Lamborghini conducted three days of testing earlier this week at the Circuito de Almería in Spain, as Romain Grosjean drove his first laps in the SC63 LMDh.

He was joined by fellow Lamborghini factory driver Andrea Caldarelli, collectively driving nearly 2000 km of mileage at the 4.2 km circuit.

Technicians from Lamborghini and the Italian manufacturer’s team partner, Iron Lynx, were able to simulate full course yellow conditions and restart procedures, often implemented in endurance races to neutralise the race if there are safety concerns.

The team remain set to debut next year competitively at the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Qatar race, which will open the season in early March.

However, the team will not debut the car at the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona in January, instead waiting until later in the year for its first competitive outing on American soil.

Furthermore, Lamborghini will only race in select IMSA Endurance Cup rounds, which form part of the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship. 

Grosjean said: “It was a very intense three days, but I am very happy to have been able to work the team and the car on the track for the first time. 

“The car proved to be very good from the first laps and I can’t wait to put even more kilometres on it during the next tests.

“It felt really good, and I am happy to be in Almería with the whole team and discovering all the people and the work that has been going on behind the scenes. 

“So, I am very excited to be here, the car felt really good from the beginning but obviously we still have a bit of a journey [ahead of us].

“But the work that has been done prior to my arrival has been very good and I am looking forward to learning more about the car.”

The testing programme for the SC63 LMDh will continue in Europe next week.

Additionally, the Iron Lynx test team will move to the United States to continue the homologation process by IMSA, with a series of tests across North American circuits.

Romain Grosjean has revealed that he has commenced arbitration proceedings against Andretti Autosport over the loss of his IndyCar seat.

The Frenchman has driven for Andretti for the past two seasons, and it became apparent toward the end of this past year that he would not continue to drive for the team in 2024.

No formal announcement of his departure was ever distributed, just a couple spoken comments confirming he would be leaving the team, which led to assumptions that the decision to split was not fully amicable.

Those assumptions were confirmed with the news that he is entering arbitration against the team in order to solve their dispute.

Grosjean revealed the news on Wednesday afternoon, posting a message to social media explaining the situation and saying that he believed he would be able to continue racing with the team into the future.

“I enjoyed working with the IndyCar team at Andretti Autosport, and am proud of the successes we shared through two seasons,” read Grosjean’s statement on social media. “I am thankful for the many friendships developed at the highest level of American open-wheel racing.

“I had expected to continue racing with the fine people of Andretti Autosport in the coming year. I am disappointed that is not being fulfilled, and wish Andretti team members well. I am pursuing other options to continue my IndyCar career in pursuit of excellence.

“I have commenced an arbitration proceeding against Andretti Autosport, seeking to protect by rights. I am represented by John Maley and Mark Owens of Barnes & Thornburg, LLP.”

Arbitration is a bit different than a full lawsuit, such as the one Alex Palou is embroiled in with McLaren, and likely means the two sides will be able to agree on a solution without a drawn-out process and without going to court.

Grosjean was known to be at the center of a few intra-team disputes in his time at Andretti. He was seen multiple times having heated arguments with his crew, and has made more than a few drivers angry with his on-track driving in the past couple seasons.

It is unknown how much those incidents factored into Andretti’s decision not to extend his contract, or how far along those discussions were.

At this time, Grosjean does not have an announced ride for the 2024 IndyCar season, although he will be part of Lamborghini’s GTP sportscar program.

One of IndyCar’s most recognizable sponsors, DHL, is leaving Andretti Global after partnering with the team for the past 13 years.

In that time, the iconic yellow and red livery has been a staple of the Andretti team and of the American open wheel series as a whole.

Ryan Hunter-Reay was the first to pilot the DHL car in 2011, winning one championship and one Indianapolis 500 while representing the international shipping company.

He remained in the #28 entry with a largely unchanged livery for a decade, and the combination became very recognizable to fans of the sport.

Hunter-Reay stepped away from full time racing at the end of 2021, and the DHL colors were taken over by Romain Grosjean as he joined the Andretti team for two seasons.

The Frenchman earned two poles and three podiums while wearing the bold colors, narrowly missing out on earning a victory.

Shortly after confirmation came that Grosjean would be leaving Andretti, DHL has now also confirmed that it will be leaving the team as well.

