Hinchcliffe back with Andretti Autosport for full IndyCar season

James Hinchcliffe will return to Andretti Autosport for a full IndyCar season, a huge recovery after the popular Canadian cobbled only six races together last year.

Hinchcliffe was blindsided in late 2019 when he was replaced at Arrow McLaren SP with a year remaining on his contract. With limited time to find a new job, he signed sponsor Genesys for three races with Andretti.

He ultimately raced in six IndyCar events last year and on Tuesday announced a 10-race partnership with Genesys that gets him back into a full-time ride. Sponsorship of the No. 29 Honda for the remaining seven races on the IndyCar schedule will be announced at a later date.

“This program is something we’ve been working on since the day we signed our three-race deal with Andretti Autosport last March,” Hinchcliffe said. “Being back full time has always been the goal and it feels so great to know that I will be back on the grid and with such an amazing team, one I’ve had a lot of great memories and success with.”

Andretti Autosport will also field full-season cars in 2021 for Colton Herta, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Alexander Rossi. Marco Andretti has so far only announced the Indianapolis 500 on his IndyCar schedule.

Genesys is considered a global leader in cloud customer experience with a significant employee presence in Indianapolis. Hinchcliffe last year was able to partner with Genesys for three races that included the Indianapolis 500 as he was trying to stay in a car after his abrupt firing by Arrow.

He was able to bring the sponsorship to Andretti, where Hinchcliffe spent three seasons from 2012-2014. He won three races in that stint with Andretti, as well as a front-row starting spot for the Indy 500.

“We’re building upon our tremendous partnership with James Hinchcliffe and Andretti Autosport,” said Genesys CEO Tony Bates. “The success we have seen together goes beyond the deep connection Genesys has with the Indianapolis community.”