Mikhail Aleshin will return to Schmidt Peterson Motorsport for 2017 after the issues that were delaying his confirmation with sponsors SMP Racing were solved.
The Russian, who took his maiden pole position in the Verizon IndyCar Series at Pocono Raceway in 2016 and was on course for a maiden win at the Mid Ohio Sports Car Course before a late pit stop issue, will continue in the #7 machine for 2017 alongside James Hinchcliffe in an unchanged driver line-up.
“Thanks to both the SMP Racing program and our American team, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, I am to keep fighting for even better results this season in IndyCar,” said Aleshin.
“With the Russian flag on my car, and with James (Hinchcliffe) and the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports crew, I will push hard to bring more poles and hopefully victories in 2017.”
Aleshin has secured two podium finishes during his time with the team, and co-owner Sam Schmidt is delighted to be able to retain both drivers from their 2016 campaign into the new campaign.
“We are thrilled to have Mikhail back for 2017,” said Schmidt. “We know he is capable of winning races and competing for the Championship. This also means we have maintained continuity across drivers, engineering and team member staffing which is critical for success.”
