Linus Lundqvist Makes it in America by Peter Windsor
168Although Linus Lundqvist won the British F3 Championship with Double-R in 2018, his career thereafter seemed destined to hit a familiar brick wall: without huge financial backing, he was unlikely to be able to take the FIA F3-F2 feeder steps into F1. Undoubtedly he had the talent; what he lacked was the large-scale sponsorship that eludes so many young drivers in Europe. And so he took a major decision: he would forsake his home and head for Indy, via the scholarship programme that rewards talent in the USA with serious money. In 2020 he won Formula Regional Americas series. In 2022 he was victorious in the Indy Lights series. And in three late-season Indycar races in 2023, with Meyer Shank, he impressed enough people to earn a ride in 2024 with Chip Ganassi Racing. With a stunning late-race pass of team-mate Alex Palou (in Alabama, on April 28) Linus stepped onto the podium - alongside the two Penske drivers (Scott McLaughlin and Will Power) - after only the fourth race in his first full season. Peter spoke to Linus a couple of days later - about racing in America, about ovals and the upcoming Indy 500 and about his upbringing in Europe, focused as it was around the combined talents of Double-R's Anthony "Boyo" Hieatt and the famed driver coach, Rob Wilson.
This interview was first aired in our May 01 livestream
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