The curveball that's lingering into the new IndyCar season

Whether you believe IndyCar needed it or not, the hybrid device has certainly thrown a spanner in the works of the series' teams which might be more treading water than maximising car set-up right now.

The hybrid was introduced at Mid-Ohio in July last year, which means it hasn't been raced at any of the first seven races on this year's (largely similar) calendar.

Races hybrid hasn't been used at
Thermal, Long Beach, Barber, Indianapolis road course, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Detroit, Road America, Laguna Seca

Races hybrid has been at
Gateway, Mid-Ohio, Iowa, Toronto, Portland, Milwaukee, Nashville

The attention when it was introduced was all on how the drivers might exploit it for a performance gain with a boost of energy allowed each lap - the amount varies track to track - in addition to the 200 seconds of push to pass allowed on road and street circuits.

But the bigger topic in the paddock now is how the added weight of the unit impacts the performance of the car. That's not just the total weight added with the device (120lbs or just over 54kg); the distribution of that weight and its positioning to the rear of the car is the bigger factor.