Felix Rosenqvist nearly converted pole position into victory in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, leading the majority of Sunday’s race before an untimely caution period saw him ultimately finish second on what still marked a commanding comeback weekend in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.
Having topped the times in qualifying en route to his seventh career INDYCAR pole, Rosenqvist started Sunday’s 90-lap race on the Southern California street course from the head of the 25-car field.
The Swedish Meyer Shank Racing driver maintained the lead for most of a largely incident-free race, spearheading the order for two thirds of the duration.
However, a brief Full Course Yellow for debris triggered a safety car intervention right before the final pit stop sequence, bunching the pack together and negating a crucial three-second lead that Rosenqvist had built.
With the full field pulling into pit lane simultaneously, Rosenqvist narrowly lost out to championship leader Alex Palou in the pit stop frenzy and rejoined in second place.
He would finish in the same position, capping off a successful – but ultimately bittersweet – weekend.
”At the end of the day it’s a great result,” says Felix Rosenqvist. ”We’ve had a tough start to the year and I came here trying to bounce back. I got a pole and a P2, which is not too bad at all. That said, it’s still bittersweet, missing out on the win after leading for most of the race, but that’s how it goes.
”Big thanks to everyone at Meyer Shank Racing, Acura and Honda for a massive effort all weekend. At the end of the day we’ve got to celebrate this one. First podium of the year, lots of points, and a competitive performance throughout. That’s where we want to be.”
Courtesy of his podium, Felix Rosenqvist now moves into the top ten of the INDYCAR points standings in ninth place.
The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES race is the Sonsio Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on May 8-9. Before then, however, Rosenqvist and his rivals will take to the famed IMS oval to commence preparations for the 110th Indianapolis 500 during an initial Open Test on April 28-29.
RESULTS
NTT INDYCAR SERIES | Rd. 5
Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
Streets of Long Beach (USA)
1: Alex Palou (ESP), Ganassi, 90 laps
2: Felix Rosenqvist (SWE), Meyer Shank Racing, +3.966s
3: Scott Dixon (NZL), Ganassi, +5.446s
4: Kyle Kirkwood (USA), Andretti, +5.973s
5: Pato O’Ward (MEX), McLaren, +11.870s
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
NTT INDYCAR SERIES | After 5/18 races
1: Alex Palou (ESP), Ganassi, 205 p.
2: Kyle Kirkwood (USA), Andretti, 188 p.
3: David Malukas (USA), Penske, 142 p.
4: Pato O’Ward (MEX), McLaren, 136 p.
5: Christian Lundgaard (DEN), McLaren, 131 p.
—
9: Felix Rosenqvist (SWE), Meyer Shank Racing, 109 p.
