IndyCarDennis Hauger arrives at Coyne with Andretti after his unusual 'toll'

The Scandinavian armada in the IndyCar Series, currently composed of two Danes (Christian Lundgaard and Christian Rasmussen) and two Swedes (Marcus Ericsson and Felix Rosenqvist), regains a fifth member for 2026 by integrating a country, Norway, which has not appeared in these parts for nine decades. In a move anticipated even before the season ended, and the earliest in the history of the formation, Dale Coyne Racing announced on Tuesday Dennis Hauger as one of the drivers for what could be a completely renewed duo.

Although Coyne is one of the more modest teams on the grid, the Oslo driver, who will turn 23 during the first month of competition in March, has the incentive of a new technical alliance with Andretti Global, a team that previously had a similar agreement with Meyer Shank Racing between 2020 and 2024. This agreement is made on similar terms to the current alliance of Shank with Chip Ganassi Racing, aligning Marcus Armstrong as a 'loaned' driver, or the A. J. Foyt Racing with Team Penske, having nurtured David Malukas until his recently announced 'promotion'.

Hauger arrives at IndyCar with a record that very few rookies can boast: Italian Formula 4 champion in 2019, Formula 3 champion in 2021, and current Indy NXT champion, where he fulfilled the predictions of a great favorite with six victories, all on track, and eight poles. The Norwegian is the last of several European talents arriving at IndyCar in search of the opportunity and glories that Formula 1 has denied them. His path, however, differs from the journey of other contemporaries and predecessors who, after competing in Formula 2, went directly to the top category of American single-seaters.

In the lead-up to Formula 1, Hauger spent three seasons in the lower part of the top 10, with only one of his five victories in a main race during his first year. Along the way, he lost in 2023 the position he had held in the Red Bull Junior Academy since 2017, even before moving to single-seaters. Despite having offers to continue, Hauger focused his career towards the United States, but did not have enough resources to access a competitive seat. Therefore, he chose to start from the very precursor of IndyCar, driving a car with great similarities to a Formula 3 (although much more powerful) and establishing a relationship with Andretti that is now beginning to bear fruit.

Hauger will be the first Norwegian driver to compete in an IndyCar race in the modern era. We have to go back to the appearance of Eugen Bjørnstad in the 1937 Vanderbilt Cup to find the last Norwegian competitor in this type of event, with the three previous ones belonging to the dawn of the category in the early decades of the 20th century: Adolph Monsen (three races between 1909 and 1910), Swan Ostweig (four races between 1915 and 1917), and a Gil Andersen who, although he became an American citizen long before debuting in 1910 and competed as such until 1917 (31 races, six Indy 500), was born and lived in Norway until he was 16 years old.

Hauger will have a crucial year ahead, as during this same year he has been proposed as a potential replacement for an Ericsson who has had two disastrous seasons at Andretti and whose contract ends at the end of 2026. His arrival covers 50% of the puzzle of Coyne's lineup, which promised to have its duo announced "before Halloween," and from which Rinus VeeKay will not be part after rejecting a continuity offer for an "unexpected opportunity." Neither will Jacob Abel, who aims to bring his funding to Foyt's second seat, for which he had initially applied to VeeKay, but which will not be funded this coming year by Penske.

The scholarship for winning Indy NXT, close to a million dollars, and Andretti's contribution allow Coyne to align Hauger. Added to the recent announcement of a more substantial sponsorship, the occupant of the other vehicle will also not be a pay driver this year. This is where Romain Grosjean could come into play, who was left out this year for not finding resources to continue at Juncos, and who has been a reserve for Prema. Coyne already gave Grosjean the opportunity in 2021 and he performed at a good level, so the precedents support this.

Fotos: IndyCar Media