Dalton Kellett wants to keep learning as an IndyCar driver.
The Canadian will get that chance as he returns to A.J. Foyt Racing as a full-time driver for the 2021 season. He'll drive Foyt's second car behind four-time champion Sebastien Bourdais.
"I really want to learn from Seb and see what he brings to the table," said Kellett on Tuesday. "Observe how he works with the engineers, how he works with his team, what he's specific about, what he wants out of the car.
"I want to take what's useful for myself from that and apply it to our program."
Kellett shared the No. 14 car with Tony Kanaan for the 2020 season but will have No. 4 to himself in 2021. He said that getting the full-time ride was part of the plan as Foyt Racing wanted to develop a younger driver under Bourdais.
"Things worked out that the ride was available and I was able to step in," said Kellett from his home in Indianapolis. "I'm very excited to be with the team again, I'm happy to have the opportunity."
The 27-year-old from Stouffville, Ont., competed in eight races for Foyt in his rookie season, finishing 26th overall in the IndyCar standings. Kellett also drove in the Indianapolis 500 for the first time, finishing 31st.
He said he hopes to reach the top 15 this season and keep moving up the standings of North America's top open-wheel racing circuit.
Team lead Larry Foyt said that he was familiar with Kellett's body of work before he joined the team last season but he was still interested to see how the Canadian would adapt to the bigger tires and higher horsepower of IndyCar.
"What we saw was that he really adapted well," said Foyt in an online news conference. "He was great at looking at data, improving himself, going quicker.
"I think he can really surprise a lot of people and that's what we see in him and that's why we wanted to get him full time."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 15, 2020.
John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press