The Hybrid is an issue but IndyCar has a Tire problem
The addition of the Hybrid system has obviously been detrimental to the product so I won’t beat a dead horse. However, i’ve seen little mention of how poorly Firestone missed on the road & street course tire compounds this season. Due to a handful of tire delamination issues over the past couple of seasons Firestone vastly overcorrected this offseason in relation to the alternate tire compound. Ultimately, we now have alternate tire that can run about the same stint duration as the primary if necessary. The alternate compound should be significantly faster but the falloff should be brutal enough to make for a real trade-off. Instead, the margins are so close between the two compounds that it’s removed some of the strategy & advantage regarding the compound you run. It’s a hard task to find a middle ground, and Firestone is a great partner, but unfortunately it’s our reality right now.