the O’Ward, Newgarden and Palou vignettes. They’re stylish, they’re fun, they’re a great introduction as Fox looks to establish the series to TV audiences.
They’re also lacking the championship runner up. Hmm.
It’s also worth looking into the sportsbook data for another point of reference. Checking the odds, you’ll find him comfortably behind Palou, McLaughlin and Newgarden. Often he’ll be tied with O’Ward. Some will even put Power and Dixon, ahead of him as well.
Now am I going to say it’s time to bet it all on Herta? Certainly not! Personally, I’m not a sports gambler, and my posts are not meant to be gambling advice. However, odds do serve as a good point of reference when it comes to perception and ultimately it feels like he’s somehow managed to fly overlooked.
Having Herta here on this list is simply a talent play. For those who haven’t been following Indycar since his debut, he’s got pace in spades. Indycar’s youngest ever winner with a bit of an upset win at COTA in just his 3rd Indycar race, he’s always had phenomenal raw speed. One of Indycar’s strongest qualifiers and on-track movers in one package, there’s a reason he’s been touted as a name to watch in F1 circles despite only a brief time in the Europe’s ladder system.
However, it’s his reoccurring weaknesses that have betrayed him time and time again: recklessness when behind, lack of tire management, the failings on ovals, general Andretti strategy/disfunction, etc etc. These were the little intangibles that his title competition, Palou especially, have gotten right. Quietly though, particularly late last year each of these flaws showed major signs of improvement.
If we zoom back to early June, it was seemingly same old same old for Herta. His Indy 500 performance had saw him act as the quickest mover in the field before he binned it on his own, and what looked to be a straightforward Detroit street course victory quite literally washed out when rain threw Herta down the pecking order and he sent himself into the barriers in frustration. No one would blame you if you wrote Herta off as someone lacking a champion’s gravitas.
Since then though he began to really turn it around. The next race at Road America exemplified the improvement to come: after getting punted to the back of the field, he paired his strong race pace with a disciplined recovery drive to nab 6th, a commendable performance in trying circumstances, demonstrating a Palou-esque points first approach.
Ovals were the other big bugaboo that began to turn around. We saw him claim his first oval pole at Iowa. Unfortunately, ill-timed strategy/luck shuffled him into one of his only 4 non-top ten finishes. He would pick up top 5 finishes in 4 of the final 5 oval races left on the schedule, including capping off with his first oval victory in the Nashville season finale, demonstrating his oval improvement.
Finally, even Andretti appeared to be turning the page alongside Herta. Gone were the hate cauldron days of teammates clashing. The once often inane strategy or pit errors lowered drastically. And yes, while Michael Andretti no longer is the point person of the brand, that may not be an issue.
The new management appear dedicated to auto racing in a big way. With the Andretti outfit making inroads with the rising Spire Motorsports in NASCAR (hence the sponsor overlap) and of course, the finally approved F1 bid alongside GM that Herta very well could be in line for should this season play to his advantage. He’s still working the same group that was very much on the upswing to end 2024.
Am I declaring Herta as a slam dunk championship pick? I wouldn’t say that. There’s a lot of great talent in the series, and you know that Penske is chomping at the bit after a down year. In particular, Scotty Mac finished the 2024 season strong like Herta. O’Ward, a rival to Herta since his junior days is similarly on the cusp as well. You count out Dixy at your own peril and Palou is still Palou, a driver who complements strong pace with the ability to create his good luck via measured drives.
I’m just thinking that given all we’ve seen from Herta, with the continued growth he’s shown, now entering year 7 of Indycar racing when he’s only just turning 25 next month? It’s all to do for Colton. Again, I’m not going to put money on Herta (and you probably shouldn’t either), but I can’t help but feel his championship equity is better than “only 5th”.
