By David Morgan, Associate Editor
A lot of noise has surrounded Arrow McLaren SP this week, but Sunday in Toronto, Felix Rosenqvist made noise where it counted – on-track.
After starting in eighth place, Rosenqvist moved into the top-five in short order and held steady near the front of the field for much of the race, eventually cycling into the top-three during the final caution period of the day.
While Scott Dixon pulled away for the win, Rosenqvist and Colton Herta staged a thrilling battle for second over the final stint of the race, crossing the line in third place when the checkered flag fell to claim his first podium finish since June 2020, and his first podium finish while driving for Arrow McLaren SP.
“It’s been a good weekend,” Rosenqvist said. “A good race, as well. I don’t think we’ve been the fastest all weekend, but I just did the basics right.
“I think we did a good lap in qualify, got us to P8. Then the strategy in the race. Obviously in Toronto it’s hard to pass. The plan was if you have an opportunity, try to pass, nail the pit stops…
“We were saving a lot of fuel early on. It looked like we were going to have a big advantage there at the end. That last yellow kind of played into Colton and Scott’s favor. Congrats to Scott, by the way. Good to see him back on the P1.
“I think it was a fun race. Good, hard battles out there on a good, hard track. Very physical. Very warm. Yeah, no, good fun.”
Rosenqvist’s race wasn’t all cut and dry as he tangled with Alexander Rossi on Lap 45, sending the current Andretti Autosport and future McLaren driver into the wall, which brought Rossi’s race to an early end.
“I mean, I had a good run,” Rosenqvist explained. “He looked a bit weak in the braking on three. I did kind of a little surprise move. Was fairly far up by the time we turned in. I kind of thought that he had already given up on the corner. I just saw him, like, hang around the outside. I was like, Okay. I mean, fair play if you want to try to go around outside. At some point you run out of road.
“I think he probably bumped his wheel or something. That’s kind of what it felt like. He ran into my side pod, probably lost a wheel and hit the wall.
“I don’t know if it was fair play, to be honest. He normally races hard. I’ve been racing him previously where it’s been to his advantage in that situation and I’ve lost a bunch of spots. Today he lost his…
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