NTT INDYCAR SERIES
RD. 16 – GRAND PRIX OF PORTLAND (USA)
Felix Rosenqvist finished the Grand Prix of Portland in second place, sealing the second podium of his NTT IndyCar Series career and resuming the lead of the rookie classification with just one more race to go this season.
Having graced the rostrum for a first time at Mid-Ohio at the end of July, Rosenqvist was on strong road course form once again at Portland International Raceway this weekend as he battled Team Penske’s Will Power for victory, eventually finishing as runner-up to the experienced 2014 champion.
“I think we did really well today,” says Felix Rosenqvist. “We very nearly managed to win, but second place is a great result. I’m happy, the team did a really nice job and the NTT DATA Honda was up there all weekend.”
Rosenqvist had qualified fifth on the grid for Sunday’s 105-lap encounter in the state of Oregon, and briefly hit the lead as the first round of pit stops cycled through at the 40-lap mark.
The Chip Ganassi Racing Swede resumed in third place once everyone had pitted for the first time, and inherited second when team-mate Scott Dixon ran into technical issues at exactly the halfway point.
From there, the second half of the race was all about a straight fight for victory between Rosenqvist and race leader Power, with the duo enjoying a ten-second gap to their nearest pursuers and matching each other to the tenth lap after lap.
Power eventually managed to stretch out his lead by a small margin as the race neared completion, but the playfield would reset when the safety car was deployed only a few laps from home – setting up a dramatic sprint to the finish.
Power ultimately held firm, however, taking the 37th victory of his career while Rosenqvist came home a strong second ahead of Alexander Rossi.
“We had very good pace on the red [soft] tyres, but Will Power and Penske did a little bit better on the blacks [hard tyres],” Rosenqvist comments. “I think that’s where they won the race today. Having said that, we moved up from P5 to P2 and it’s definitely a strong result. We still have another chance to win at Laguna and that’s what I’ll be focused on in a few weeks.”
Thanks to Sunday’s result, Felix Rosenqvist now reclaims the advantage atop the Rookie of the Year charts, leading Santino Ferrucci (USA) by 26 points heading into the finale at Laguna Seca on September 20-22.
Rosenqvist leaves Portland sitting eighth overall in the 2019 NTT IndyCar Series standings.
RESULTS
NTT IndyCar Series | Portland
1: Will Power (AUS), 105 laps
2: Felix Rosenqvist (SWE), +2.788s
3: Alexander Rossi (USA), +4.583s
4: Colton Herta (USA), +5.228s
5: Josef Newgarden (USA), +5.853s
View complete results
STANDINGS – OVERALL
(TOP FIVE)
NTT IndyCar Series | After 16/17 races
1: Josef Newgarden (USA), 593 p.
2: Alexander Rossi (USA), 552 p.
3: Simon Pagenaud (FRA), 551 p.
4: Scott Dixon (NZL), 508 p.
5: Will Power (AUS), 469 p.
—
8: Felix Rosenqvist (SWE), 365 p.
View complete standings
STANDINGS – ROOKIES
(TOP FIVE)
NTT IndyCar Series | After 16/17 races
1: Felix Rosenqvist (SWE), 365 p.
2: Santino Ferrucci (USA), 339 p.
3: Colton Herta (USA), 316 p.
4: Marcus Ericsson (SWE), 252 p.
5: Patricio O’Ward (MEX), 115 p.
View complete standings