FELIX ROSENQVIST
Felix Rosenqvist, 32, is a Swedish racing driver, competing for Meyer Shank Racing aboard the team’s #60 entry in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.
Felix Rosenqvist is the 2015 FIA Formula 3 European champion, a two-time Masters of F3 and Macau Grand Prix victor, and a three-time Formula Renault title winner.
Rosenqvist made his NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut in 2019, teaming up with multiple champion Scott Dixon at Chip Ganassi Racing. In an explosive maiden campaign, he finished on the podium twice and wound up sixth in the overall drivers’ classification – sealing Rookie of the Year honours in the process.
Rosenqvist went on to clinch his maiden INDYCAR win in 2020, triumphing at Wisconsin’s Road America to become the first Swedish winner in the championship since 2002.
BORN 7 November, 1991 (32 y/o)
LIVES Indianapolis (USA)
CURRENTLY DRIVING NTT INDYCAR SERIES
CURRENT TEAM Meyer Shank Racing
FAVOURITE CIRCUIT Macau (Guia Circuit)
CV
2007 First season in cars
Asian Formula Renault | 4th (top rookie)
After competing extensively in karting throughout Europe, 2007 marks Felix’s first foray into single-seater racing. Track time and budget considerations make the Asian Formula Renault championship the destination of choice, and Felix swiftly becomes a regular podium contender as he learns the tricks of the trade with Davide de Gobbi’s March3 operation.
At the final event of the season in Shanghai, he scores a milestone first career car victory after overtaking multiple Formula Renault champion Pekka Saarinen in a battle for the lead, ending the season fourth overall and as the top rookie.
2008 Title delight in the Far East
Formula Asia 2.0 | champion
Staying on in Asia with March3 for a second season, Felix draws on his experience to dominate the Formula Asia 2.0 series – using the same F.Renault cars as the year before – and seal the first championship title of his career. With ten wins and 13 podiums from 15 races, it’s a year lined with success and an important confidence trigger ahead of greater challenges to come.
2009 A winning return to home
Formula Renault Sweden / NEZ | champion
After winning in Asia, the aim for 2009 was initially to launch an attack on the higher-profile European single-seater scene, but a lack of budget ultimately causes a rethink. Instead, Felix returns home to Sweden, where he wins the national Formula Renault title – doubling up with a simultaneous success in the sister Northern European Zone series.
The season is notable for the great friendship that evolves between Felix and his Team BS Motorsport team-mate, and main championship rival, Daniel Roos. The duo, often separated by fractions of a second, retain an affable bond despite the pressure of two separate title fights, ultimately taking first and second in both series – with future BMW DTM and Formula E racer Tom Blomqvist in third.
At the end of the year, Felix tries his wings in two attention-grabbing guest outings; driving to the podium in SEAT Leon Supercopa at Dijon in France, and then emphatically winning twice in Formula Palmer Audi at Snetterton in the UK – establishing a new lap record in the process.
2009 remains the only full season in which Felix has raced on home soil in Sweden.
2010 The shape of things to come
ATS Formula 3 Cup | 5th
Armed with significant career momentum thanks to winning three titles in the last two years, the timing is now right for Felix to hit continental Europe. 2010 heralds a step up to Formula 3 in Germany’s ATS F3 Cup, where he joins Performance Racing – a family-run team owned by fellow Swede Bobby Issazadhe.
His first two F3 victories both come (on separate weekends) at Assen in the Netherlands, and while the experienced Tom Dillmann wins the title, Felix spends the majority of the season battling the likes of Daniel Abt and Kevin Magnussen for rookie honours. He ultimately ends the campaign fifth overall and later makes an inspiring debut at the end-of-year Macau Grand Prix – a race which will come to serve him well in future years…
2011 A breakthrough moment
Formula 3 Euro Series | 5th
Masters of F3 | victory
A significant season for many reasons. It features an important move into the Formula 3 Euro Series – the leading F3 championship of the time – launching Felix onto a new higher-profile arena as he competes on the DTM support bill at some of Europe’s top venues.
Joining the experienced Mücke Motorsport team for this season, it’s a successful start to the new relationship, with Felix scoring a podium already in round one at Paul Ricard. He later claims his first Euro F3 win at the Hockenheim finale, but the most significant achievement of the year comes in the non-championship Masters of F3 event at Zandvoort – where he clinches a breakthrough victory that hauls him into the serious international spotlight for the first time.
