Will power

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Will Power 2015

Will Power (born March 1, 1981 in Toowoomba , Australia ) is an Australian racing driver . He has been competing in the IndyCar Series since 2008 and won the championship there in 2014. In 2018 he won the Indianapolis 500 . He has been under contract with Team Penske since 2009 .

Career

Beginnings in motorsport (1998-2002)

After taking part in the Australian Formula Ford in 1998, Power began his motorsport career in 2000 in the Australian Formula Ford Championship, where he finished seventh in the overall standings. A year later became the runner-up. In 2002 he won the championship title of the Australian Drivers' Championship and, although he had not competed in all races, was also runner-up in the Australian Formula 3 championship .

British Formula 3, Formula Renault 3.5 (2003-2005)

In 2003 Power switched to the British Formula 3 Championship . He only started a few races and was 14th overall. A year later he stayed in this championship and improved to ninth place overall. In both years he failed to win a race and his best result was several second places. When Power ran out of money for the British Formula 3 Championship, his compatriot Mark Webber helped him out with 500,000 euros. In 2004 he also completed test drives for the Formula 1 team Minardi , which belonged to his compatriot Paul Stoddart . In 2005, Power switched to Formula Renault 3.5 for Carlin Motorsport . He won two races and finished seventh overall at the end of the season. He had to skip the last run, however, as he made his debut in the Champ Car that weekend . Power started two races of the season and finished 22nd overall.

Champ Car (2006-2007)

After being in winter 2005/2006 with two races of the A1GP had gone, he returned in 2006 in the Champ Car series back and denied a full season for the Team Australia . Although Power did not win a race, he was sixth in the championship as the best newcomer. 2007 Power started the season well with a win at the start of the season. With another win, he finished fourth in the overall standings at the end of the season.

IndyCar Series (since 2008)

2008
Power competed in the IndyCar Series in 2008

After the merger of ChampCar and IndyCar Series in 2008 , his previous team was dissolved and he himself switched to a KV Racing team, which was still painted in the Australian national colors . He won the race in Long Beach , which was also the last race in the ChampCar series. In the overall standings, he finished twelfth overall at the end of the season. When at the end of the season no agreement could be found about the future of the Australian race in Surfer's Paradise , the sponsorship for Power was not extended. As a result, KV Racing, which had mostly only fielded one racing car in 2009, parted with Power.

2009

Initially only for the first race of the 2009 season , he was then used as a replacement for Hélio Castroneves, who was prevented by a court hearing, at Penske Racing . After Castroneves returned after the first race, Penske entered another car in a total of six races, which was driven by Power. Power performed well and won the Edmonton race . However, his season ended prematurely after a serious accident on the mountainous Sonoma track . Nelson Philippe spun behind a hill in qualifying and stalled the engine. While the directly following EJ Viso still missed the car by a margin, Power crashed into the obstacle. As a result, the 2009 season ended early for both drivers. Power had broken two vertebrae. In the overall ranking he finished 19th.

2010
Powers Penske-IndyCar 2010

Because of his good performance, Penske Racing decided in the 2010 season to use another racing car, which was driven by Power, in addition to the previous regular drivers Ryan Briscoe and Hélio Castroneves. Power started the new season well and took over the championship lead with victories in the first two races of the season in São Paulo and Saint Petersburg , where he started from pole position . In the next two races, which, like the first two, took place on circuits , he achieved pole position and finished third and fourth. In the next four races, which were held on oval courses , Power did not build on the successes on the circuit and lost the lead in the championship after the seventh race to Dario Franchitti . With a fifth place in the eighth race in Newton , which was his best oval placement, he regained the lead after one race. At the ninth race at Watkins Glen , which was the prelude to the second circuit section of the season, he won his third race. He started from pole position, achieved the fastest race lap and led the race for most laps. One race later in Toronto , he won another race. In the next two races, he finished second from pole position. A year after his accident in Sonoma, Power also won the last circuit race of the season and went into the final phase of the season, which took place on Ovals, by a large margin. In the first race of the second oval phase in Joliet , Power lost valuable points due to a breakdown. Since too little fuel was refilled at the last pit stop, he had to pit again shortly before the end of the race and lost second place, which he had occupied by then. In the next two races, Franchitti further reduced Power's lead. At the season finale in Homestead , Power started the race as championship leader. After touching the wall, Power had to pit with a suspension damage. Although he hit the track again after a repair, he had to give up after a few laps. Franchitti eventually reached eighth place to win the championship. With 602 to 597 points at the end of the season, Power was runner-up. However, he won the Mario Andretti Trophy , which was awarded to the most successful pilot on the circuit, with over 100 points ahead of Franchitti.

