Will Power refuses to make 2025 Indy 500 prediction after Roger Penske episode
Will Power recently refused to make his 2025 Indy 500 prediction for Team Penske public. The two-time IndyCar champion revealed how team owner Roger Penske got mad at him in 2024 for making a bold prediction a month out from the iconic race.
Team Penske's performance at the 108th running of the Indy 500 was fantastic. The trio of Scott McLaughlin, Will Power, and Josef Newgarden locked out the front row in qualifying. Newgarden went on to script history in the race by becoming the first driver since Helio Castroneves in 2001-02 to win the Greatest of Spectacle of Racing back-to-back.
In a recent interview with RACER on YouTube, Power was asked if he feels Team Penske would have the same advantage at the Indy 500 this year.
"I think the opposition will have closed up, for sure. But we have also made improvements," the 2018 Indy 500 winner replied [7:53 onwards]. "Roger got mad at me last year when I said I think that one of our cars will be on pole (and) it could be a front row lockout, I said something like that. So... I know in my heart what I think," he added with a laugh.
The 2024 Indy 500 was one to forget for Power. On lap 147 of 200, when he was side-by-side with Christian Rasmussen on the inside line on Turn 1, he lost control of his car, spun, and crashed into the wall.
Will Power highlights how the hybrid units will "throw a spanner in the works" at the 109th Indy 500
The 2025 IndyCar season will be the first full season with hybrid power units in play. The Roger Penske-owned series introduced the hybrids in the second half of 2024. The 109th Indy 500 on May 25 this year will be the first one with the hybrid PUs powering all cars.
Will Power anticipates the new engines will add volatility for all teams, with potential discrepancies between individual hybrid units on different cars.
"The hybrid might... that's the only thing that might throw a bit of a spanner in the works (at the Indy 500)," Power said during the same interview. "Is there differences in drag with different hybrids? That's something, you can't open that thing up, you can't change it. So you're at the mercy of the hybrid you get. When I think about all the drag reduction stuff everyone does with gearboxes and uprights and all that now, I'd be shocked if that were completely consistent."
Team Penske's performances so far in 2025 have been very uncharacteristic of the team. Except for Scott McLaughlin's pole position at the season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, qualifying has seemingly become the team's weak point, with both Josef Newgarden and Will Power suffering Round 1 knockouts in Thermal and Long Beach.
At the Indy 500, Newgarden will be aiming for an unprecedented third consecutive victory, Power for his second win, and 2024 pole-sitter McLaughlin, his first.