5 IndyCar drivers who’ve disappointed this season (and 3 who can still shine)

Reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou has run away with the lead of the 2025 championship as he began his title defense with six wins in the first nine races. While the Spaniard continues his dominance, there have been drivers whose performance has been underwhelming as they've failed to meet the performance marker expected of them.

The IndyCar teams and drivers are a little over halfway into the first half of the season, with nine races completed and eight to go. Let's have a look at five drivers who have disappointed this season, and then determine three drivers out of them who can still make a recovery and shine in the remaining eight races of the season.

IndyCar driver with a disappointing start to the 2025 season

#1 Marcus Ericsson

The former F1 driver joined the IndyCar series in 2019 and performed well during his four-year spell with Chip Ganassi Racing from 2020-2023. However, the Swedish driver had a difficult debut year for Andretti Global in 2024, finishing 15th in the championship.

AUTO: JUN 21 INDYCAR XPEL Grand Prix at Road America - Source: Getty

Marcus Ericsson arguably had the eighth-best car (pace-wise) during the 2024 season and still finished in 15th. He came out ahead of the current season and detailed how he couldn't have another season like 2024.

Unfortunately, the 2025 IndyCar season has been more or less the same as the previous one. While Ericsson’s teammate Kyle Kirkwood has three victories to his name, the Swedish driver just has one Top 10 finish in the first nine races.

#2 Jacob Abel

Jacob Abel came into the 2025 IndyCar season as a rookie, as he was signed by Dale Coyne Racing. While the youngster doesn't have a previous performance marker in the IndyCar championship, he did finish as the runner-up in the Indy NXT challenge, as Louis Foster won the title.

Foster is a good benchmark to compare Abel’s performances with, as both have made a step forward at the same time. Louis Foster has showcased one lap pace but has dropped off when it comes to the race. Jacob Abel, on the other hand, has struggled with both one lap and the race pace and currently sits 27th in the IndyCar championship standings, dead last of all the full-season drivers.

NTT Indy Car Series Bommarito Automotive Group 500 - Source: Getty

While it is understood that he's in his rookie year and still learning, rookie Robert Shwartzman in the PREMA currently sits 22nd in the championship, and Louis Foster sits 23rd, having almost twice as many points as Jacob Abel.

IndyCar drivers with a disappointing start to the 2025 season, but can still improve

#3 Scott McLaughlin

Coming into the 2025 season, Scott McLaughlin was one of the favorites for the title. The Kiwi has been the highest finishing Penske driver in the championship for the last couple of years. However, McLaughlin has struggled since the Indy 500, finishing outside the Top 10 in the last four races.

The season got off to a good start with three top-five results in the first five races, but the last four races have taken the wind out of McLaughlin's title hopes. The Kiwi driver currently sits eighth in the standings, 196 points behind championship lead Alex Palou.

AUTO: JUN 22 INDYCAR XPEL Grand Prix at Road America - Source: Getty

Scott McLaughlin retired from the Indy 500 as he made a mistake on the warm-up lap and crashed into the wall, and had a reliability issue at the WWTR race. Nonetheless, the Team Penske IndyCar has the performance, and McLaughlin can turn the season around.

#4 Josef Newgarden

Josef Newgarden had a great start to the season with a podium at St. Pete. However, ever since, it's been a downhill journey for the #2 Chevrolet drivers, who had to contend with reliability issues, bad caution timings, and the Indy 500 Team Penske attenuator scandal.

NTT IndyCar Series XPEL Grand Prix at Road America - Source: Getty

Newgarden faced issues with seat belts coming undone midway through the race at Long Beach, which halted his progress. Josef was in the race to challenge for the 2025 Indy 500 despite starting from the back of the race when a fuel system issue forced him to retire from the race. The #2 driver was leading the race at WWTR when Louis Foster lost control in front of him and crashed into him.

The #2 Team Penske and Josef Newgarden have the pace to win races and turn the season around. However, challenging for the title looks impossible as the two-time Indy 500 winner sits 17th in the standings, 249 points behind the leader, Alex Palou.

#5 Colton Herta

Colton Herta came into the 2025 season as the runner-up of the 2024 season. Rumors around Herta's move to Cadillac F1 also started circling the paddock around the start of the season. However, the Andretti Global driver hasn't had an easy season and sits 10th in the championship, 202 points behind Alex Palou.

Herta has been there or thereabout in terms of one lap pace but has lacked the cutting edge race pace showcased by his teammate, Kyle Kirkwood. Nonetheless, Herta has the car with him to improve in the second half of the season.

He also needs to finish P4 or higher in the championship to get enough points for a super licence in case he joins Cadillac for 2026, which will also act as a motivation for improvement.