IndyCar News: Scott Dixon’s Mid-Ohio Race Ends Early Due to Hybrid Failure
In a shocking turn of events, Scott Dixon’s IndyCar race at Mid-Ohio came to a premature end even before the green flag waved. The #9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda suffered a hybrid failure on the formation lap, leaving the 43-year-old New Zealander frustrated and upset.
Dixon, who was set to start from 13th on the grid and was aiming for a record-extending seventh win at Mid-Ohio, came to a halt at Turn 5 when his car lost power. Despite efforts to refire the hybrid unit, which made its debut at the circuit, Dixon was unable to get back on track. His car was pushed behind the wall, and he eventually returned to the garage, radioing in his frustration, “This is a f****** joke, man.”
“Kind of weird. There was no alarms, but when I looked down, because the team said, ‘You’ve got to go into recharge.’ Something started discharging the capacitor immediately, like at an excessive rate. So, some kind of failure there with the power side of the hybrid, which is definitely not a great way to start it for the first time.”
Although Dixon managed to rejoin the race 22 laps down in last place, he eventually retired after completing 40 laps, unable to improve his position. The early retirement was listed as a mechanical issue.
IndyCar officials are still investigating the incident, with the suspected issue being that the Energy Storage System (ESS) began discharging excessively. This hybrid failure was the only known incident of its kind on the day, putting IndyCar president Jay Frye on high alert.
“Once something like that happens right off the bat, you don’t know what happened, so you’re kind of on pins and needles the rest of the event. But obviously they got it sorted out and they got back out.”
— Jay Frye, IndyCar President
The early retirement deals a significant blow to Dixon’s championship hopes, dropping him to fourth in the IndyCar standings, 71 points behind leader and teammate Alex Palou. Stay tuned for more IndyCar news, IndyCar standings, and IndyCar schedule updates as the 2023 season unfolds.
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