The sports director of Juncos Hollinger Racing told how the decision was made for the Titan not to compete on the seventh round of the championship. The idea is for him to return to Laguna Seca, although nothing is certain.
David O’Neill joined Juncos Hollinger Racing in mid-May to occupy the brand new position of team manager. With a past as sporting and general director of the Haas F1 team from 2014 to 2017, he arrived to work alongside David Morgan, JHR team manager, to consolidate the organization. O’Neill, despite having been with the Indianapolis-based team for a month, He was one of the key people in the decision that Agustín Canapino not race in the Road America event, the seventh round of IndyCar.
Canapino’s loss was brewing throughout the turbulent week that followed the controversy that began in the Detroit race, after Théo Pourchaire’s crash into the Titan.. With 90 minutes left before the start of the first Road America practice, the team announced to the Argentine that he would not be part of the weekend. Canapino tried to resist, but to no avail. “Like everyone, he’s a runner and he wanted to run,” O’Neill said on NBC Sports. “We also have to think about the security aspect, if he is prepared for it. Any mistake that is made, whether he made it or not, is a risk. That is our job, we have to make decisions, we make them and we follow them,” he added.
Juncos Hollinger Racing issued a statement, 48 minutes before the start, announcing Nolan Sigel as Canapino’s replacement. “Juncos Hollinger Racing communicates that: due to the increase in abuse and harassment on social networks resulting from events that are publicly known, driver Agustín Canapino will take a leave of absence for this weekend’s Xpel Grand Prix. His replacement in car 78 will be driver Nolan Seigel. At JHR we prioritize the physical and mental well-being of both our pilots and our competitors,” the letter stated. Brad Hollinger, Juncos’ millionaire partner, was the only signature to appear on the proclamation: “Online abuse is unacceptable and we must ensure that our drivers are prepared both mentally and physically when they get in the car. We are saddened by the events that led to this scenario,” he said.
Canapino had already participated in the classic autograph signing that IndyCar organizes with all the drivers on Fridays at noon, dressed in his team clothing. In fact, JHR’s social networks had published two posts: one with Romain Grosjean and the other with the Argentine. As soon as the statement came out, the image of the Titan signing autographs was deleted, while Siegel was already doing seat tests to compete in the free round.
Crossing out Canapino from Road America was the culmination of a week that began with Pourchaire (McLaren) colliding with the Argentine in the city of Detroit. The situation escalated to unthinkable limits. After the impact, Juncos sent a controversial radio message to his pilot that was published by the category application (as happens with all talks). Almost immediately, some supposed Canapino fans began to insult and threaten the F2 champion on social networks. One day after the race, JHR and Arrow McLaren (teams that had a strategic alliance) released a joint statement condemning the online abuse and harassment against Pourchaire. On Tuesday, it was Canapino who published a writing on his networks in which he condemned the abuse, at the same time he questioned the threats and assured that he was used to living with haters. Two days later, Arrow McLaren announced that it was breaking the partnership with Juncos Hollinger Racing.
Canapino’s statement went down poorly with the team, because in several passages it went against the strategy that the JHR leadership had adopted. The squad had asked him to stay out of it and not say anything about the subject. Despite that, the Titan made the decision to give his version. And the background did not help him: last year there were two episodes with Callum Ilott, his former JHR teammate, who also suffered harassment from some supposed fans of the Argentine, a situation that went badly in IndyCar.
“The mental abuse just got worse and worse,” O’Neill told IndyStar. in an interview he gave after Friday’s round of rehearsals at Road America. According to the team director, Canapino had not been able to easily separate himself from his phone and the consequences of his statement: “In the job he has it is very important to be 100% concentrated and if you take your eyes off the ball, or if there is something that It diverts you, and you are not 100% focused… We had to help him do something about it,” added the priest, who freed Canapino so he could go home, if he wanted. “I gave him the option. I said, ‘We’d love for you to be around, but I also understand if you want to come home, and you can do that too,'” O’Neill said. During the test session, the Titan was not in the pits.
The talks about the possible absence of Canapino took place during the week, with direct and fundamental intervention by Hollinger, who did not travel to Road America. “We have owners who are not here and it was quite difficult to get everyone together with all the discussion necessary to make the right decision. The conversation has been ongoing since Monday. It has been growing and there is more and more weight to help us make the decision. We didn’t show up this morning (for Road Amerida Friday) and say, ‘Let’s do it.’ “This was getting worse and worse and we had to do something mainly to give Canapino a rest, and we just need to stay together and come out stronger,” said O’Neill, who confirmed to IndyStar that the idea is for Canapino to be back in the Dallara 78 at the Lagua Seca event, from the 21st to the 23rd of this month Although nothing is certain. “Currently, this is the plan only for this weekend, but like everything, we have to see what happens,” he said, leaving a sea of doubts regarding the Argentine’s future. An attempt was made to contact Ricardo Juncos from this medium, but there was no response.
