Felix Rosenqvist mixed blistering one-lap speed with a less satisfying race at this weekend’s Grand Prix of Portland, finishing ninth in the final road course event of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.
Carrying the popular Grateful Dead livery on his #60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda for the second race in succession, Rosenqvist stormed to the front row in qualifying around Portland International Raceway on Saturday, starting Sunday’s race from second on the grid.
The Swede maintained position in the early stages of the race, but three caution periods while Rosenqvist was on a new set of the red-walled alternate tyres threw a curveball on the opening stint that proved hard to overcome.
It left him unable to string out the kind of early advantage the selected strategy called for, leaving him vulnerable on the slower harder tyres later on. As it were, Rosenqvist had to make do with ninth at the chequered flag.
“We didn’t really have great pace today, especially on the blacks [harder tyres],” says Felix Rosenqvist. ”We were okay on the reds [soft tyres] but then in the beginning there, when we had our new reds we had a bunch of yellows when we wanted to push and once we put on blacks, it was all green flag. I feel like most of the others were on the opposite strategy of that. It was kind of a mediocre race. P9 in the end and we were able to salvage something, but clearly I was hoping for more.”
The penultimate round of the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES takes place in Milwaukee on August 23-24.
RESULTS
NTT INDYCAR SERIES | Rd. 15
Grand Prix of Portland
Portland International Raceway (USA)
1: Will Power (AUS), Penske, 110 laps
2: Christian Lundgaard (DEN), Arrow McLaren, +1.538s
3: Alex Palou (ESP), Ganassi, +2.448s
4: Graham Rahal (USA), RLL, +10.579s
5: Alex Rossi (USA), Ed Carpenter Racing, +16.175s
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9: Felix Rosenqvist (SWE), Meyer Shank Racing, +30.101s
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
NTT INDYCAR SERIES | After 15/17 races
1: Alex Palou (ESP), Ganassi, 626 p.
2: Pato O’Ward (MEX), Arrow McLaren, 475 p.
3: Scott Dixon (NLZ), Ganassi, 411 p.
4: Christian Lundgaard (DEN), Arrow McLaren, 398 p.
5: Kyle Kirkwood (USA), Andretti, 387 p.
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7: Felix Rosenqvist (SWE), Meyer Shank Racing, 337 p.