Scott Dixon's race ended before it even began at Mid-Ohio when the #9 Honda driven by Chip Ganassi suffered a hybrid failure on the warm-up lap.
Preparing to begin thirteenth and chase a record-breaking seventh victory at Mid-Ohio, the 43-year-old New Zealander suffered misfortune when he got here to a stop at Turn 5.
Unable to maneuver, Dixon’s automobile was pushed into the wall and he became frustrated, simply saying over the radio, “This is a f***ing joke, man,” after failing to restart the hybrid system that made its race weekend debut on the track.
Dixon returned to the garage as the remaining of the sector went out for the green flag. Although he was capable of rejoin the race some 22 laps behind the last, Twenty seventh-place finish, he ultimately retired after 40 laps and was unable to enhance his position, with the early retirement being described as a mechanical failure.
#9: Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, pit stop
Photo: Michael L. Levitt
“It was a little weird,” Dixon told NBC after the incident. “There were no alarms, but when I looked down because the team said, ‘You need to go to load.’”
“Something began discharging the capacitor immediately, as if at an excessive rate. So some type of failure on the facility side of the hybrid, which is unquestionably not an excellent strategy to start it for the primary time.
“I haven't even done any warm-up laps, so I think there are a lot of unknowns at the moment.”
The incident was suspected to have been attributable to an ESS discharge, but IndyCar said after the race it was still investigating.
Dixon was hit hardest within the championship standings, sitting second going into the weekend, 32 points behind leader and teammate Alex Palou, who finished second within the race.
Dixon has dropped to fourth place, 71 points behind.
Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Photo: Josh Tons / Motorsports images
Dixon’s failure turned out to be the one known incident involving the hybrid that day, which caught the eye — and put — IndyCar president Jay Frye on alert.
“When something like that happens right away, you don’t know what happened, so you’re on tenterhooks for the rest of the event,” Frye told Motorsport.com. “But obviously they were able to sort it out and get back.”