His Zandvoort victory makes Felix the first Swede ever to win the Masters of F3 and attracts added attention from Mücke Motorsport engine supplier Mercedes-Benz, whose junior programme he consequently joins.
2012 A force to be reckoned with
Formula 3 Euro Series | 4th
FIA European Formula 3 Championship | 3rd
Macau Grand Prix | runner-up
Remaining with Mücke Motorsport, Felix dovetails a second season of F3 Euro Series racing with an attack on the revived FIA European F3 Championship, in which he finishes third overall – winning four out of the final six races. At the end of the campaign, he once again underlines his status as one of the fastest F3 drivers on the globe by finishing a close second in the Macau Grand Prix.
2013 Down to the wire
FIA Formula 3 European Championship | 2nd
Masters of F3 | victory
For 2013, the F3 Euro Series gives way for the restructured FIA Formula 3 European Championship, which gathers all the leading F3 teams and drivers of Europe under one umbrella to further enhance the competition of the category. In his third year with Mücke Motorsport, Felix is spearheading the Berlin squad’s title attack, going up against Raffaele Marciello and the might of the all-conquering Prema Powerteam in a head-to-head scrap for glory.
After the championship goes down to the wire, Marciello ultimately comes out on top; but with ten wins and 18 podiums from 30 races to his name, 2013 is still an exceptional season for Felix. He also equals the record previously held solely by current F1 star Valtteri Bottas as he bags a second Masters of Formula 3 triumph, winning comfortably from pole position.
2014 Street fighter
FIA Formula 3 European Championship | 8th
Grand Prix de Pau | victory
Macau Grand Prix | victory
Determined to make amends for the near-miss of the previous season, Felix sticks to the proven path – regrouping for another campaign with Mücke Motorsport in FIA F3.
However, the main season proves a major disappointment as Felix inexplicably struggles for pace – later identified to have been caused by a damaged chassis. It does not hold him back on the streets of Pau and Macau, however, as he offsets an otherwise frustrating year with two of the most defining victories of his career in the famous city-centre classics.
Away from F3, Felix also makes a few appearances in the short-lived FA1 (Formula Acceleration 1) series, representing Team Sweden in the nations-based championship. In four starts, he takes three podiums and two wins.
2015 A record-breaking year
FIA F3 European Championship | champion
Macau Grand Prix | victory
Having won each of the major F3 standalone events (Masters of F3, Grand Prix de Pau and the Macau Grand Prix), 2015 finally sees Felix add the only remaining accolade to his list of F3 achievements; the FIA F3 European Championship title. After switching across to Prema Powerteam, he is crowned champion with one round to spare after a dominant display at the Nürburgring which netted him a clean-sweep of pole positions, race wins and fastest laps.
2015 is a year of records and utter retaliation for Felix, who bags 13 wins, 24 podiums, 17 pole positions and 13 fastest laps en route to the title. As the icing on the cake, he then brings the season to a perfect end by repeating his Macau Grand Prix win of the previous year, becoming only the second driver in history to win the event twice.
By the end of 2015, Felix is the most successful Formula 3 driver of all time. He remains the only person ever to win the category’s grand slam of the Macau GP, Grand Prix de Pau, Masters of F3 and the European title.
2016 New horizons
DTM | points on debut
Blancpain GT Series | 1 victory
24 Hours of Spa | runner-up
Indy Lights | 3 wins from partial campaign
After racing in Formula 3 for six years, 2016 marks a complete turnaround in approach for Felix – who instead begins to take up opportunities in a wide variety of cars and championship around the world.
In high demand and eager to show his worth outside the comfort zone of F3, he dovetails race-winning campaigns in the American Indy Lights series and Europe’s Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup, while simultaneously racing in the DTM with Mercedes-AMG. He also gets his first taste of endurance racing at the Daytona 24 Hours in Florida, and finishes second in the 24 Hours of Spa on debut.
Furthermore, he makes a final F3 return at his beloved Macau GP – where he finishes a close second – and even appears at the wheel of a Legends car at a local race in Sweden!
Significantly, this is the year which outlines the next chapters of Felix’s career. During the summer, he signs a deal to race for Mahindra Racing in the booming Formula E championship, where he will go on to become a leading player over the next two seasons. He makes an immediate impression in the all-electric series by posting the fastest lap on debut at the 2016-17 opener in Hong Kong and grabbing pole position at the following race in Marrakesh.
Thanks to his Indy Lights success, meanwhile, Felix also gets to test an IndyCar for Chip Ganassi Racing for the very first time at Mid-Ohio – initiating a relationship which will be fortified in years to come.
