P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Linus Lundqvist won a championship then sat on the sidelines for 10 months. When he finally got his chance, he was so good he scored one of IndyCar’s best seats as Ganassi came calling. Here’s his story
The story of Linus Lundqvist is one of perseverance and seizing opportunities. After a year on the racing sidelines, Lundqvist finally got his chance to impress in an IndyCar race as a replacement for Simon Pagenaud. His performance was so impressive that he soon had a contract on the table from Chip Ganassi Racing, one of IndyCar’s biggest teams. This was a significant achievement considering that Lundqvist had received a smaller chunk of the prize money and no guaranteed track time as the 2022 Indy Lights champion. Lundqvist admits that he was scared and petrified of what would happen if this opportunity didn’t work out, as he had no backup plan. However, his determination and old-school approach of knocking on doors paid off, and he delivered strong performances in subsequent races, including outqualifying his experienced teammate. The pressure was immense, but Lundqvist remained his smiling, laughing self, knowing that this opportunity could be the breakthrough he had worked so hard for throughout his career.
