INDIANAPOLIS — One of the youngest drivers in the NTT IndyCar Series is so direct, frank and honest that he sounds like a 20-year veteran.
It’s Christian Lundgaard of Denmark, a 20-year-old driver who rounds out the three-driver team for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. He made enough of an impression on team owners Bobby Rahal, David Letterman and Michael Lanigan in his lone IndyCar Series race last year to earn a full-time slot next to veterans Graham Rahal and Jack Harvey.
David Malukas of Dale Coyne Racing is the youngest driver in the series, two months younger than Lundgaard, who made his IndyCar debut in August’s Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He qualified fourth and finished 12th.
Lundgaard is a product of the Alpine Academy and spent last season racing Formula 2.
It was clear Lundgaard’s chosen path was to Formula 1, but that was before an IndyCar opportunity led him to change his mind.
“My main focus has always been on Europe and racing in Europe and trying to get to Formula 1,” Lundgaard told SPEED SPORT. “That was my main goal. Even now, I have this opportunity, I will always dream of having an F-1 seat one day. Winning Formula 1. Who wouldn’t?
“That’s the culture I have grown up in and that is what I have been focused on trying to achieve. I had been doing Formula 2 in Europe and then this opportunity (in IndyCar) arose.
“We did the race. It ended up how it ended up. In terms of the future, I was still looking at F-1 and not IndyCar,” Lundgaard added. “But then this contract came to actually come race, which really wasn’t my focus at that point. We ended up signing the deal because I would secure myself and be able to 100 percent race in 2022.
“The F-2 season ended pretty poorly and the decision to sign the IndyCar contract was by far the right choice at that point.”
It would be quite unfair to call Lundgaard the “reluctant competitor” in IndyCar, but his assessment of how it all came together was frank and honest.
He hopes to make a positive impression on those watching the IndyCar Series around the globe.
“I’m super excited,” he said. “It’s going to be a long, tough and a sweaty season. We’re going to have strong drivers. Some stronger than others at certain tracks. I’m looking to do the best that I can and learn from the beginning and be at a high-level straightaway.
“But it’s definitely going to be tough.”
Lundgaard says the Honda Indy car is quite nice to drive and handles quite well, but it burns fuel too quickly. He has teammates with experience and arrives as a rookie who is supposed to be fast.
That includes being fast at the Indianapolis 500, a race that doesn’t daunt the young Dane.
“I wouldn’t say I’m frightened, but I don’t know what to expect,” Lundgaard said. “When you enjoy what you do, you will do well. So, I’m going to enjoy myself.
“I’m one of the first drivers from Denmark to be in the Indy 500, so I hope now they will be watching in Denmark.”
He’s a rookie that talks like a veteran who one day hopes to become a champion. Honest and direct.
“I think the very honest and direct thing is a very European way, which is probably a positive in many ways,” Graham Rahal said. “They are trained at a very young age. Everybody knows that. When I was in Formula BMW as a 14-year-old, they had media training come in, they tell you exactly what to say, how to say it, all this stuff. Obviously, I strayed from that a little bit. Some people like that, some don’t. That is a very European mentality.
“I think Christian is going to be great. I’m sure his dream was, maybe still is, to get to Formula 1 someday. He’s certainly young enough to be able to do that. He’s been groomed in that system for a long time.”
Harvey is originally from England and has an understanding of how a European driver can be so direct at such an early age.
“I think laser-focused is a great way to describe him,” Harvey said. “I was really excited when the team said that he was going to be the driver. His pedigree from Europe, the teams that he was associated with is incredibly impressive. When the team was talking about a third driver and having a full-time — another full-time car, not that my opinion carried any weight or anything like that, but I said, ‘Look, if you really want to achieve something, I think Christian would be a great addition to the team because he’s really fast, he’s really dedicated, he’s really driven.’
“He’s already moved to America. He’s here full time now. And the last few weeks I’ve been able to spend some time with him. We did a straight-line test before Christmas and spent several days with him out there, and I think your perception of him is very similar to mine.
“Very direct, very honest. He’s got a good sense of humor. He’s funny. We went to Dave & Buster’s over the weekend and had a great time.
“He’s definitely more mature than a standard 20-year-old.”