2017 Two times third
Formula E Championship | 3rd (top rookie)
Super Formula | 3rd
24 Hours of Le Mans | debut
Continuing along the same lines as the year before, 2017 is another hectic season for Felix. His two main programmes revolve around Formula E and a new-found challenge in Japan’s blisteringly fast Super Formula series, where he forms part of legendary outfit Team LeMans’ line-up.
Ending both championships in third overall, Felix reaffirms his reputation of adaptability – and underlines that status further still by winning twice from two guest starts in Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia at Ring Knutstorp and Anderstorp.
He also conducts his debut in one of motorsport’s most famous races, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, sharing a DragonSpeed LMP2 with fellow Swede Henrik Hedman and Britain’s Ben Hanley. Despite spending an hour in the garage for repairs, the trio finish in 14th place overall.
Perhaps the most shocking accomplishment, however, comes at the very beginning of the year when Felix takes a remarkable second in the Las Vegas eRace – a simulator event where he goes up against the world’s leading e-gamers.
The most triumphant moment of the year is the Berlin E-Prix at Tempelhof’s former airfield, where Felix delivers a maiden Formula E victory for both himself and Mahindra Racing. Capping off the campaign with further podiums in New York and Montreal, he ranks an all-time high 23rd in acclaimed specialist publication Autosport’s annual Top 50 drivers of the year listing – ahead of several Formula 1 drivers and world champions.
2018 A title attack derailed
ABB FIA Formula E Championship | 6th
Super GT | 10th
Entering his second campaign in Formula E (2017-18), Felix is one of the main title favourites on the back of his rookie achievements of the previous season. He lives up to the promise in the finest of style by winning two of the opening three races, in Hong Kong and Marrakesh respectively, and consequently leads the standings at the turn of the new year.
He carries his strong form into the Mexico City E-Prix, where he qualifies on pole and leads the early stages of the race – only to be forced to retire with technical issues while looking set for victory.
His championship ambitions suffer another blow when history repeats itself at the following round, the inaugural Rome E-Prix. On the streets of the Italian capital, Felix dominates qualifying to out-pace his rivals by six tenths of a second, again leading the race when yet another failure causes him to bow out prematurely.
Unable to recover the lost ground, he eventually finishes the season in sixth overall, again leading the Mahindra Racing charge but being left with a feeling of what could have been.
He is later called up for a final Formula E outing with Mahindra at the 2018-19 opener in Ad Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, in December, but retires once again with a driveshaft failure.
Meanwhile in the Far East, Felix contests a second season of racing with Team LeMans in Japan, but switches across from the squad’s Super Formula operation to its Lexus-affiliated Super GT programme. Sharing a Lexus LC500 with Kazuya Oshima, the Swedish/Japanese pairing score a podium in Buriram, Thailand – the only flyaway round of the season – and end up tenth in the final classification.
The year also includes noteworthy moments at Daytona – where Felix forms part of an all-star line-up with friends Lance Stroll, Daniel Juncadella and Robin Frijns aboard an ORECA LMP2 – and an impressive guest appearance in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup at Spa. It even features a rallying debut on Slovakia’s Rallye Tatry!
On 28 September, Felix’s 2019 move to IndyCar with Chip Ganassi Racing is officially announced, setting up the most exciting prospect of his career to date.
2019 Arriving in INDYCAR
NTT INDYCAR SERIES | 6th (Rookie of the Year)
The 2019 season takes Felix into a new phase of his career, as he signs a deal to race for leading NTT INDYCAR SERIES outfit Chip Ganassi Racing as team-mate to multiple and reigning champion Scott Dixon.
Moving across the Atlantic to take on the American top-flight series, Felix immediately shocks the establishment by qualifying third – one place ahead of Dixon – for the season-opening round in St. Petersburg (Florida). He goes on to take fourth in the race, having led for 31 of 110 laps despite a trapped nerve causing discomfort for much of the duration.
Following his resilient start to the campaign, however, reality catches up with Felix over the next few months, as he continues to qualify well (scoring his first pole position in only the fifth round of the season) but struggles to keep his tyres alive in the races.
A 220 mph practice crash for the blue-riband Indy 500 does little to help Felix’s mid-season cause, but with his experience ever-increasing, the second half of the campaign sees him firmly return to frontrunning contention.
