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Alabama Indy Grand Prix Race Report

"It was a really strong result for us. I'm happy with P4"

Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team logo

The weekend in Birmingham, Alabama comes to a close.

The Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team walks away from the fourth round of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES with three cars inside the top 10.

Pato O'Ward closes the race in the fourth position, followed by Alexander Rossi in eighth and Felix Rosenqvist in ninth.

The No. 5 team moves closer to the points lead, only three points behind leader Marcus Ericcson.

See what the drivers and Racing Director Gavin Ward said after the 90-lap event at Barber.

Race Date Sunday, April 30
Round 4 of 17
Total laps 90 laps
Total race distance 207 miles / 333.13 km
Length 2.38 miles / 3.83 km
Number of turns 17

Pato O'Ward, Driver, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, said:

"We had to get a massive number, and I really don't know how we kept up the pace like that at the end. It was a great car, and I'm very happy with how we did this weekend. Obviously, when you look back now with how everything played out, I think we were on the wrong strategy. No one made a mistake, that's just a roll of the dice you have to take at the beginning of the race. Scott McLaughlin and Will Power were on the good end of it, a couple others too. Nevertheless, it was a really strong result for us. I'm happy with P4."

Starting Position 3rd
Finishing Position 4th
Championship Points 2nd, 127 points

Alexander Rossi, Driver, No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, said:

"There were a lot of positives from today. I think we underperformed in qualifying. You can look at everything in hindsight and look at it differently, but, ultimately, the car was fast all weekend. We are continuing to gel and learn together as a team, so overall, I’m happy. It’s just when you have pace, and only walk away with eighth, it’s disappointing. It’s a good problem to have."

Starting Position 10th
Finishing Position 8th
Championship Points 14th, 72 points

Felix Rosenqvist, Driver, No. 6 NTT DATA Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, said:

"That was fun race. I made a mistake on the first lap running into Josef (Newgarden) on the start. I just drove too hot into Turn 2, and, luckily, he didn’t get spun around. But I spun myself into the gravel.
 
"We turned last into passing a lot of cars in the first stint. We pitted early, and were able to spend the next two stints in clear air. That’s where we got back in the race. The last yellow didn’t play into our favor, so, potentially, there was a top-five in this car. It was a good recovery to basically go from last to P9. It was a super good car today and a fun race."

Starting Position 8th
Finishing Position 9th
Championship Points 15th, 66 points

Gavin Ward, Racing Director, Arrow McLaren, said:

"It wasn't a glamorous day, but it was a good day. At the end of the day, we got all three cars in the top nine and ahead of the championship leader, and Pato comes out of here three points behind the lead in the championship. We always go racing because we want to win, but our focus is on the championship. We know the key to that is consistency. We can hold our heads up high, and we're looking forward to Indy road course."