2011
Power in Long Beach

In 2011 , Power had his second full season for Penske. After Power achieved second place in the first race of the season from pole position, he scored a start-to-finish victory in the second race at Barber Motorsports Park . In the third race in Long Beach , Power achieved pole position again, but in the race he only crossed the finish line in tenth place, as his team-mate Castroneves, who braked during a restart, collided with him. In the fourth race in São Paulo, which was the last non-oval race for the time being, Power's second win of the season followed from pole position. At the Indianapolis 500 , the first oval race of the season, he finished in 14th place. Two weeks later, at the Fort Worth race weekend , which featured two races, Power scored his first win on an oval course after finishing third in race one.

Returning to the Toronto street circuit , Power took pole position and led the race until a caution period. After a pit stop, he fell back into midfield. Initially, he collided with Franchitti, losing more places, and a collision with Alex Tagliani finally ended his race for good. Powers’s fourth win of the season followed in Edmonton. In Lexington , Power fell back into midfield due to an unlucky yellow phase. In the following race in Loudon , he was classified fifth after colliding with other vehicles during the final restart on a wet track and the race result was finally set to the level before the restart. However, Power was so upset about the decision of the race management to reopen the race that he made an obscene gesture towards the race director. For this, Power was given a suspended sentence until the end of the season and also had to pay a fine of 30,000 US dollars.

Power in the Penske-Dallara in Motegi 2011

The following two races on the circuits in Sonoma and Baltimore he scored two wins starting from pole position and led both races for most of the time. With a second place in Motegi , Power took the lead again in the championship two race weekends before the end of the season. In the penultimate race in Sparta , Power led the race until his car was damaged during a pit stop in a collision with Ana Beatriz . As a result, he was no longer able to set competitive lap times and finished in 19th place. So he lost the championship lead to Franchitti. At the last race of the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway , Power was involved in a mass accident that affected 15 of 34 cars. Power took off and flew several meters through the air. Power was able to get out of the vehicle on his own, but was subsequently hospitalized with pain in his lower back. No serious injuries were found. Dan Wheldon was fatally injured in this accident. Power finished the season again in second place overall, 555 to 573 behind Franchitti. As in the previous year, he won the Mario Andretti trophy for the most successful driver on the street circuits.

2012

In 2012 , Penske stuck to his trio of drivers. Chevrolet became the racing team's new engine supplier. Power achieved pole position at the season opener in St. Petersburg , but in the race he fell back with a different strategy than the later leading drivers and finished in seventh place. A race later in Birmingham it was the other way around for Power. In qualifying, he finished ninth after his fastest lap was canceled due to a red flag. In the following race, he took the lead with a suitable strategy and fast lap times. Power eventually won his first race of the season. Two more wins followed in the next two races. In Long Beach he won from twelfth place, in which he relied on a two-stop strategy, in São Paulo he led the race from pole position almost consistently. After an accident at the Indianapolis 500 , the first oval race of the season, he finished fourth on the Detroit street circuit . This was followed by three oval races. In the first, the Firestone 550 , Power blocked Tony Kanaan while in the lead , for which he received a drive-through penalty. He finally finished in eighth place. In the next three races, he did not achieve top 10 placements, so he lost the lead he had achieved in the overall standings and lost the overall lead to Ryan Hunter-Reay . With a third place in Edmonton and a second place in Lexington , however, he regained the overall lead two races later. After finishing second in Sonoma and sixth in Baltimore , Power took the lead in the season finale in Fontana . When trying to get past Hunter-Reay in the middle field, Power lost control of his vehicle and crashed into the wall. His team managed to get the car ready to race again for a few laps, so that Power finally improved from 25th to 24th place and scored two points more. Since Hunter-Reay finished the race in fourth place, Powers' lead was not enough and he finished second in the IndyCar Series for the third time in a row. Power was defeated by Hunter-Reay with 465 to 468 points.

