Andretti set to assign new engineer for Power

Andretti Global will assign a new race engineer to the No. 26 Honda for the inbound Will Power.

RACER understands veteran engineer Nathan O’Rourke, who worked with Colton Herta since 2019 and paired with the Californian to capture nine IndyCar Series victories, is shifting to a shop-based role.

O’Rourke’s transition was set in motion before Andretti Global and Herta elected to redirect the driver’s career to Europe and is part of a long-held plan to travel less and be more present at home.

With the offseason in motion, appointing Power’s race engineer is a significant task, and then it’s assessing improvements for the team’s Honda-powered entries for the Australian, Florida’s Kyle Kirkwood in the No. 27 car, and the No. 28 machine piloted by Sweden’s Marcus Ericsson.

“Across every car at the end of the year, you look at what worked and what didn’t work,” Andretti COO Rob Edwards told RACER. “There will be some evolution, change a few parts, keep the parts that are working well and obviously we’re keen to engage Will (Power) as soon as possible.”

The late-career acquisition of Power is a special one for Edwards, who worked with the future IndyCar champion and Indy 500 winner 20 years ago when Power got his start in Champ Car with the Team Australia program run by Walker Racing.

“Having worked with him way, way back when he first started in the series, I’m personally as much as professionally excited that he’s on board,” Edwards added. “And obviously, given his track record and where he comes from, you would think that he can only help to make us stronger.”

Edwards wouldn’t be drawn on where Andretti will look for Power’s race engineering solution, but the team has a deep roster of engineering talent to consider and would draw considerable interest for the role if it looked outside the organization.

Once Power gets integrated into the team, Edwards expects its newest driver to make a meaningful impact on the program which won its last IndyCar championship in 2012 and its most recent Indy 500 in 2017.

“One of the great things about Will, for as long as he’s been doing it, and (Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott) Dixon, is they live it and breathe it,” Edwards said. “They haven’t got distracted by other things. They are competitive. They win. Will works as hard at it right this day as at any time in his career. And so I just want Will Power to be the Will Power that you and I both know.”

Andretti was the second-best IndyCar team at a number of races during the first half of the season. Kirkwood sat as high as second in the championship, thanks to his three wins, and finished fourth in the standings to lead the team. The outgoing Herta rallied in the second half of the year to take seventh in the championship, and Ericsson endured his worst season to date, placing 20th.