Last year, Helio Castroneves came up short of winning the championship as he finished second to Scott Dixon.
“That’s gone. Yesterday’s news. Now we’re in 2014,” Castroneves said to open up media day earlier this week. “We have a lot of work ahead of us. We’re ready. We’re starting some few testings already. We’re going to be testing Thursday in Barber, then Sebring before the spring training, then the race.
I’m excited and ready, to be honest, to start the season because it’s been a long off-season in a good way.”
In his 13 year career, Castroneves has finished inside the top five in all but four seasons, including three runner-up finishes and a pair of thirds. As each year passes, a lot of people are left asking – what does Castroneves have to do to win the championship?
“I don’t know. I have the right line with God, to be honest, and with the Pope, too, especially with John Paul. He said, ‘When the time comes. I just got to push it’,” Castroneves said. “I just got to keep pushing. You can’t waiting for something to happen. You have to continue giving yourself an opportunity. Well, it may be this year.
“Certainly we did our job last year. Unfortunately circumstances outside of our control, didn’t happen. But right now that’s the attitude I’m going with 2014, give ourselves an opportunity, that door will open one day.”
Even without the championship, Castroneves has etched his name into the history books as a three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500.
“For me, Indianapolis 500, if you got to win one race, that’s the race you got to win,” he said. “Especially the position that I’m at, it’s a great opportunity to join an incredible club. Yes, that would probably be the biggest accomplishment I could do it.
“The championship certainly is personal. It’s just something that I didn’t get yet. It’s like one track I didn’t win. That’s the way I see it. There are several places that I finish, like Milwaukee is one of the place that I’m always fast and I always finish second or someplace else. It’s a something that I want to accomplish and win the championship. I’m going to do everything I can to make it happen.”
As Castroneves looks to make that happen, he will have Roger Penske calling the shots for him.
“I’m super happy. First time I had him was last year and I’m happy to have him back,” Castroneves commented. “I’m just honored to have him on the radio and happy to have him as the strategist.”
Last year, Castroneves had one win (Texas) and five podium finishes while leading 239 laps. He will look to improve on those numbers this year, working with new Team Penske teammate Juan Pablo Montoya.
In the early days of IndyCar, Montoya and Castroneves were rivals, though Castroneves says that’s behind them as they’re both mature. He added that he’s looking forward to working with Montoya.
“Honestly, it’s amazing to have him in our side,” Castroneves said. “He’s been an incredible addition, and I mean that. He’s definitely going to be a tough competitor. Most of what I noticed, which I knew he would be quick adapting on the car, but most of it’s the information that he brought, that I was very surprised and happy about. Certainly it’s going to make our cars better.”
Castroneves says that so far, him and Montoya, along with teammate Will Power, are getting along well and have taken many trips together. He says he has a good feel for him and feels that they’ll be able to accomplish the goal of bringing Roger Penske a championship.
As the season has the past 10 years, the IndyCar Series kicks off their season in St. Petersburg, an event that Castroneves has won three times in his career. Castroneves commented that he likes the event due to the atmosphere with all the fans that attend and the warm weather that Florida has to offer.
“Plus the track. The technical side, it makes between the street course with an airport involvement,” Castroneves added. “It’s not always a 90-degree corner like a typical road course has. You have high-speed corners, things like that.”
Though to continue to build on the success of events like St. Pete and the series as a whole, the series needs young drivers and Castroneves feels that there are several young stars that will come up through the ranks over the next couple of years.
“I think Indy Lights could be better in 2015 with new cars. That could become something more important for the new generation,” he commented. “On the other side is leadership now with Derrick Walker and Mark Miles, it shows at the least, the meetings we had before, it shows leadership. Maybe that’s where we were at the weakest point, and now we see a lot of positiveness.
“I feel great about the series getting in their feet, getting back the way it used to be. It’s been a long time I haven’t felt that positiveness in the series. I’m exciting. I’m honestly really exciting. Media say, They always say the same thing. But this year with Derrick and Mark Miles, good things for the series and could create a new generation of drivers.”
