By INDYCAR
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Romain Grosjean led an Andretti Autosport sweep of the front row in qualifying for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding on Saturday, winning the NTT P1 Award for the second time in his career.
Grosjean, from France, led the Firestone Fast Six with a best lap of 59.5532 seconds in the No. 28 DHL Honda on his final trip around the 14-turn, 1.8-mile temporary street circuit that hosts the opening race of the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. Teammate Colton Herta qualified second at 59.9687 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda.
It was the first pole for Grosjean since May 2021, when he took the top spot for the GMR Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course as a series rookie after a decade of driving in Formula One.
SEE: Qualifying Results | Qualifying Highlights
“Last year was a really good end of the year, good winter testing,” Grosjean said. “We got here, and I said, ‘Boys, yeah, I think we’ve got something.’ We put it out.”
The 100-lap race starts at noon ET Sunday, with live coverage on NBC, Peacock, Telemundo Deportes on Universo and the INDYCAR Radio Network. A 30-minute pre-race warmup starts at 9 a.m., live on Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
Grosjean’s pole lap completed his rollercoaster of a day. He spun off track in Turn 13 in the morning practice, with his car becoming stuck. Four hours later, he was celebrating the NTT P1 Award with his wife, Marion, and their three children, attending their “home” race from their residence in Miami.
It also marked a powerful return to form for Andretti Autosport, which won just two races and three NTT P1 Awards last season. Grosjean was winless and didn’t earn a pole last year in his highly anticipated first season with Michael Andretti’s team.
“I knew last year that something was just not coming my way,” Grosjean said. “We worked hard to find something.”
Pato O’Ward will start third as the fastest Chevrolet-powered driver in the field after a top lap of 1:00.0163 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
“Man, those Andretti cars are quick around here,” O’Ward said. “We knew that coming into the weekend. I’ve got to say the team arrived here with such a good package for me compared to last year. Last year we truly started on the back foot. We’ve got a car to fight with tomorrow.”
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