2013

In 2013 , Penske reduced its IndyCar team to two vehicles. Power and Castroneves stayed with the racing team. At the season opener in Saint Petersburg , he achieved pole position for the fourth time in a row at this event. In the race, while lying in third place, he collided with the lapped JR Hildebrand and fell back. He finished in 16th place. In the first 13 races, Power finished in the top 10 only five times and with a third place in West Allis he was on the podium in only one race. In several races, Power was involved in racing incidents that prevented him from getting better placements. In Toronto , for example, he fell out of the top 5 in both races within the last two laps due to an accident. After finishing fourth at Lexington , Power took his first IndyCar win of the season in race 15 at Sonoma . He benefited from a pit incident involving Scott Dixon and his crew. Dixon had hit a Powers mechanic who was unharmed and had been given a drive-through penalty. As a result, the lead went to Power. On the following racing weekend in Baltimore , Power was involved in a collision with Dixon twice - once in practice, once in the race. Power finished 18th and had the most leading laps. In the following two races in Houston , Power dueled Dixon for victory in both races. After falling back into midfield due to an unsuitable caution phase in the first race and finishing twelfth, he won the second race, in which he overtook Dixon just before half-time and kept him behind him until the end. At the season finale in Fontana , in which Power had no title chance for the first time in four years, he managed to win from pole position. It was only his second win on an oval course. While Power had more problems on ovals in previous years, he performed better in the six oval races in the 2013 season. He finished each one, led five, took pole position three times, and finished in the top five three times.

Power, who only failed to complete a lead lap in four races, ended the season in fourth overall with 498 points. He lost to his teammate Castroneves for the first time, who had finished second overall with 550 points.

2014

In 2014 , Power stayed with Castroneves at Penske and got another teammate in Juan Pablo Montoya . Power won the season opener in Saint Petersburg and finished second in Long Beach . At the third race in Birmingham , Power made a mistake while in the lead in the early stages and ended up fifth. After finishing eighth at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis , Power entered the Indianapolis 500 as overall leader . In this, Power led several laps in the first half and again crossed the finish line in eighth place. He had lost the championship lead in this race to Hunter-Reay.

In the two following races in Detroit , Power won once and came second once. As a result, he took over the championship lead again. In Fort Worth , Power received a drive-through penalty in second place for being too fast in the pits and lost several positions as a result. Due to a race to catch up in the closing stages, he finished in second place. In the next five races, Power never got past ninth place, so after the third of these races he passed on to his teammate Castroneves.

In the second Toronto race, the tide turned in the title duel and Power always crossed the finish line ahead of Castroneves. In Toronto he was third. In Lexington , Power took the championship lead again with sixth place. In West Allis , Power showed a dominant performance. He started from pole position, led 229 of 250 laps and won the race. In the penultimate race of the season in Sonoma , Power finished tenth and went into the last race of the season, the MAVTV 500 , with a lead of over 50 points . His teammate Castroneves would have had to be at least third, Simon Pagenaud at least first to win the title, while Power was sixth to win the title. Apart from the three drivers, none of them had a chance for the title. Power finished ninth and was the best driver among those who still had a chance for the title. He won the championship for the first time in his career. With 671 to 609 points, he prevailed against his teammate Castroneves.

2015

In 2015 , Power chose starting number 1 in the IndyCar Series as defending champion at Penske. Penske signed another pilot, Pagenaud, so that Power has three teammates. At the season opener in St. Petersburg , Power finished second from pole position. In Indianapolis he was on the podium in both races: he won the Grand Prix and came second in the Indianapolis 500 . Power, who won the qualification most often with six pole positions this year, did not get any further podium finishes. He finished the season as the second best Penske driver behind Montoya in third place overall.