DHL posted a video to social media recapping a few key memories the company has had with Andretti over the years.

“From a series championship to an Indy 500 victory, our partnership with @AndrettiIndy is etched in history,” read the post.

“To the Andretti family, you’ve been more than partners, you’ve been family. Thank you for a journey defined by perseverance, sportsmanship, and greatness.”

DHL was also a major sponsor of Andretti’s Indy NXT efforts, with Jamie Chadwick piloting a similar livery in her rookie season this past year.

No information was given about DHL’s future in IndyCar, but the conspicuous lack of commentary about the company leaving the series points to a partnership with another team next season.

It remains to be seen with what team that partnership would be and if the iconic DHL livery will continue to be on the grid next year.

Romain Grosjean has confirmed what many in the paddock have suspected, that he will be departing Andretti Autosport at the end of the 2023 IndyCar season.

The news comes via reporting by NBC Sports, which talked to Grosjean about his future plans at this weekend’s Grand Prix of Portland.

“I cannot speak for what Michael Andretti is doing with the fourth car, but I do have other IndyCar teams that are talking to me,” Grosjean told NBC Sports. “I will land on my feet.

“I’m a Phoenix. I will always find a place to land.”

Suspicion that Grosjean would be leaving Andretti grew quickly when it was announced that Marcus Ericsson would be joining the team next year.

When no such confirmation came for the 37-year-old Frenchman, his future with the team drifted further into doubt.

Grosjean’s performance has been in decline since the Indy 500 as well, with only one top 10 result in the past 11 races.

Michael Andretti spoke to NBC Sports about the situation, relating that he’s still not sure if his team will field four entries next season or not.

With Colton Herta, Kyle Kirkwood, and the aforementioned Ericsson locked in, having only three cars would leave no room to keep Grosjean.

“That is correct, we are still very much noncommittal,” Andretti told NBC Sports when asked about a fourth entry in 2024.

“We are working on a fourth right now. To be honest with you, we really don’t know what we want to do yet. We hope to have an answer by Laguna Seca.

“There are a lot of things that go into a fourth car, not just sponsorship. We have quite a few different options we are looking at and see what the best one is that works for us.”

Grosjean was seen having a heated argument with his team after he was knocked out of qualifying, with both sides seemingly quite upset with the other over traffic issues.

The intense nature of the arguing is likely a product of both sides knowing the relationship will be ending soon, or perhaps the disagreements played a part in the departure in the first place.

With Grosjean not being part of the team next year, it is likely that Ericsson will take over the #28 entry that Grosjean has piloted for the past two seasons.

Will Power had an incredibly frustrating Saturday at Road America, and he let his emotions show by making comments about the driving standards of a couple of the other drivers.

The most explosive comments came after he was eliminated from qualifying when he told the NBC crew what he thought of Romain Grosjean in particular.

Grosjean put what seemed to be a block on Power on the long back straight in the morning qualifying session, forcing the latter off onto the grass.

Even though a few hours had passed since the incident, the reigning champion let his frustrations fly on a range of topics in his television interview after being knocked out of qualifying.

“This track’s terrible when you go off,” Power told NBC. “They did a terrible job here. They need to pick up their game. Anywhere you go off you almost break your back every time. Done it a couple times this weekend. Need a kick in the butt for this place.

“I’m just pissed what Dixon did this morning, has just ruined our whole weekend. Just a terrible move all up.

“The guys did a great job. Everyone thrashed and did a fantastic job. We got out there, did everything I could. It’s just so hard in this field if you’re behind the 8-ball. You’re not sure, with a new front wing and new floor, where the aero balance will be.

“Frustrating because it felt like we were really quick this morning. Disappointed with what happened. Really disappointed.

“And Grosjean is a piece of crap! If you saw what he did in practice, he needs a punch in the face.”

The comments about Dixon referenced another, more significant accident that happened later in the morning practice session.

After being shoved off track by Grosjean, Power was then taken out by Scott Dixon when he attempted to get out of the way after spinning off track.

Dixon did not see Power passing him, and both drivers suffered massive damage in the ensuing collision. Power was even seen shoving Dixon in the aftermath of the second incident.

