David Malukas feels 'day and night' different at AJ Foyt Racing after volatile 2024 season
AJ Foyt Racing's latest signing, David Malukas, recently came out and reflected on his move to the team for the 2025 season. Malukas reflected on the tough 2024 season and detailed how it helped him improve and make him the driver that he is at present.
Malukas made his IndyCar debut in 2022 with Dale Coyne Racing and raced with the team through 2023. The 23-year-old signed with Arrow McLaren for the 2024 season on a multi-year contract. However, the American faced a mountain biking accident in February, just before the start of the season.
Arrow McLaren waited for Malukas to recover, but with no clear return date, McLaren released Malukas after the first four races. After the recovery, the 23-year-old joined Meyer Shank Racing midway through the season to replace Tom Blomqvist.
Looking at how the hardship of the 2024 season helped him improve his skill level, David Malukas said, (via Frontstretch’s YouTube video)
“I mean, 2024 was a rough year to start, but looking back at it now, I think it was probably the best year for me with everything that I had to deal with with the hand and all these different scenarios. I think mentally for me, it was a year of maturity. I mean, I changed from the driver I was back then to now.” (4:05 onwards)
“I mean, it's night and day. I don't think I could be doing the performances and driving the way I am, you know, in the beginning of 2024. So everything happens for a reason, you know, and we came out of it, I think, on top,” added Malukas.
David Malukas joined Santino Ferrucci at AFR for the 2025 season. In the first three races of the season, the 23-year-old showed great single-lap pace, but fell down the order during the races.
David Malukas working on the AFR setup, taking Santino Ferrucci's setup as the baseline
David Malukas is still relatively new at AJ Foyt Racing, with only three races in. Speaking with IndyCar after the 2025 Thermal Club IndyCar race, Malukas explained how he's still finding his feet at the team and with the setup of the car. He suggested, he's adjusting the setup to his liking based on teammate Santino Ferrucci's setup.
“We’re just working off of Santino’s setup and working from that baseline into something that we like. So, hopefully eventually we can get to the point where, ‘OK, let's unload the data.’ I think we're getting already so much closer,” said Malukas (via IndyCar)
David Malukas also explained how Ferrucci's set-up is an oversteer one, where the rear end is unstable, and that he found it difficult to adjust to the same.