Sweden’s Felix Rosenqvist has shown impressive pace throughout the 2023 IndyCar season to date, and he was finally rewarded for it as he secured a 3rd place finish in yesterday’s Detroit GP.
Qualifying hadn’t gone particularly for well for the Arrow McLarens, although the Swede was the leading car in P9.
Yesterday was one of gains for the 31-year-old. Rosenqvist picked off Pagenaud at the start, and he would go on to overtake Ericsson and Newgarden. A mistake from Grosjean and overcutting Newgarden moved him up to P4 after the first round of stops.
From there he showed strong pace to keep in touch with Scott Dixon, but it was only in the closing laps that things properly kicked off around him.
With 10 laps to go following a restart, contact between Power and Dixon saw Rosenqvist lose out to Rossi as he was on the outside at T3. However, he did manage to pass on the exit of the next corner following an aggressive lunge by Will Power on the Kiwi.
After another caution period, Power made a move on Rossi to reclaim 2nd. Rosenqvist was initially unsuccessful with an attempt on his teammate as he overtook into turn 1 but got repassed into T2.
However, the job was eventually done. The one-time IndyCar winner made a brilliant and aggressive move on Rossi into turn 3 to take P3 from his teammate on the penultimate lap. While there was contact on the exit, it certainly wasn’t dirty driving.
Speaking to Pit Debrief and other media outlets following that thrilling ending, Rosenqvist explained picking a low downforce configuration for the race was critical for him to make moves.
“That long straightaway [between turns 2 and 3], we picked a low downforce option and we were able to pass cars at the end of the straight. Yeah, it was awesome. I thought it wasn’t going to be a lot of passing, but it raced super well. Big thanks to GM and Chevy.
“It was a fun race. Felt like we were just quick all through it. We went up every stage of race. We were in a position where we could maybe win it in the end. Yeah, it was a bit dicey on the restarts in the end. The second to last there, Dixon went wide. I had to grab the clutch. I think Will had the same. That potentially could have cost us a bit.”
Photo credit: Penske Entertainment | Joe Skibinski
The Swedish driver moved up three spots in the championship to P10 thanks to his first podium finish since Toronto last year.
In every race he’s finished in this campaign, Rosenqvist has been inside the top 10. It would easily have been 7/7 if it wasn’t for crashes at St.Pete, Texas and the Indianapolis 500. He was right in the mix for victory at the 500 before his unfortunate accident with under 20 laps to go.
He admitted that the podium yesterday was very much required following a lot of promising showings this year so far.
“I think we needed it. We’ve been pretty much up there every weekend. We had three DNFs which hurt.
“It seems this year in the championship a lot of the top runners have had tough races as well. I think we can recover if we keep the momentum going.
“It’s nice. I think all the boys and girls on the 6 car, Arrow McLaren, really deserved it. We’ve been up there sniffing for a long time. Hasn’t worked out.
“I’m happy to finish on the podium after all the close calls. It’s been a while. We’ll take that.”
