Harding Steinbrenner Racing may be down one driver, after rookie Pato O’Ward revealed on Monday that he was leaving the team before the season even started, but it officially gained its technical partner on Tuesday.
As expected, and as reported last season by Autoweek, Andretti Technologies, the advanced technology arm of Andretti Autosport, announced today a partnership with NTT IndyCar Series competitors Harding Steinbrenner Racing to provide engineering and development support through the 2019 season.
As part of the new relationship, Harding Steinbrenner Racing’s engineering team will be staffed by veteran race engineers with Andretti Autosport experience. Additionally, the team will receive technical and development support, along with having access to the same damper program used by Andretti Autosport IndyCar Series entries.
The technical alliance builds on the successful relationship started with the 2018 IndyCar Series finale at Sonoma Raceway, which saw Andretti Technologies provide engineering assistance to Harding Steinbrenner Racing’s season finale effort.
Founded in late 2014, Andretti Technologies was the powertrain provider for the Andretti Formula E program for seasons three and four. The new technical partnership with Harding Steinbrenner Racing is the first in a number of initiatives to establish Andretti Technologies as a service provider within motorsports and beyond.
Without the benefit of having a teammate, Colton Herta will now be able to get technical advice from Andretti’s four-driver contingent that includes 2012 IndyCar Series champion and 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay, the 100th Indianapolis 500 winning driver Alexander Rossi, two-time IndyCar race winner Marco Andretti and second-year driver Zach Veach.
“We are going to have a technical partnership with Andretti, that’s not really new news, but we’ll share setups and they will help us out when we need it,” Herta said. “Once we get started out on the weekend and get a good platform, I’m confident in my engineers because they have been around for a while. Anything we find, we can help them and anything they find, they can help us.“It’s making the program stronger and stronger.”
Herta discovered O’Ward’s departure on Twitter, 20 minutes before his media availability on Monday’s IndyCar Media Day.
“It’s going to be tough not having Pato as my teammate this year after we raced together in Indy Lights last year,” Herta said. “We pushed each other in Indy Lights and made the car a lot better for Andretti Autosport and we bettered ourselves as well. Whether I was on pole, he was right there before him and whether he was on pole, I was right there behind him.
“It’s a great year — it bettered both of us, it will be tough not having him there to push me — but I’m sure I will get that from the drivers at Andretti Autosport.”
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