IndyCar's Marcus Armstrong reveals why F2 won't produce another Lewis Hamilton or Scott Dixon

Meyer Shank Racing star Marcus Armstrong recently came out on a podcast and reflected on his Formula ladder series and eventually making it to IndyCar. The Kiwi driver suggested why it would be difficult for drivers like Scott Dixon or Lewis Hamilton to make it to F2, given the current financial scenario.

Marcus Armstrong made his way up the Formula ladder, racing in the BRDC F3, Italian F4, Formula Renault, FIA F3, and F2 series. The Kiwi driver raced for three full seasons in F2 from 2020-2022 before making the move to IndyCar in 2023.

It is incredibly difficult for drivers to sustain in the Formula ladder series without major sponsorship or having a wealthy family background at the current time. On top of that, even if a driver is successful in F2, there is no guarantee of making it to a full-time F1 seat, with Felipe Drugovich being a recent example.

Marcus Armstrong recently appeared on the Quadcast podcast and discussed the Formula ladder series. While doing so, he brought up how drivers from humble backgrounds like Lewis Hamilton or Scott Dixon, won't be able to make F2 in the current scenario. He said,

“Not to mention, the investment is immense to be doing Formula 2. Like, there's just no way nowadays that you could find the next Scott Dixon, for example. Scott is a teammate of mine in America, and he didn't come from money, and he made his way through small investments, through sponsors, and the old school way of making it to the top, right?." (27:00 onwards) “Probably in a similar way to how Lewis Hamilton made it. But you can't do that anymore. You need immense funding. So in Formula 2, it's only getting worse as well, like every single year,” added Marcus Armstrong

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Marcus Armstrong details the Scott Dixon influence behind his IndyCar move

Marcus Armstrong was a part of the Ferrari driver academy before he decided to make the move to IndyCar. The Kiwi driver detailed how Scott Dixonz, who also hails from New Zealand, had an influence on him as a child, and that he always wanted to race in IndyCar. And when the opportunity presented itself, he grabbed it with both hands.

“Yeah. I mean, it's the greatest, the best move I've made in my career, honestly, going to America, doing IndyCar. I've always had an obsession with it because Scott Dixon has just had so much success. He's a Kiwi who's won the championship six times, and he's a machine. And he's been, he's mental, like he's been racing since 2001, and he's still going now,” said Marcus Armstrong “He's still racing now, and he's still at a, he finished third in the championship this year, you know. He's a machine. So I always used to watch him when I was growing up,” he added

Armstrong made his IndyCar debut with Chip Ganassi Racing, with Scott Dixon and Alex Palou as his teammates, and moved to Meyer Shank Racing ahead of the 2025 season as the charter system was implemented.

Edited by Pranay Bhagi