Will Power exposes Team Penske's contract mishandling that 'pissed him off' to eventually join Andretti Global

Two-time IndyCar champion Will Power has revealed the untold story behind his contract talks with Team Penske and miscommunication within the team, which led to his exit. The Australian driver officially parted ways with Penske on Tuesday, September 2, after months of uncertainty about his future in IndyCar, and a day later, announced his move to Andretti Global for 2026.

In a recent appearance on the Off Track with Hinch and Rossi podcast hosted by James Hinchcliffe and Alexander Rossi, Power spoke about an unfulfilled promise from former Team Penske president Tim Cindric.

"I know when I signed my last contract, I did go back to Tim Cindric and say, ‘Hey, I would like to do three years'. We had a conversation, like, (he said), 'We’ll talk at the end of ‘24 and if you’re still performing and still doing well, we’ll keep going,'" the 44-year-old shared.

2024 turned out to be an impressive year for Will Power, who was in championship contention against Alex Palou before a seatbelt issue at the season finale ended the battle.

"Well, I won three races in ‘24. I was the only driver that went into the last race with a shot to win the championship against (Alex) Palou," Power added. "At that point, I was like, ‘Well, I’m sure they’re going to speak to me in the off-season,’ and it never happened. They never actually said a word. I was pissed off going into May about it, I was pissed off going into the season about it. I was pissed off that they weren’t going to say anything."

The 2018 Indy 500 winner then revealed that team owner Roger Penske knew nothing about Tim Cindric's contract promise.

"Roger wasn’t aware when I said that to him, something along the lines of that that was even the case. Maybe I should have just called Roger. I just thought, what driver in the field wouldn’t be signed after winning three races? The champion won two. That’s Palou. I won three. Come on," Power concluded.

Roger Penske fired Tim Cindric and two other senior leaders after Team Penske's Indy 500 scandal in May.

Victory at Portland made Will Power pull the plug on a potential future with Team Penske

Will Power celebrating with Team Penske after winning the 2025 IndyCar Grand Prix of Portland - Source: Getty

Will Power became Team Penske's first victor of the 2025 IndyCar season. The 44-year-old broke the team's streak of misfortune, which had affected all three drivers, to win the Grand Prix of Portland. It was his 45th career win, and 42nd with Penske.

In Power's mind, that triumph made his outlook change about a potential future with the team he'd spent 17 years driving for. It was then that he decided he would leave Team Penske after the 2025 season.

"The time where I just said, 'Nah, it's done,' was after I won Portland. Nah, it's done. I think it's time to change. That was when I just, in my mind, decided, I'm kind of sick of all the questions and so on," the IndyCar veteran said.

Team Penske's senior management approached Will Power about further contract negotiations after the Portland triumph, but he declined and made his exit decision clear. In the coming weeks, his talks with Andretti Global for a 2026 drive strengthened.

Ultimately, Colton Herta vacated the No. 26 Andretti Global Honda for a move to F1, signing with Cadillac as a test and development driver. Power will fill that vacancy from 2026 onwards, having signed a multi-year deal with Andretti.