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PRUETT: The double helix

Thursday, 01 September 2016


Marshall Pruett / Images by LAT
Will Power and Simon Pagenaud were nothing more than pups when they became teammates in 2007. The wild-eyed Australian, with one year of Champ Car experience, and the Frenchman, fresh off his Atlantic championship, gave Walker Racing a potent duo to attack the series in its final season.


At 26 for Power, and 22 for Pagenaud, there's no way the promising youngsters could have known their one season together in Champ Car would eventually lead to being reunited, driving for Roger Penske, and fighting over the Verizon IndyCar Series championship, but here they are.
Nine years later, Power's 35, has driven for Penske since 2010, won the 2014 IndyCar title, is married to Liz, and they're preparing to welcome their first child to the world. Pagenaud's 32, has found his groove in his second season with Penske, is in a long-term relationship with Hailey, and has shown a steely determination to match his old friend in the IndyCar championship column.
The pair, at the top of their game, have come full circle since their days wearing the Team Australia green and gold. Currently first and second in the standings, they're about to launch into a coast-to-coast showdown starting this weekend at New York's Watkins Glen road course before settling the score at Sonoma Raceway on Sept. 18.
"It is super exciting," Pagenaud says. "I think the two of us have matured a lot since the Champ Car days. And it is fun. He's a guy that I respect a lot for his speed. We've known each other for a long time, so it is fun to be able to fight it out with him with the same car, in the same team."
Raising the topic of their friendship brought interesting responses. Has their friendship survived since it was first formed in 2007? Absolutely. But has it grown, or possibly declined?
"Simon and myself, yeah, we were pretty good friends back then," Power acknowledges. "Obviously, now... we are definitely not as close, I would say. It's hard to be friends with your competition, honestly. We just don't really hang out, which is understandable. It's not nasty or anything."
Pagenaud agrees.
"I think it is natural that there is some competition between the two of us," he says. "There is definitely that. Actually, the relationship ... it surprised a lot of people but we have a really good relationship since I came to Penske. Obviously we have ups and downs, we've had times in races where I was upset or he was upset with me. We talk it out and move on."
Older, with real responsibilities and lives of their own that differ in every imaginable way from when they drove together in Champ Car, Pagenaud and Power have found that keeping a bit of professional distance during race weekends is important. In their twenties, the two might have kept each other company and looked for ways to have fun and get in trouble, but almost a decade later, and with the championship on the line, social bonds take a backseat during business hours.
"That is what I have been doing all year, just try to be a bit selfish and think about myself," Pagenaud concedes. "I'm really trying to be zoned in on my own job and my team, and I think that is working really well right now. It's been almost 10 years with Will. It has been an interesting relationship. There is a lot of respect with the two of us, certainly. He is very competitive and I'm very competitive, but we have a different approach. We even have a different driving style, even though we both have a desire to win. It is very interesting time for both of us."
Although their walls have gone up to some degree, Power still appreciates the intensity his old pal has brought to Team Penske. As its clear No. 1 driver since he arrived, the Aussie was in need of an antagonist within the legendary outfit, and he's found it in the form of Pagenaud.
"It's no fun unless you have someone pushing you, which I really like," he says. "A tough teammate pushes you to be better. It's nearly impossible to get the most out of yourself without one. He is a fierce competitor, he wants to win the championship. I want to win my second and he wants to win his first."
Click on the thumbnails below for larger images.



Team Australia owners Craig Gore (lying down) and Derrick Walker ham it up during a team photo shoot at Surfers Paradise, October 2007

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Despite the increasing pressure and intensity of their title-driven rivalry, Power and Pagenaud aren't afraid to break character and say nice things about each other. To start, how have they changed and improved since their first go-round as Champ Car teammates?
"I think Will has matured a lot," Pagenaud says. "Especially since he became a champion in '14, I think he has matured a lot. He seems like he can control himself better mentally in the car. He is really good right now in the 500-mile races. He has really improved his racecraft."
"Simon has definitely improved a lot as a driver," says Power. "He went away, after Champ Car, for a while to sports cars, but after just a couple of years of IndyCar he is pretty well rounded now. He puts a weekend together very well. Then on top of that you have our team, as a whole, that has done a really good job to make the cars very strong. To win four races already shows how well he's doing. That isn't something anyone has been able to do in the past few years."
Verbal hugs aside, the two have also grown stronger from working together under the same tent. Being raw and inexperienced at Walker Racing meant Power and Pagenaud were more focused on individual learning, but with time and more developed skillsets, a collegial environment has been fostered at Team Penske.
"It is funny," Pagenaud says. "He's not telling me what to do, but by being himself, he has shown me a lot of stuff that I have been able to improve. He can drive with such a 'weak rear' - that is what I call it, because he drives on the front-end. It is very effective. That is very surprising, because some of his strengths are my weaknesses, and some of my strengths are his weakness. We feed off each other really well."
Pagenaud also credits Power for one core change he made after joining Team Penske.
"His approach is very different to mine," he continues. "Where he focuses a lot more on driving techniques, I used to focus more on the race car and tuning it every possibly way. He doesn't focus that much on the racecar. He focuses on his driving techniques. So then seeing that was very interesting and it opened my eyes on a lot of things. It changed me. It definitely made me a better driver. You can see it has been highly effective with the poles, with the speed that I have shown."
As Power has shown, controlling the mental side of the sport - even when it comes to how much he's willing to reveal to competitors in print - is always a priority. Heaping praise on Pagenaud is one thing, but going into specifics on how his friend and teammate has added to his arsenal? Not likely.
"I mean, you just learn from teammates who are fast ..." he says. "You look at what they are doing in different corners and such ... He's pretty private."
Whether it's tactics on display – one title contender presenting a rosy outlook on the relationship while the other downplays the situation whenever possible – or a case of the two simply having different views on where they stand, it's hard to ignore the perceptual mismatch in some areas.
"I don't feel we can hide anything from each other," Pagenaud says. "Back in the day there was not much data, so you could hide what you're doing by not saying it. But now, if I want to know something he is doing on the racetrack, I just turn on the computer and he can do the same. It gives us a good relationship because we can't hide anything. They'd know you are lying."
Their relationship has certainly evolved since 2007, and the growth is playing out in front of IndyCar fans at every round.
Power, IndyCar's primal spirit, has become more cerebral. Pagenaud, the thinker, the strategist, has found his inner animal. Power, once fueled by obsession, has found his center; is less easily distracted. Pagenaud, once driven by process, has also found his center and has embraced the flow.
Different in so many ways on a personal level, Power and Pagenaud have achieved a newfound equilibrium on their second tour of duty as teammates. By accident or by nature, these friends have become stronger, faster, and more competitive through working together. If one happens to win the 2016 IndyCar championship, it will be due, in part, to the other.