2016

For the IndyCar Series 2016 , Penske's driver line-up remained unchanged. At the season opener in St. Petersburg , Power achieved pole position after a training accident. He then complained of nausea and headaches and broke off the race weekend. He continued to be classified as a pole setter while Oriol Servià took over his cockpit for the race. After the doctors initially suspected a concussion , it turned out after the race that muscular tension in the neck muscles was responsible for his health problems. In the second race in Phoenix he was third. In the middle of the season, Power was on the podium in six races in a row. He won in Detroit , Elkhart Lake , Toronto and Long Pond , and came second in Newton and Lexington . Power finished the season behind his team-mate Pagenaud in second place in the drivers' standings. He lost in the championship duel with 532 to 659 points.

Personal

On December 17, 2010, Power married longtime girlfriend Elizabeth Cannon. He has been the father of a son since December 2016.

statistics

Career stations

  • 2006 : A1GP
  • 2006 : Champ Car (6th place)
  • 2007 : Champ Car (4th place)
  • 2008 : IndyCar Series (12th place)
  • 2009 : IndyCar Series (19th place)
  • 2010 : IndyCar Series (2nd place)
  • 2011 : IndyCar Series (2nd place)
  • 2012 : IndyCar Series (2nd place)
  • 2013 : IndyCar Series (4th place)
  • 2014 : IndyCar Series (Champion)
  • 2015 : IndyCar Series (3rd place)
  • 2016 : IndyCar Series (2nd place)
  • 2017 : IndyCar Series (5th place)
  • 2018 : IndyCar Series (3rd place)
  • 2019 : IndyCar Series (5th place)

Individual results in the IndyCar Series

year team 1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 10 11 12 13 14th 15th 16 17th 18th 19th Points rank
2008 KV Racing Technology HMS STP MOT LBH KAN INDY Mil TXS IOW RIR WGL NSH MDO EDM KTY SNM DET CHI SRF 331 12.
25th 8th   1* 27 13 14th 13 9 25th 15th 11 4th 22nd 26th 25th 8th 5 22nd
2009 Team Penske STP LBH KAN INDY Mil TXS IOW RIR WGL GOAL EDM KTY MDO SNM CHI MOT HMS     215 19th
6th 2   5           3 1 * 9   DNS INJ INJ INJ    
2010 Team Penske SAO STP ALA LBH KAN INDY TXS IOW WGL GOAL EDM MDO SNM CHI KTY MOT HMS     597 2.
1 1 4th 3 12 8 2 14th 5 1 1 2 2 1 16 8th 3 25th    
2011 Team Penske STP ALA LBH SAO INDY TXS Mil IOW GOAL EDM MDO NHA SNM BAL MOT KTY LSV   555 2.
2 1* 10 1* 14 5 3 1* 4th 21st 24 * 1* 14th 5 1* 1* 2 19th C.  
2012 Team Penske STP ALA LBH SAO INDY DET TXS Mil IOW GOAL EDM MDO SNM BAL HAIRDRYER         465 2.
7th 1 1 1* 28 5 4th 8th 12 23 15th 3 2 * 2 * 6 * 24        
2013 Team Penske STP ALA LBH SAO INDY DET TXS Mil IOW POC GOAL MDO SNM BAL HOU HAIRDRYER 498 4th
16 ° 5 ° 16 ° 24 19 ° 6 8th 20 ° 7 ° 3 ° 17 2 4 ° 15 * 18 ° 4th 1 ° 18 * 12 ° 1* 1*
2014 Team Penske STP LBH ALA IMS INDY DET TXS HOU POC IOW GOAL MDO Mil SNM HAIRDRYER   671 1.
1* 2 5 ° 8th 8 ° 5.3 1 ° 2 ° 2 * 14th 11 10 ° 14th 9 3 ° 6th 1* 10 * 9 °  
2015 Team Penske STP NOL LBH ALA IMS INDY DET TXS GOAL HAIRDRYER Mil IOW MDO POC SNM       493 3.
2 * 7th 20th 4th 1* 2 ° 4 ° 18 ° 13 ° 4 ° 19 * 22nd 10 ° 14th 4 ° 7 °      
2016 Team Penske STP PHO LBH ALA IMS INDY DET ROA IOW GOAL MDO POC TXS WGL SNM       532 2.
WD 3 7th 4th 19th 10 ° 6 20 ° 1 ° 1* 2 1 ° 2 ° 1 ° 8th 20 ° 20th      
2017 Team Penske STP LBH ALA PHO IMS INDY DET TXS ROA IOW GOAL MDO POC STL WGL SNM     562 5.
19 ° 13 14 * 2 ° 1* 23 ° 9 18th 3 1* 5 4 ° 21st 2 ° 1 ° 20 ° 6th 3    
2018 Team Penske STP PHO LBH ALA IMS INDY DET TXS ROA IOW GOAL MDO POC STL POR SNM     582 3.
10 22 * 2 ° 21st 1* 1 ° 3 7th 2 18th 23 6 ° 18 ° 3 ° 2 ° 1 ° 21 ° 3 °    
2019 Team Penske STP COA ALA LBH IMS INDY DET TXS ROA GOAL IOW MDO POC STL POR LAG     550 5.
3 ° 24 * 11 7 ° 7th 5 ° 6 18th 3 ° 9 2 18th 15 ° 4 ° 1 ° 22 ° 1* 2 °    
2020 Team Penske TXS IMS ROA IOW INDY STL IMS STP MDO           142 5.
13 20 * 2 ° 11 ° 21st 2 °        