If the veteran has any hopes of recovering his weekend from fully unravelling, he will have to pass a lot of drivers from his 23rd starting position.

On Sunday’s IndyCar event from Barber Motorsports Park, pit strategy ended up being one of the most important decision of the afternoon.

The teams were split on whether a two stop strategy or a three stop strategy would be the best choice, and indeed the 27-car field was nearly split in half by the decision.

Those teams that opted to try to make a two stop strategy work had to tell their drivers to save fuel from the moment the green flag waved. This included the polesitter Romain Grosjean.

The Frenchman executed the strategy about as well as he could have, but still was unable to properly defend the top spot against a charging Scott McLaughlin as the laps wound down near the end of the race.

“It’s probably the most frustrating type of racing,” said Grosjean. “You know you can go faster, you want to keep the throttle pinned in, but you can’t.

“I think today probably didn’t play in our favor the wind direction. There are two big places where you are going to do lift and coast. It was [turn] 12 and [turn] 5.

“Both of them were the headwinds. I think it was slowing down the car more than it should have. That probably played a bit of a role in the lap time. Probably something to keep in mind for the future.

“Out of 90 laps, I think I did three laps where I was flat out, that’s it. The rest I had to lift and coast and save fuel. It’s a strategy we decided as a team before the race. We thought we could win with it, but obviously no.”

All throughout the race, drivers are given a fuel number that they need to meet, which corresponds to how much fuel usage they are averaging across the lap.

A live readout on the steering wheel helps keep track of usage in real time, and it’s the math equations being run on the pit wall that determine how hard a driver can push.

Multiple drivers met their target fuel number so closely that they ran completely out of fuel on the cool down lap after the checkered flag. Grosjean was one of those who needed assistance, and he saw a few others that were on the same strategy pulling to the side of the road as well.

“On the in lap, I think Josef Newgarden stopped [beside] me. And I think Colton [Herta] was without fuel on track because everyone pushed it hard. Yeah, I almost made it to the pit. Missed by 150 meters.”

Despite not being able to claim his first IndyCar victory, Grosjean was still quite satisfied with his second place result.

The 37-year-old seems to have found a sweet spot this year between aggression and preservation that works well for IndyCar’s style of racing, and has given him a pair of poles and a couple good chances at the win already this season.

Romain Grosjean earned his second IndyCar pole of the season on Saturday, mastering the fast and flowing Barber Motorsports Park.

READ MORE: IndyCar Barber – Qualifying Report

Alex Palou held the provisional pole for a time, but was ultimately beat out by the Frenchman on the final fast laps of the session. Pato O’Ward lapped marginally slower and will start in the third position.

All 27 drivers struggled to find room on track for themselves, with some angry jostling resulting as tempers flared.

There was only one blocking penalty handed out, however, and most were able to complete laps that suited their pace earlier in the weekend

NTT IndyCar Series qualifying took place on Saturday afternoon, and it was Romain Grosjean that stormed to his second pole of the season.

The Frenchman was in the middle of a very tight battle for the top spot, and was the third different driver to move into the top spot in the final minute of the final qualifying session.

In the end Grosjean lapped the 2.3-mile course in 1:05.8396, nearly half of a second faster than VeeKay’s pole time from last year.

READ MORE: IndyCar Barber – Full Qualifying Results

His achievement was extra impressive because Grosjean’s Honda engine let go just a few laps into practice, which caused him to lose out on a bunch of valuable track time.

Alex Palou put in the second fastest time, just 0.0734 seconds slower than the fast time. Pato O’Ward was third with a time that was only slightly slower.

A pair of ‘Scotts’ filled the fourth and fifth spots, with McLaughlin and Dixon filling those two positions respectively.

Christian Lundgaard was impeded during one of his laps in the first qualifying session, but ultimately was able to advance anyway and ended up making it to the final session and finished with the sixth fastest time.

Marcus Armstrong was penalized for the infraction, and dropped from a 14th place starting spot down to 26th when his fast laps were deleted.

A clean track was had to come by for everyone in the opening sessions, and Rinus VeeKay and Will Power nearly came together as tempers flared while looking for track position.

Unrelated to their tussle on track, both drivers pushed too hard and took a trip through the grass in the Fast 12 session. VeeKay will start ninth, and Power will start 11th.

