For the second consecutive race, it wasn’t the kindest of days to Marcus Ericsson and Felix Rosenqvist.
After an unfortunate collision between the pair at Mid-Ohio, the Arrow McLaren driver saw the chequered flag in P10 in Toronto, with his fellow Swede one place behind him.
Ericsson started 4th and for 84 of the 85 laps, things went well. The 2022 IndyCar season ran as high as P2 at one point during a period where strategies varied before the caution, and he looked set to finish P5 at the end.
However, there would be a nasty surprise for the CGR driver as both he and Will Power pitted at the end of the penultimate lap for a splash of fuel as they would have run out otherwise.
Photo credit: Penske Entertainment | Travis Hinkle
Ericsson rejoined in P12 and overtook Canapino on the final lap to gain a spot back.
“It was a tough race with tyres and this track. We struggled a bit on the first stint. Then in the second half of the race I felt pretty strong, the car was feeling really good. We were running in the top group but had an issue in the end there and we had to pit. We lost top position there and it’s just a shame about the ending. Otherwise, it was a strong day for us.”
As for Felix Rosenqvist, it was a case of survival. A crash during practice 2 meant a new chassis was required for him in qualifying and the race as the tub was damaged in what looked like a fairly innocuous hit to the wall. That meant there was no time to set the car up.
Although qualifying in mixed conditions went really well and the 31-year-old looked strong to be P5, the race was a completely different story.
Rosenqvist explained that high tyre degradation and a lack of top end speed contributed to a tricky day behind the wheel.
Photo credit: Penske Entertainment | Chris Owens
Nonetheless, he managed to salvage a top 10 finish because of Power and Ericsson pitting at the end of lap 84.
”It was a bit of a tough day for us. We were fighting tyre degradation quite a bit. We kind of ended up on a strategy to save a bunch of fuel, and even with the fuel-save we were degging pretty hard. We lacked a bit of straight-line speed, which we’d done all weekend, but it seemed even worse in the race. We have to take a look at that and analyze it. The car didn’t have much pace, and I feel a top 10 was still pretty decent, but I’m not super stoked with the result.”
Ericsson retains P4 in the standings ahead of this weekend’s two races in Iowa, with Rosenqvist moving up a spot to 12th.