The breakthrough result comes at Mid-Ohio, where Felix chases down Dixon in a frenetic battle for the win between the two team-mates. Dixon ultimately holds position on a wheel-rubbing final lap, while Felix – beaten to victory by the tiniest of margins – comes home a close second to secure a popular Ganassi 1-2.
By now a constant feature at the top of the timesheets, Felix returns to the podium shortly afterwards in the penultimate race at Portland, again finishing in second place.
Moving into the finale at Laguna Seca, Felix enjoys a pace-setting run in practice but spins in qualifying and is dealt a controversial penalty. Forced to start from 14th in the race, he battles back emphatically to finish fifth, which is enough to hand him the Rookie of the Year title.
Felix thus becomes the first Chip Ganassi Racing driver since Juan Pablo Montoya in 1999 to clinch the coveted ROY award.
Finishing sixth in the overall INDYCAR standings, it is a highly successful debut season, the like of which has only twice been matched by a rookie driver since the turn of the new millennium.
2020 First INDYCAR win delivered
NTT INDYCAR SERIES | 11th
Following his headline-grabbing rookie campaign the year before, Felix heads into the 2020 INDYCAR season with plenty of expectations on his shoulders.
However, everything is thrown out of the ordinary when the COVID-19 pandemic suddenly strikes on the dawn of the campaign.
The season-opener in St. Petersburg is hastily cancelled, with teams and drivers on site in the paddock, and it will be another three months until racing finally gets underway – with a heavily revised calendar.
It all seems to get off to a strong start for Felix, however, as he runs second heading into the closing stages of the rescheduled opener at Texas Motor Speedway. While he ultimately crashes out just a few laps from home when trying to pass lapped traffic, it’s still a message of intention as Felix records the fastest lap of the race.
The highlight of the season follows shortly after, as Felix scores a maiden INDYCAR victory thanks to a late-race pass on Pato O’Ward at Road America. In doing so, he becomes only the second Swede thus far to ever win in INDYCAR, following in the wheel tracks of Kenny Bräck.
Despite his breakthrough win, the season as a whole is largely disappointing, with Felix finishing only 11th in the standings. Following the finale, it is announced that Felix is due to leave Chip Ganassi Racing and join Arrow McLaren SP for the 2021 campaign on.
2021 A difficult year
NTT INDYCAR SERIES | 21st
The first season with new team Arrow McLaren SP is disappointing in terms of outcome, with Felix struggling throughout the year and a heavy crash at Detroit not helping matters as he is forced to sit out two races mid-season.
There is a silver lining towards the end of the campaign, however, with the best performances and results coming in the late races to build momentum and hope for a much improved 2022.
2022 Rise again
NTT INDYCAR SERIES | 8th
After the struggles of the year before, Felix battles back in style in 2022, making a dramatic improvement in pace to finish eighth in the final standings – his second-best INDYCAR campaign to date.
Highlights during the season include a pair of pole positions at Texas Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis road course, as well as a first podium with Arrow McLaren SP on the streets of Toronto. He also takes P4 in the Indy 500.
The up-turn in form hands Felix a contract extension for 2023 by team boss Zak Brown.
2023 Ups and downs
NTT INDYCAR SERIES | 12th
A year of fluctuations, as Felix takes 12th in the championship after a raft of misfortune mixed with flashes of immense speed.
Another pair of pole positions, at Texas and the season-finale at Laguna Seca, demonstrate the inherent potential of the Felix/Arrow McLaren package, as do a couple of podiums in Detroit and Portland. Felix also qualifies on the front row for the Indy 500, which he then leads for a large portion of the race.
Still, after three years of ups and downs at the McLaren camp, the decision is made to move on at the end of the season, with Felix signing for Meyer Shank Racing for 2024.
2024 A new beginning
NTT INDYCAR SERIES | 12th
Felix’s first year with Meyer Shank Racing proves an immediate success. After qualifying on the front row for the new constellation’s very first race in St. Petersburg, Felix goes on to score MSR’s first-ever INDYCAR pole on the streets of Long Beach, and proves a regular Fast Six qualifying contender.
Felix also bags a podium at the unique $1 Million Challenge race at The Thermal Club, a non-championship event trialled during the season. Further highlights include qualifying as the top Honda driver for the Indianapolis 500, although an engine failure ultimately forces Felix to retire from the oval classic.
Taking 12th in the standings to hand MSR their best-ever overall INDYCAR finish, it’s an easy decision to keep building on the early promise, with Felix and the team agreeing a multi-year extension at season’s end.