Fourth on debut in St. Petersburg, hit by a rival driver in Austin – Felix Rosenqvist has had an eventful start to life in the NTT IndyCar Series. The Swedish rookie heads to Alabama’s Barber Motorsports Park this weekend for round three of the campaign, eager to build on some serious early promise.
Defying his newcomer status, Rosenqvist has arrived in America’s premier single-seater series with a number of headline-grabbing performances. After qualifying third for his very first race in St. Petersburg, where he would lead for 31 laps before finishing a strong fourth, the 2015 FIA Formula 3 European champion continued to blitz the timesheets last time out at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) by setting comfortably the fastest lap of the meeting.
A less spectacular race, however, left Rosenqvist and Chip Ganassi Racing with more to wish for in Austin – but the combination will be out to overcome the Texas disappointment as the series sets camp in Alabama.
READ: Felix Rosenqvist sets fastest lap of event, endures difficult race at COTA
”Heading to Barber, we have a few things to validate following COTA, where we set the fastest lap of the event in qualifying but struggled a bit in race trim,” says Felix Rosenqvist. “We believe we have found the reason for this and it will be interesting to see how we fare in Alabama. The track will take its toll on the tyres, especially the front left, so management and race execution will be key to a good result. I’m not quite sure how the layout will suit us, but I’m keen to get back behind the wheel and find out!”
The weather forecast for this weekend suggests scattered thunderstorms could affect each of the three days of running on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, adding further uncertainty to the mix. Felix Rosenqvist is yet to ever drive an Indy car in wet-weather conditions.
Sunday’s race is scheduled in for 3.15 pm local time, spanning 90 laps at what is considered one of the most physically demanding venues on the calendar.
GUIDE: IndyCar – rules and information
TIME TABLE
Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
All times local
Friday 5 April
Free Practice 1: 11.15 am-12.00 pm
Free Practice 2: 2.50-3.35 pm
Saturday 6 April
Free Practice 3: 10.45-11.30 am
Qualifying: 3.00-4.15 pm
Sunday 7 April
Warm-up: 11.10-11.40
Race (90 laps): 3.15 pm
LIVE TIMING: racecontrol.indycar.com
STANDINGS (TOP FIVE)
After 2/17 races
1: Josef Newgarden (USA, Penske), 93 p.
2: Colton Herta (USA, Harding Stein.), 75 p.
3: Scott Dixon (NZL, Ganassi), 57 p.
4: Alexander Rossi (USA, Andretti), 53 p.
5: Graham Rahal (USA, RLL), 50 p.
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10: Felix Rosenqvist (SWE, Ganassi), 40 p.
View complete standings