Rosenqvist sees Long Beach pole as a chance for a season reset

The first part of Felix Rosenqvist’s IndyCar season hasn’t gone entirely according to the script, but the Swede is hoping that pole for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Long Beach will deliver a reset.

Rosenqvist comes into the weekend 14th in the points with best finishes of 12th at St. Petersburg and Phoenix, and said that besting the field in qualifying on Saturday – his second Long Beach pole in three years – is an important step toward arresting the slide.

“It was exactly what we were looking for,” he said. “When you're struggling, it doesn't come easy. It's kind of between the races where you find the problems. You show up and hopefully it's better. We were quick from the get-go here.

“I feel like the confidence you get from something like this, it's obviously huge not only for me but everyone in the team after having a bit of a drought in terms of results. Yeah, super happy with it.”

The pole was the seventh of the Meyer Shank driver’s career, although his 2020 win at Road America still stands as the only IndyCar victory. Working out how to convert Saturday speed into Sunday results has been his priority, and an area where he says he’s made progress. For this weekend, he believes his fortunes hang on how kind he can be to his Firestones.

“I think race pace is literally the only thing I've been focusing on all off-season, all season,” he said. “Qualifying, we always feel like the speed is there. We try to really maximize the time we have to figure out how to go quicker in the races.

“I'll say we've done some good progress in that area, especially from second part of last year and even this year. I should say qualifying has been more of an issue this year.

“I think just looking after the tires has been a thing for me many times in the situation where I have to pit early. That's definitely something you don't want to happen. Just keep an eye on tires, I think we'll be good.”