r/INDYCAR • u/Brief-Poetry6434 • 1d ago

Off Topic 1985 Indy 500 Winner and 1988 Indycar Champion Danny Sullivan drove for Tyrrell in the 1983 F1 Season.

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u/Wasdgta3 Álex Palou 1d ago

I’m almost through a watch of the 1988 season, and I just watched him clinch that 1988 championship at Laguna Seca yesterday.

Easy to forget he came from F1, like an increasing number of drivers did in the 1980s.

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u/canttakethshyfrom_me Robert Wickens 1d ago

This was the tail end of a time when F1 wasn't so goddamn elevated on a pedestal above everything else. Danny didn't "come from" F1, he had already run Atlanta, Indy and Milwaukee for Forsythe the year before., and run in Can-Am (F5000) in 1981 and 82.

Tyrrell just had an opportunity for him to drive, and he took it. But at that time it was nearly as prestigious to be in a good Group C seat.

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u/TheRoboteer Callum Ilott 1d ago

I've always thought Danny deserved more of a stab at Formula 1. He showed enough flashes of the form that would go on to make him such a force in Indycar to earn another go IMO, despite the Tyrrell being hopelessly outclassed without a turbo engine. The Race of Champions performance in particular was fantastic.

Apparently he could have stayed at Tyrrell for '84, but would have needed to bring a budget to do so. When he had offers of a paying drive in Indy, leaving was a no brainer. A shame, but F1's loss was Indy's gain.