Josef Newgarden was also bumped out in the second round despite looking like he had pace for a front row run earlier in the weekend. He will start down in seventh just ahead of Felix Rosenqvist.

Santino Ferrucci had gearbox troubles as soon as he headed out on track, and had to come right back into the pit box.

The AJ Foyt Racing crew was not able to find a fix quickly enough for him to set a competitive time, and he will start in the 27th and final position.

Drivers will get one final warm up practice session on Sunday morning, and will take the green flag for the 90-lap feature at 2:00 PM.

Romain Grosjean finished second in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Sunday, crossing the line less than one second behind his team-mate Kyle Kirkwood.

Grosjean had been slowly closing the gap to Kirkwood as the laps wound down, but was forced to fuel save and was not able to put as much pressure on the sophomore driver as he would have liked.

With three laps to go, he was given the all clear from his team and was free to push as much as he could to see if he could steal the win away.

Instead of making a risky lunge for the top spot on the final lap, however, Grosjean chose to play it safe and make sure that Andretti Autosport logged a 1-2 finish rather than potentially taking both drivers out of contention.

It was a decision that he may not have made last year when he was earning a reputation for being an aggressive driver, but that decision ensured he would walk away with a podium finish after a competitive weekend.

“I did not even want to try to go for the win today,” said the Frenchman after the race. “It would have been taking too much risk.

“Kyle drove a brilliant weekend. He had the best strategy out there, but he was on pole. He was fast. He didn’t make any mistakes. He drove well. He deserved the race.

“I think we’re strong everywhere. Today the race car wasn’t the best ever. I think we’re going to learn a few things and move forward. Generally we have a very fast car. Two weeks ago in Texas Motor Speedway, also showed I could do ovals.

“Yeah, when we speak in Laguna Seca, I want to be with those guys fighting for the championship, and I think we get a chance to do that.”

The considerate driving by Grosjean ensured that he was still running at the finish, the first time he’s been able to make that claim this season.

At St. Petersburg and at Texas he crashed while fighting near the front of the pack, and cost himself many valuable points in the process.

The second place result gives Grosjean his fifth IndyCar podium, and gives him hope that he will be able to notch his first win sometime in the near future.

The first IndyCar race of the 2023 season produced a dramatic qualifying session from the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.

When the checkered flag waived, it was fan favorite Romain Grosjean who was at the top of the timesheets, earning his second IndyCar pole position, and his first on a street course.

Grosjean completed his fastest lap at the end of the Fast 6 session, running a lap of the 1.8-mile course in a scant 59.5532 seconds.

READ MORE: IndyCar St. Petersburg – Qualifying Results

Andretti Autosport came out swinging in qualifying, with the front row locked out by the historic team.  It was Colton Herta that will join the Frenchman leading the field away, as he was a few tenths of a second slower on Saturday afternoon.

Pato O’Ward earned the third starting position, logging a lap just over the magic one minute barrier. He will start alongside Marcus Ericsson on the second row.

Kyle Kirkwood did not ultimately share the same fortune as his team-mates, as he hit the wall hard just moments after starting his first flying lap in the Fast 6 round. A small mistake and a lockup of his front tires was all that it took to take the sophomore driver out of pole contention.

Scott McLaughlin also had trouble in the final round, spinning dramatically into the final hairpin. The same corner gave the Kiwi trouble earlier in the weekend, and was the culprit that ensured he will start from the third row on Sunday.

Alex Palou just missed out on the Fast 6, with McLaughlin pipping the Spaniard in the final seconds of the second round but just one hundredth of a second.

Palou joins his Ganassi team-mate Scott Dixon in the lower half of the top 10, with only Felix Rosenqvist slotted between them in eighth.

Josef Newgarden had a disappointing run and failed to advance out of the first round.  He will have to start from all the way down in 14th position.

Remarkably, considering how many cars were wrecked in the earlier practice sessions, there was very little in the way of carnage before the final round.

Simon Pagenaud was the one exception, and the veteran was forced to retire after out-braking himself into the tricky turn 4 and hitting the tire barriers in the first session of the afternoon.

The record-breaking 27-car field will take the green Sunday afternoon at 12:30 Eastern Time.