 While Rossi grew up watching the IndyCar Series as his favorite form of racing, he had previously claimed to having little interest in racing in it himself, particularly because of hesitance to race on ovals.Nevertheless, after Manor announced Pascal Wehrlein and Rio Haryanto as the team's 2016 drivers, Rossi made the switch to the IndyCar Series with Andretti Autosport for the 2016 season.Because the deal was finalized so late, Rossi missed the majority of preseason testing, only getting to complete one session at Sebring International Raceway.