Recent conflict in IndyCar between the Andretti brothers and the ‘erratic’ Ferrucci.

A new rivalry has emerged in the IndyCar series when Santino Ferrucci and Kyle Kirkwood had a heated altercation in the pits during practice at the Detroit street circuit. Kirkwood described the on-track contact as “idiotic” and “dangerous”. The short lap time of just over a minute on the Detroit street circuit often leads to traffic jams, especially during the final practice before qualifying. In the incident caught on camera, Ferrucci aggressively pushed Kirkwood into the wall after Kirkwood tried to enter Turn 5. Ferrucci also narrowly avoided hitting the wall while passing Colton Herta before Turn 6. Kirkwood expressed his frustration with Ferrucci’s actions, stating that everyone should be focused on making a clean lap during practice. He also mentioned that Ferrucci’s lap was already ruined and his actions also ruined his next lap. The altercation escalated when Kirkwood approached Ferrucci to discuss the incident, and Ferrucci grabbed him and shook him. Herta, Kirkwood’s teammate, also criticized Ferrucci, calling him a “hothead” and stating that his actions do not affect him or his team. Despite the incident, Kirkwood remained calm, responding with a thumbs-up emoji on Twitter. Ferrucci defended his actions, stating that Kirkwood intentionally turned into him and hit his car. He described Kirkwood’s maneuver as “jerk” and unexpected, as they had raced together before without incident. Ferrucci also accused Herta of similar behavior and called him Kirkwood’s “little teammate boyfriend”. Despite the altercation, Ferrucci expressed enthusiasm for the race in Detroit and confidence in his team’s performance.