Felix Rosenqvist saw a promising qualifying performance disintegrate in the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey as the Swede slipped out of podium contention at Laguna Seca.
Rosenqvist went into round eight of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season determined to fight back after a couple of challenging events, and showed up with plenty of pace as he qualified third aboard his #60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda.
The effort backed up a pole position run at the same venue last year, and marked Rosenqvist’s and MSR’s best qualifying result this season since grabbing pole on the streets of Long Beach back in April.
Once in Sunday’s 95-lap race, Rosenqvist maintained his position throughout the opening stint, running in close proximity to race leaders Alex Palou and Kyle Kirkwood up until the first pit stop.
However, the day would unravel from roughly one-third distance as Rosenqvist began struggling for pace with mechanical gremlins, including a braking issue that did little to help as focus shifted into damage limitation mode.
Surviving a pair of off-track moments along the way as he tackled the worsening conditions, Rosenqvist eventually finished 11th.
“Up and down day today,” says Felix Rosenqvist. “We started pretty well on the blacks (Firestone primary tyres) and had an ‘in-control’ stint. For our second stop, we pitted under a yellow and then had to do some fuel save, and I just didn’t have the pace. I was struggling with (brake) locking and it seemed to get worse throughout the race, also having some engine issues.”
Rosenqvist retains tenth place in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES standings.
“It was a disappointing day, but at least we got some decent points after recovering OK at the end; I think we were 15th at one point,” Rosenqvist concludes. “We definitely wanted more after that first stint and qualifying third, but we’ll look at everything and hopefully come back stronger at Mid-Ohio.”
Next up on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule is the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on July 5-7. The race will mark a special occasion for the championship with the series’ new hybrid engines set to be introduced at the event.
RESULTS
NTT INDYCAR SERIES | Rd. 8
Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey
Laguna Seca (USA)
1: Alex Palou (ESP), Ganassi, 95 laps
2: Colton Herta (USA), Andretti, +1.978s
3: Alexander Rossi (USA), Arrow McLaren, +4.513s
4: Romain Grosjean (FRA), JHR, +4.824s
5: Kyle Kirkwood (USA), Andretti, +8.676s
—
11: Felix Rosenqvist (SWE), Meyer Shank Racing, +12.708s
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
NTT INDYCAR SERIES | After 8/17 races
1: Alex Palou (ESP), Ganassi, 285 p.
2: Will Power (AUS), Penske, 262 p.
3: Scott Dixon (NZL), Ganassi, 253 p.
4: Colton Herta (USA), Andretti, 217 p.
5: Kyle Kirkwood (USA), Andretti, 210 p.
—
10: Felix Rosenqvist (SWE), Meyer Shank Racing, 176 p.