Felix Rosenqvist’s jubilee 100th race in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES proved a challenging affair as the Swede struggled for pace on a trying weekend for himself and Meyer Shank Racing in the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix.
Having enjoyed a strong start to the 2025 season that put him fourth in the standings after the opening three races, Sunday proved the first hiccup of the campaign as Rosenqvist missed out on the top ten for the first time this year.
A difficult qualifying session left the #60 MSR Honda down in 14th on the grid, setting up a steep task for Rosenqvist in the midfield around the twisty Barber Motorsports Park.
In an effort to make amends, both Rosenqvist and MSR team-mate Marcus Armstrong ran longer opening stints than any of their rivals in the 27-car field, deploying a strategy designed to set the team up for a shorter – and quicker – final fuel stop later in the race.
The strategy allowed Rosenqvist to run as high as second while stretching his fuel stints, but was ultimately blunted by a disappointing performance on the harder, black-walled Firestone tyres which necessitated an early switch back to the softer, red-marked compound.
It meant that instead of a short final stop and a sprint to the flag, Rosenqvist faced a final stint of 26 laps – much longer than planned – that brought him back into sync with his rivals. He ultimately finished 13th, leading the MSR charge on a trying weekend.
“Not what we hoped for, just lacking something the whole weekend,” says Felix Rosenqvist. “I feel like we kind of got to a good balance towards the race, but we didn’t have the pace. I thought reds (tyres) were acceptable, although still missing a little bit, but the blacks were just killing us.
“I think honestly, with the strategy that we had, we could have moved up to somewhere like P5, P7, but we just didn’t have the pace to do it. It’s a shame, especially for my 100th race, but we’ll regroup and thankfully the next race is just a few days away.”
With the high-intensity, high-stakes Month of May now underway, NTT INDYCAR SERIES action resumes next weekend with the Sonsio Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course (May 9-10). Attention then immediately turns to the 109th Indianapolis 500, with practice and qualifying weeks leading up to the race on May 25.
Felix Rosenqvist is sixth in the standings following Sunday’s race at Barber, tied for points with fifth-placed Scott McLaughlin.
RESULTS
NTT INDYCAR SERIES | Rd. 4
Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix
Barber Motorsports Park (USA)
1: Alex Palou (ESP), Ganassi, 90 laps
2: Christian Lundgaard (DEN), Arrow McLaren, +16.003s
3: Scott McLaughlin (NZL), Penske, +23.445s
4: Rinus Veekay (NED), Dale Coyne Racing, +23.778s
5: Will Power (AUS), Penske, +32.771s
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13: Felix Rosenqvist (SWE), Meyer Shank Racing, +59.351s
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
NTT INDYCAR SERIES | After 4/17 races
1: Alex Palou (ESP), Ganassi, 196 p.
2: Christian Lundgaard (DEN), Arrow McLaren, 136 p.
3: Kyle Kirkwood (USA), Andretti, 127 p.
4: Pato O’Ward (MEX), Arrow McLaren, 108 p.
5: Scott McLaughlin (NZL), Penske, 105 p.
6: Felix Rosenqvist (SWE), Meyer Shank Racing, 105 p.