Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing hopes to take a step forward this year by experiencing fewer technical issues. Last year, the drivers – especially Graham Rahal – had to serve multiple grid penalties due to problems with their Honda power unit. Additionally, the team looks significantly different for 2025, with two of the three cars featuring new faces.

Graham Rahal

Graham Rahal has been struggling with declining performance for several seasons. From 2015 to 2021, he consistently finished in the top ten of the championship, but last year, he ended the season in a disappointing 18th place. One of the main reasons was the Honda engine, which frequently let him down, resulting in grid penalties. As a result, his best finish in 2024 was only an eighth-place result in Iowa.

“I feel good,” Rahal said. “The team has worked extremely hard this offseason to get us to where we are now. It hasn’t been an easy winter. You’re constantly battling with other teams to bring in the right people and simply making sure your staffing is in order. We need to have fewer technical issues this year. That goes without saying. You see the final standings and the points, but if you watch the footage, you’ll notice that things often went wrong, which frequently led to grid penalties.”

“This year, that’s absolutely crucial for us. We need to maximize the races where we were strong, make significant improvements at tracks where we were weaker, and establish a more consistent presence at the front. That way, if someone else makes a mistake or we have the speed—whatever the situation may be—we’re in contention for podiums and race wins.”

Devilin DeFrancesco

Devlin DeFrancesco is making his return to the IndyCar Series this year after failing to secure a seat last season. The Canadian driver signed a multi-year contract with RLL over the winter and even moved to Indianapolis to be closer to the team. However, whether that will be enough to achieve strong results remains to be seen; in his first two IndyCar seasons—driving for Andretti Autosport—DeFrancesco failed to secure a single top-ten finish.

“I think Rahal is a very strong and up-and-coming team,” DeFrancesco said. “They have a lot of resources and have been working really hard. I think we have a lot to prove together this year and in the years ahead. There’s a great team spirit, with Graham’s experience—someone you can really rely on and learn from—and a very fast rookie in Louis Foster.”

“It’s also really nice to have stability. This is a great group of people. The team is incredibly ambitious and has worked extremely hard this offseason. I’ve been in the shop almost every day, and it’s great to have that stability. I’m really looking forward to getting started. I think we have some great years ahead of us.”

Louis Foster

With Louis Foster, RLL hopes to have found the next big talent in IndyCar as the successor to Christian Lundgaard. The 21-year-old driver won the Indy Pro 2000 Championship in 2022, followed by the Indy NXT title in 2024. However, the step up to the IndyCar Series means Foster still has a lot to learn, and it’s up to him to prove how quickly he can adapt.

“It’s a bit strange to go from reigning champion to complete rookie, so it’s a big contrast,” Foster said. “But I’m approaching IndyCar the same way I have every other championship I’ve competed in. Of course, this is the biggest step I’ve ever taken, especially in terms of competition.”

“We’ve worked really hard—the team and I—to get to know each other and build a strong working relationship. I’m trying to get up to speed quickly with things that aren’t part of Indy NXT, like fuel saving, pit stops, hybrid systems, and all that kind of stuff. The race distances are also a big adjustment. There’s a lot of new things to learn, but I feel like we’ve already hit the targets we wanted to at this point—and we still have one more test to go.”