MONZA 1993
An unexpected highlight of the weekend came Saturday morning when I waited to interview Michael Andretti as he and his father Mario finished watching qualifying for the Monza Formula 1 race.
As the last American to stand on a grand prix podium 23 years ago at Monza, F1's annual visit to the historic Italian circuit tends to raise the topic as a point of conversation for Michael.


That ill-fated season driving for Ron Dennis with Ayrton Senna at McLaren has been chronicled countless times since 1993, and while Andretti recalls the year with less affection each time we speak, he smiled when the subject of driving in F1 during its final season of computer-controlled active suspensions was raised.
"It was amazing," he said with a grin. "The active suspension still gave you the same feedback like a [passive] Indy car suspension would, but what it would do is adjust itself all the way through the corner. You would be able to say, OK, at that point I would like to have it introduce right-front load because I'm getting understeer to get off the corner. And can we lower the front when we get to this point? There are so many things that you can do to adjust the car to do exactly what you want."


Racing an F1 car with the suspension carrying out optimized changes – all on its own – during every second of every lap increased straightline speeds as downforce was shed, shortened braking distances as downforce was maximized, increased cornering speeds as vehicle dynamics were manipulated to move forces across every axis throughout every cornering phase, and helped acceleration by moving the car's dynamic weight onto the rear tires. It also left Andretti, his engineers, and every other driver with active suspension buried in exhaustive debriefs.


"They were amazingly long because you literally dissected every corner," he said. "OK, when you get into braking, I want to see if you could still keep the back and adjust the ride height when you are braking. As you turn in, you want the front end to come up and then you want it to come down as soon as this happens... it was amazing what you could do."


As one might suspect with computerized suspensions that came about before the advent of Windows 95, the active systems were prone to software-related mistakes.
"The problem is sometimes it was good and sometimes it was bad," Andretti recalled. "There was still a learning process with it. There was always all kinds of stupid glitches and it seemed like they were always on my car. A good example is we were at Imola and the last turn when you come out you would hit the curb, and the computer would sense that you raised the car, so it would lower it.


"And then all of a sudden it would bottom out and I spin. Ron Dennis was really pissed at me because it happened in front of him. He was scolding me, and then Senna did the exact same thing right in front of us. Ayrton crashed his car, so we had to share mine for qualifying. I had to do my two runs and then he gets in it. The active suspensions were pretty trick, but they could also bite you."
Asked if he'd welcome the day when he's no longer reminded of being the last American to earn an F1 podium, Andretti says it could be a while before his annual reminders come to an end.
"It would be great but it is so different," he added. "Americans, first of all, have more choices over here in racing. In Europe it is number one but when you are here Formula 1 is actually number three, and so a lot of drivers go the route of NASCAR or IndyCar. If you took our best of those two and put them over there, they would be competitive, no question about it, but they chose to be here."


KENNY'S BACK
In another Senna-related piece of news, legendary tire man Kenny Szymanski was back in open-wheel racing on Scott Dixon's car at Watkins Glen. The cantankerous American, whose lanky frame was captured jumping for joy in a famous shot when the Brazilian won his first F1 race at Portugal in 1985, spent many years in Formula 1, Indy car, and sports cars before signing up for his second tour with the team, according to CGR managing director Mike Hull.
"He worked for us on Briscoe's car at the Speedway a couple of years ago, he was Mario Andretti's tire guy at Lots, with Senna there, and he's been a great friend for many years," he said. "We're fortunate he was available to work with us again."


PREACH, BROTHER HELIO
Helio Castroneves spoke the truth last weekend when he said "Watkins Glen is the DNA of open-wheel." Add Road America to the list. And Barber Motorsports Park. And the Long Beach Grand Prix. And Mid-Ohio. And Sonoma Raceway. Then add the ovals at Phoenix, the granddaddy of them all at Indy, Texas, Iowa, and Pocono, and you have a calendar that's loaded with amazing venues.
There are some other stops on the 2017 schedule that have been (or could be) great, and altogether, they contribute in some shape or form to open-wheel's DNA. Compared to some of the forgettable schedules we've seen in recent years, or during the IRL's formative stages, it might be time to acknowledge how good it feels to go to places where, barring one or two events, Indy cars are meant to perform.


VERIZON LEGENDS IS A WINNER
RACER's Robin Miller has hosted a few of my favorite new gatherings at IndyCar events. Verizon's "Lunch with Legends" has brought numerous stars and heroes together for fun Q&A panels, with the most recent taking place at Watkins Glen with Bobby Rahal, Dario Franchitti, and Helio Castroneves. The next edition will feature Robin with A.J. Foyt at Sonoma.
"The Verizon's Lunch with Legends series has been a great extension of our season long Inside Indy platform, which gives fans and Verizon customers unprecedented access to the thrills and excitement of IndyCar," Verizon manager of sports and entertainment Steve Williams told RACER. "From the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, to highlighting the history at Elkhart Lake and Watkins Glen, the stories, insight and spirited discussion from these true IndyCar legends has provided a real insider's view on what it is like to compete at IndyCar's most storied tracks."
Plans are afoot to bring the lunches to the web in real time, which would be a genuine treat for those who aren't able to attend the live event.