Felix Rosenqvist finished Sunday’s Toronto IndyCar race in fifth place, extending his lead in the rookie classification but simultaneously ruing what could have been after running inside the top three throughout every preceding session of the weekend.
Returning to the Toronto street track three years on from an emphatic double win in Indy Lights, Rosenqvist proved right on the pace aboard his Chip Ganassi Racing machine throughout practice and qualifying, never ending up lower than third.
He took P3 in qualifying – as the sole rookie inside the top 15 – and then topped the timesheets in final warm-up ahead of the 85-lap race.
Once there, however, Rosenqvist made what he felt was too cautious an opening stint, dropping to fifth place on the first couple of laps.
He then slipped to seventh after the first round of pit stops, but later clawed back some of the lost ground to eventually finish the race in P5 – just two seconds behind points leader Josef Newgarden in fourth.
The race was won by pole-sitter Simon Pagenaud ahead of the other Ganassi car of Scott Dixon. Alexander Rossi completed the podium, meaning Rosenqvist came home behind four Indy 500 winners to top the rookie tables.
“Having been in the front all weekend in the NTT DATA/CESSNA car, I was hoping we’d have our first podium here,” Felix Rosenqvist admits. “That was the target, but I tried to limit my expectations. The start itself was not too bad, but I think I was too cautious into Turn 3 and 5 and that hurt. Some guys were really aggressive there and I didn’t expect them to be, so they took the opportunity.
“From there, it’s kind of hard to get back, and once you’re a second or so behind, it’s difficult to make a difference in the dirty air. At the end of the day, we salvaged what we had. A top five is always good and I think we have some momentum going now after a couple of solid races.”
Rosenqvist now holds tenths in the overall IndyCar standings, and extends his advantage at the top of the rookie charts.
The NTT IndyCar Series regroups at the Iowa Speedway oval in just a few days’ time, the Iowa 300 taking place on Saturday 20 July.
RESULTS (TOP FIVE)
NTT IndyCar Series | Toronto
1: Simon Pagenaud (FRA), 85 laps
2: Scott Dixon (NZL), +0.137s
3: Alexander Rossi (USA), +4.372s
4: Josef Newgarden (USA), +18.672s
5: Felix Rosenqvist (SWE), +20.743s
View complete results
STANDINGS – OVERALL (TOP FIVE)
NTT IndyCar Series | After 11/17 races
1: Josef Newgarden (USA), 434 p.
2: Alexander Rossi (USA), 430 p.
3: Simon Pagenaud (FRA), 395 p.
4: Scott Dixon (NZL), 348 p.
5: Will Power (AUS), 306 p.
—
10: Felix Rosenqvist (SWE), 239 p.
View complete standings
STANDINGS – ROOKIES (TOP FIVE)
NTT IndyCar Series | After 11/17 races
1: Felix Rosenqvist (SWE), 239 p.
2: Santino Ferrucci (USA), 223 p.
3: Colton Herta (USA), 209 p.
4: Marcus Ericsson (SWE), 193 p.
5: Patricio O’Ward (MEX), 115 p.
View complete standings