[1] The original plan was to introduce the hybrid powertrain at the start of the season in St. Petersburg, but on December 7, 2023, IndyCar announced a delay to its introduction, until after the Indianapolis 500.

The rule was introduced in response to a large number of incidents in 2023 that occurred from cars attempting to overtake early on race restarts.

The new components were introduced in response to an incident during the 2023 Indianapolis 500 where a rear wheel assembly broke free from a car (specifically the Andretti No.

[90] O  Oval/Speedway R  Road course S  Street circuit NC Non-championship race The 2024 season opened as usual with the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, where Team Penske's Josef Newgarden took pole position ahead of MSR's Felix Rosenqvist.

The opening part of the race saw most drivers save fuel, before CGR's Marcus Armstrong hit the wall to bring out a caution.

The final pit stops then saw Herta rise to third, but a poor restart after a caution dropped him behind the Penskes of Scott McLaughlin and Will Power.

The first heat race began with chaos when Herta and CGR's Scott Dixon crashed, taking out JHR's Romain Grosjean.

The second heat race was without incident, as Palou led from start to finish ahead of his teammates Marcus Armstrong and Linus Lundqvist.

[102] The event drew mixed feedback, with drivers enjoying a change in format, but many also feeling the championship could have switched things up more.

[103] Round three, the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, saw Rosenqvist take MSR’s maiden IndyCar pole position.

[106] The pair held their spots throughout an early caution, before Power ran off track on lap 23 and RLL's Christian Lundgaard was able to pass him.

When McLaren's Alexander Rossi lost one of his rear wheels to cause another yellow on lap 43, the leaders opted to pit again, shuffling Palou into the lead.

[110] The race was delayed by four hours because of rain, and when it got underway, McLaughlin led his teammates Newgarden and Power throughout the opening stages.

[111] Newgarden only had a week to celebrate his win before the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, where Herta was fastest in a disrupted qualifying session.

This saw Lundgaard, Andretti's Kyle Kirkwood and Dixon shuffle to the front after they stayed out - the right decision, as the rain soon started easing off while the race was still under caution.

[113] Lundqvist overcame wet conditions and a stoppage after a heavy crash for Newgarden to take his maiden pole position at the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America.

With the track offering little opportunity to pass, he was unable to lap the cars in front, but it also helped him hold Palou back to take the win.

[120] Herta led the opening part of the Hy-Vee Homefront 250, throughout an early caution, before another interruption on lap 80 prompted the leaders to take their first stop.

Two more cautions and a waved-off restart left the field with twelve laps to go, in which McLaughlin held off O’Ward to win his first oval while Newgarden moved past Dixon into third.

[121] A day later, the Hy-Vee One Step 250 began in rather similar fashion, as polesitter McLaughlin led Palou through the opening stint of the race before pitting on lap 96.

[122] The final lap was marred by a huge multi-car pileup as Rossi  ran out of fuel and he was hit by A. J. Foyt’s Sting Ray Robb, who vaulted into the air and rolled over.

[123] IndyCar’s only abroad event, the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto, saw Herta take pole position, while Palou was hit with a penalty and had to start 18th.

[124] The race start was immediately interrupted by a multi-car crash into the first turn, but when things got going, Herta quickly built a comfortable gap over Kirkwood and Rosenqvist.

Another multi-car pileup into turn 1 then caused a red flag stoppage after O’Ward spun around and was collected by A. J. Foyt’s Santino Ferrucci.

He held that advantage throughout the first round of pit stops and multiple cautions, before Malukas suffered a clutch issue and fell to third behind McLaughlin.

The final round of stops then also brought no changes for the top three, with Herta, the only leading driver on a differing strategy, stalling in the pits.

[133] He defended against Newgarden at the start, while Power's title hopes faded due to a seatbelt issue that forced him to pit and put him several laps down.

A late move while lapping Robb allowed Herta to take the lead from O'Ward to claim his maiden oval victory and second in the championship.

Away from the championship picture, IndyCar introduced the hybrid system, a technical change that brought a few initial issues and drew questions about its impact on the series’ amount of on-track action.

[136] Still, IndyCar’s final season on NBC drew continually high viewership numbers, even with the Olympic Games being prioritized by the network.