Alexander Rossi gives a "B-minus" grade to his start with ECR

Alexander Rossi moved homes over the winter break last year and joined Ed Carpenter Racing after parting ways with Arrow McLaren. While the 33-year-old has produced some stellar results in the opening three rounds, he labelled his start with ECR a "B-minus" when reflecting on the 2025 campaign.

After trying to forge a path in F1 and returning unsuccessfully, the California-born driver decided to pursue a new career in IndyCar. Moreover, he joined one of the top teams in the series, Andretti, and was slated to get a place on the podium at any race throughout the season.

Moreover, this prediction eventually came true as he bagged a solitary podium that season. However, the race was the 2016 Indy 500, where Alexander Rossi clinched a podium, that too by winning the race.

Since then, he remained with the Andretti outfit, but the 33-year-old jumped ship to Arrow McLaren in 2023 in the hope of returning to winning ways. This hope was dashed in the 35 races he was a Papaya driver, as Rossi only claimed two podiums during this time.

Moving on from McLaren, the former Indy 500 winner moved to Ed Carpenter Racing, a supposedly mid-field team. Despite this, Alexander Rossi has often made the most out of his machinery at times, claiming two top 10s so far, but labelled the start to 2025 a B-minus for him. He said on the Pit Pass Indy podcast (6:14 onwards):

"I would say it's been generally positive. I mean, I would say it's a B-minus maybe. I think we have certainly been quick on Saturdays and haven't quite executed on Sundays yet. But a lot of the pieces are there and we'll continue to get better every weekend."

Within the first three races, Rossi has emerged as a team leader at ECR.

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Alexander Rossi shares a strong verdict in favor of Ed Carpenter Racing

Alexander Rossi at the INDYCAR Indy 500 Open Testing - Source: Getty

The ECR driver claimed two top-10 finishes in the first two rounds. While this streak ended in Long Beach, he brought in the best result for the team ahead of younger teammate, Christian Rasmussen.

Talking about how, despite being a smaller outfit, ECR has a great starting base in comparison to McLaren, Alexander Rossi said (via The Race):

"This car feels so...it brings me back a couple years, it's so much more familiar to me than anything that I had at McLaren. That gives me a lot of, happiness, I guess is the right word.

"Because the underlying fundamental elements of the car are very, very good. When you break it down to the simple stuff, is it good on the brakes? Yes. Is it good in straightline traction events? Yes. Is it good in high-speed [corners]? Yes."

The next race, the Children's IndyCar Grand Prix of Alabama, is scheduled to take place on May 4 at Barber Motorsports Park.