Robin Miller says…

Sebastian Saavedra scored the first pole of his career and led his first laps at Long Beach and Barber but 2014 disintegrated into a forgettable year for this 24-year-old Colombian.

Joining KV-AFS Racing as a teammate to Sebastien Bourdais began well enough as he out-paced the four-time Champ Car king early in the season before snaring P1 on the grid for the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis (RIGHT). But what should have been his greatest day turned ugly when his car failed to launch and he got drilled from behind by two cars. That false start was kind of a precursor to the rest of the year.

Other than ninth for the second Belle Isle race, Saavedra’s average starting spot was 19th over the final 11 races and things came to a head at Sonoma when his owner and father demanded a change of engineers for AFS Racing.

The future is doubtful because despite showing flashes of having the right stuff, the people who have worked with him during the past four seasons all point to immaturity as the biggest problem.

Gary Peterson has been helping bankroll Saavedra since Indy Lights and his loyalty is unfailing but KV doesn’t sound like it wants to keep doing business with the kid whose clock is ticking.

David Malsher says…

A team owner once described his parting of ways with Sebastian Saavedra as being similar to Chow’s famous car-window-closing farewell in The Hangover. I had hoped those days were behind one of the more instantly engaging personalities in the IndyCar field, and so it’s frustrating to hear KV Racing is also happy to see him walk out the door.

I’m confident Saavedra has a lot of talent but it’s not being channeled in a constructive manner currently. Once teammate Sebastien Bourdais (with Saavedra, LEFT) started hitting top form again, that immediately highlighted the lack of progress by the other KV driver, and the frustration and downward spiral of confidence that followed was inevitable.

There was a further glimmer of hope at Iowa (BOTTOM), as the Colombian rose to third place in the race…but then he scraped the wall, adding to his and the team’s frustration.

“Sebastian’s problem is inconsistency,” said Bourdais at the start of the year, reflecting on their previous season together at Dragon Racing. “I never know if I should use his data and setups when he’s quick because I don’t know if that’s just him having a good weekend or because it really is the right way to go. But man, he’s very brave, great car control, and he takes chances that I wouldn’t even think of taking.”

Sadly, that’s not enough at this level. Still, Saavedra’s 24, and there are other IndyCar drivers in their 20s who’ve struggled for longer despite more and better opportunities, so all hope is not lost. But maybe a switch to sports cars alongside the calming influence of a veteran driver should be Sebastian’s next step, just to ingrain in him the importance of consistency…and self-analysis.

Marshall Pruett says…

A rookie driver who had never driven an IndyCar, seen our tracks or set foot on an oval finished ahead of Sebastian Saavedra in the final standings. Yes, Dale Coyne Racing’s Grumpy Gato, aka Carlos Huertas, put 23 points between himself and fellow Colombian Saavedra who just completed his third season as an IndyCar full-timer. He opened the year with an 11th at St. Pete and peaked at Long Beach, coming home ninth. Sadly, it all went downhill from there.

Over the remaining 16 races, Saavedra failed to finish better than 14th. 

I’ve seen Seb put in some impressive performances over the years, and he’s as charming as they come, but potential and personality will only get you so far in this sport. Saavedra placed 21st in the standings with the sub-optimal Dragon Racing outfit last year, and armed with less turmoil and a familiar teammate in Sebastien Bourdais at KV AFS Racing, Saavedra finished…21st.

It’s easy to lay all of the blame on Saavedra’s shoulders, but it wouldn’t be entirely fair. He had a solid team of mechanics looking after the No. 17 Chevy led by Kelly Potter, but I’d be lying if I said Sebastian was receiving much help from the engineering stand. With Ed Nathmann as his Dragon Racing engineer in 2013 and Matt Curry assuming those duties for most of 2014, you could say Saavedra had the odds stacked against him.

As an eternal optimist, I’d like to think he deserves another shot with a proven engineer to finally answer the question of whether Saavedra can produce proper results, or if he’s been the weak link in the chain.