IndyCar: Felix Rosenqvist finished 4th in debut, and with ‘one arm’
By Asher Fair
Felix Rosenqvist had one of the most impressive IndyCar debuts in recent years by finishing in fourth place in the 2019 season opener, the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, and he did it with “one arm”.
After being promoted from seventh to sixth place in the qualifying session for his first career IndyCar race, the 2019 season opener, on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida as a result of a penalty that was issued to Harding Steinbrenner Racing rookie Colton Herta, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist advanced to the Firestone Fast Six.
In the Firestone Fast Six, the 27-year-old Swede recorded a lap time of 60.6884 seconds (106.775 miles per hour) around the 14-turn, 1.8-mile (2.897-kilometer) temporary street circuit on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida to lock himself into third place on the starting grid for the race, the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, in his #10 Honda behind Team Penske teammates Will Power and Josef Newgarden.
In the 110-lap race itself, Rosenqvist was impressive. He passed Newgarden for second place almost right away and led three laps when Power came into the pits on lap 13. On the lap 24 restart that took place following the race’s first caution flag period, he made a bold pass on Power’s inside to take the lead heading into turn one and held him off as he tried to fight back.
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Rosenqvist went on to lead the race’s next 27 laps. But Newgarden’s pit strategy, which involved him staying out for a few extra laps and laying down fast lap times while the drivers who had already made their pit stops struggled on cold tires, reigned supreme.
Newgarden took the lead after Rosenqvist came into the pits after leading these 27 laps, and he led 59 of the race’s final 60 laps. Rosenqvist led the other one, but he only did so as a result of the fact that Newgarden came into the pits before him for his final stop. He ultimately finished in fourth place behind Newgarden, teammate Scott Dixon and Power.
For an IndyCar debut, a fourth place finish is more than impressive, especially when it involves leading 31 of a race’s 110 laps. But for Rosenqvist, what made it even more impressive was the fact that he finished in fourth with “one arm”, as he trapped a nerve in his right arm with 40 laps remaining.
Here is what Rosenqvist had to say about the matter, according to IndyCar.
"“This was the toughest race I’ve ever done. I’m knackered. Driving like this for over two hours between the walls, with every second counting and with no power steering is a real physical and mental challenge. To add to that, I trapped a nerve in my right arm and had to drive the last 40 laps basically with just one arm.”"
Felix Rosenqvist is set to make his second career IndyCar start in the 2019 season’s second race, the IndyCar Classic, at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday, March 24, and hopefully with both of his arms functioning at 100%. This race is set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET, so be sure not to miss it.