IndyCar: Justin Wilson itching to drive again, but where is the question

The story has been largely the same since IndyCar and Champ Car merged for Justin Wilson.

The lanky, talented, cordial Englishman has long carried the talent worthy of a top seat in the Verizon IndyCar Series at Team Penske, Chip Ganassi Racing or Andretti Autosport, but for timing or a lack of funding never had the true opportunity.

So this November, the story remains the same. For now, anyway. Wilson is not yet sure where he’ll be on the IndyCar grid in 2015.

The preparation is full on for another season though, which would be his 12th since coming ashore in 2004, then starting out with Conquest Racing.

And the desire to get in a cockpit, now, is instant. IndyCar’s lengthy August-to-March offseason has Wilson itching to get back behind the wheel.

“It’s a much longer offseason,” he told MotorSportsTalk from New Orleans over the weekend. “I feel like I’m ready to get back in the car. It’s been a long time already, but it’s just November.”

Wilson was in New Orleans as one of two IndyCar drivers (Will Power) helping promote the new Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana, the Andretti Sports Marketing-promoted event.

The hope most IndyCar observers have this offseason is that Wilson, who’s spent the last six years combined between Dale Coyne Racing (the last three from 2012 to 2014, plus 2009) and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (2010-2011), can finally make the jump into the vacant fourth seat at Andretti Autosport.

As ever, putting the various financial pieces together to make it happen is the holdup. For Wilson, it puts him in the position of not knowing when a deal could happen.

“I just don’t know what’s going to happen at the minute,” Wilson admitted. “I’m exploring options. Dale’s a great guy, and the team has made some nice improvements. But I have to see what’s best for my future and what works for me. It’s one of those things, where I could find out tomorrow, or it could be in another month or two months.”

Assuming he is on the grid, Wilson would undoubtedly be one of the drivers who could best develop the new aero kits coming to the cars for 2015. Figure his setup expertise would likely pay huge dividends in extracting the maximum out of the kits.

The schedule sets up favorably for him as well. Ending at Sonoma should be a benefit, he said.

“I like the look of the 2015 schedule. Finishing in Sonoma should really boost that event,” he said. “You get to spend an extra day or two in that region. Everyone has always said what a great place it is to go, but as a driver you didn’t experience any of that. From a personal point of view, I like the look of it. We’ll see how it feels.”

Wilson is unsure whether he’ll be in his traditional endurance race role with Michael Shank Racing, the team that now switches to a Ligier JS P2 coupe from Sebring but is expected to continue with its Daytona Prototype at Daytona.

For now, he just wants to put a challenging 2014 behind him and get something sorted, and ideally sooner rather than later so he can enjoy the rest of the offseason with his family before getting back behind the wheel.

“I look back on it, and it was a tough year,” he said of 2014. “We didn’t make a lot of progress. We learned a lot in the last two races that could have helped for the season. We weren’t far behind, but we never found what we were looking for.

“There was more potential there, but we didn’t realize it. With the competition as tight as it, that’s how it goes. It’s a very tight, tough series… you can’t afford to take too long to catch up. But when you do well, it makes it that much better.”

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MEXICO CITY – Max Verstappen turned in a brilliant lap to snatch a surprising pole position at the Mexican Grand Prix.

Then he opened his mouth.

Three hours later, the Red Bull driver was bumped down to fourth, the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel were back at the front, and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was in fighting position to clinch his sixth career Formula One championship.

The changes came when Verstappen was penalized for not slowing down after Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas had a hard crash just ahead of him on his final lap of Saturday’s qualifying.

Verstappen seemed to be in the clear until he admitted in the post-qualifying press conference he didn’t slow under a yellow flag, even though the rules require it.

“I was aware that Valtteri crashed,” Verstappen said.

When pressed later whether he should have backed off, Verstappen bristled.

“Do we have to go there? To safety? I think we know what we are doing, otherwise we would not be driving an F1 car.” Verstappen said. “It’s qualifying and, yeah, you go for it. But like I said before, if they want to delete the lap, then delete the lap.”

His comments prompted an investigation from race stewards and Verstappen lost more than that.

The Dutch driver had expertly cut the thin air and slow corners at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez to perfection, and an earlier lap would have been good enough for his second career pole position.

But Verstappen was still on the track because the Mercedes and Ferraris were making their last runs. Bottas was rounding the final curve when he took a hard shunt into the wall and Verstappen zipped past. The crash ended qualifying and forced Ferrari to abort its final laps.

Hamilton said the penalty was correct.

“It’s really important that (race officials) are very strict on yellow flags,” Hamilton said. “There could have been marshals on the track. These volunteers put their lives on the line to make sure we are safe, and you have got people who are being careless and not abiding by the rules.”

Leclerc said every driver knows to slow down under a yellow flag. Verstappen is only 22, but he’s a veteran driver in his 99th Grand Prix.

“On my side, the crash was behind, so I cannot judge that situation, but yeah, I think it’s clear for every driver,” said Leclerc, who is also 22. “It’s the basics.”

Ferrari is back in No. 1 for the sixth race in a row as Leclerc and Vettel hunt for the fourth team win in that span. Verstappen won the last two Mexican Grand Prix from the No. 2 spot, and the straight-line power edge of the Ferraris should give them a huge jump out of the start in the sprint to the first corner.

The entire scenario gives Hamilton a better chance to close out the championship on a race track that has not been kind to him in recent years.

Hamilton clinched the 2017 and 2018 championships in Mexico City but ran poor races both times. He hasn’t been on the podium here since winning in 2016.

Hamilton can clinch the title Sunday with a podium finish that puts him 14 points clear of Bottas. Anything less than third for Hamilton extends the championship to next week’s U.S. Grand Prix in Texas, a race he’s won five times since 2012.

A Hamilton podium won’t be easy. Verstappen has been significantly faster than the Mercedes on this track. He’ll be seething after the penalty and will want to chase the Ferraris.

A sixth career championship would put Hamilton just one behind the record seven won by Michael Schumacher.

“Maybe we’ll do the rain dance tonight for a wet track which could spice things up a little bit,” Hamilton said.

Bottas is set to start sixth depending on repairs to his car, which Team Principal Toto Wolff said took “extensive damage.” If the car needs a new chassis or gear box, Bottas could be assessed grid penalties.

Bottas was briefly taken to the track’s medical center after the crash but was declared OK to race.

“I’m all OK, but I’ve unfortunately given the boys in the garage some extra work to do tonight,” Bottas said.