( Legend )

Remarks
  1. ↑ Took place on the same day as the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
  2. ↑ Took place on the same day as the Indy Japan 300.
  3. ↑ No points were awarded.

Web links

Commons : Will Power  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ "Webber saved Powers career" (Motorsport-Total.com on August 7, 2010)
  2. ↑ "In dry cloths: Power stays with Penske" (Motorsport-Total.com on November 19, 2009)
  3. ↑ “Izod IndyCar Series notebook: Wheldon's lawsuit against Panther resolved, and he might return to team” (indystar.com on October 2, 2010)
  4. ↑ "Will Power wins Barber Crashfest!" (Motorsport-Total.com on April 11, 2011)
  5. ↑ "Penske Crash: No Bad Blood" (Motorsport-Total.com on April 18, 2011)
  6. ↑ "Texas 2: Powers first oval victory - Franchitti pissed off" (Motorsport-Total.com on June 12, 2011)
  7. ^ "Franchitti and Dixon survive the Toronto chaos" (Motorsport-Total.com on July 10, 2011)
  8. ^ "Will Power punished for 'stinky fingers'" (Motorsport-Total.com on August 26, 2011)
  9. ^ "Will Power released from hospital" (Motorsport-Total.com on October 17, 2011)
  10. ↑ "mass crash in Las Vegas - concern for Dan Wheldon" (Motorsport-Total.com on 16 October 2011)
  11. ^ "Ryan Briscoe stays with Penske for 2012 IndyCar Series, alongside Helio Castroneves and Will Power" (autosport.com on November 3, 2011)
  12. ↑ Pete Fink: "Hunter-Reay: The new title candidate?" Motorsport-Total.com, June 26, 2012, accessed on June 26, 2012 .
  13. ^ Marshall Pruett: "INDYCAR: Rahal Leads Free Agent Class For 2013". (No longer available online.) Speedtv.com, August 1, 2012, archived from the original on November 21, 2012 ; accessed on November 10, 2012 .
  14. ↑ Jenna Fryer: “Power Proves He Can Win on IndyCar Ovals”. abcnews.go.com, October 20, 2013, accessed October 22, 2013 .
  15. ↑ Pete Fink: "Officially: Montoya drives IndyCars for Penske!" Motorsport-Total.com, September 16, 2013, accessed on November 20, 2013 .
  16. ^ Mario Fritzsche: Four-car team: Penske obliges Pagenaud. Motorsport-Total.com, September 30, 2014, accessed March 5, 2015 .
  17. ↑ Markus Lüttgens: Will Power: Muscle Tension Cause of Headaches? Motorsport-Total.com, March 18, 2016, accessed March 19, 2016 .
  18. ^ "Will Power got married" (Motorsport-Total.com on December 22, 2010)
  19. ↑ instagram.com accessed June 4, 2020
personal data
SURNAME Power, Will
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Australian racing car driver
DATE OF BIRTH March 1, 1981
PLACE OF BIRTH Toowoomba , Australia