Although only 23 years old, VeeKay is already going into his fifth season in North America’s premier open-wheel championship.
Last year’s output by the Dutchman featured only two top 10s and a best result of sixth en route to placing 14th in the standings. Statistically, it was the worst season of his career. However, battling through such a challenging campaign forced growth for both he and the organization.
“With it being our toughest, hardest season so far, it made me work harder and also made me change my voice a little bit in the team and made my voice a bit more demanding, I think,” VeeKay said.
“I feel like I've always really listened to the team, to what they say. I still do, but I think right now I've also got the voice, like I can talk to them and really make them change things if we need to.”
Among the lowly 2023 was ECR’s midseason driver swap as VeeKay's team-mate changed from Conor Daly to Ryan Hunter-Reay, the 2012 IndyCar champion and 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner. While the impact of that swap undoubtedly influenced VeeKay, natural maturity on and off the track played a factor, according to team owner/driver Ed Carpenter.
“I think it's all of the above,” Carpenter said.
“He gets more and more of his own experience. I'm sure there definitely was an effect from Ryan, just learning from a great teammate, a veteran teammate, a champion, an Indy 500 winner, being around that, seeing how he approaches it, and just getting older. He’s married now. Your life changes as you get older. Your perspective changes. I think it's all of those things.”
Source: Autosport