Skip to content

Arrow McLaren Grand Prix at Road America Qualifying Report

McLaren RacingArrow McLaren Grand Prix at Road America Qualifying Report

17 June 2023 00:00 (UTC)

ARROW McLAREN GRAND PRIX AT ROAD AMERICA: QUALIFYING REPORT

"It will be interesting to see how the race plays out"

Arrow McLaren Grand Prix at Road America Qualifying Report Sponsor

All that's left is race day at Road America.

Alexander Rossi set the fastest lap again in Practice 2, now quickest in both practice sessions this weekend. 

In qualifying, Pato O'Ward finished second, while Alexander was fifth and Felix Rosenqvist qualified 16th.

The 55-lap race in the Grand Prix at Road America takes place Sunday for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES in Round 8 of the season's calendar.

After qualifying, now catch up with Pato, Alexander, Felix and Racing Director Gavin Ward said.

Race Date

June 18, 2023

Round

8 of 17

Total Laps

55 laps

Total Race Distance

220.55 miles / 354.94 km

Length

4.05 miles / 6.52 km

Number of Turns

14

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

"We've had a great car all weekend. The test last week was good for us, obviously, as we led both practices. It was a messy qualifying for us; I got a pit speed penalty in Round 1, which really put us on the back foot because we never got a lap down on Firestone Reds. You can't make those mistakes. That one's on me.

"The car has been great all weekend, and it's still our best road and street course qualifying by far this year, so we'll take that positive. We certainly have a car that can win the race tomorrow."

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

"Front row start, we just missed pole there by a tad. I got a little wide in the Canada Corner [Turn 12]. By then, you can't back off, so I rode through it. I think that's where we lost it a bit. 

"This is a very good starting position for us. It's a long race. It’ll be interesting tomorrow with the Firestone Reds and Blacks because the reds just aren't faster. That's usually the complete opposite everywhere else we've ever been. I'm happy with the car, and we're ready to flow with it tomorrow."

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

"I made a mistake on my Firestone Black tire run. We decided to run new blacks to start the round and in Turn 12, as I was finishing the lap, I had a wobble and basically threw away the lap. From then on, there was the red flag and it was hard to come back from that. It was on me, I made a mistake. Normally, I'm pretty good at piecing a lap together, but it didn't work out today. I think we definitely had a car for the Firestone Fast Six. You can fight from here on this track, we'll just have to regroup for tomorrow."

Gavin Ward, Racing Director, Arrow McLaren, said:

"Pato starting in P2, we can win from there. Alexander in P5 is not a bad place to start here, either. Who knows what’s going to happen in the race? We’ve seen a lot of people making mistakes so far this weekend. There have been a lot of incidents, so it will be interesting to see how the race plays out. Usually, it’s pretty hard to make a lot of hay here, so we’ve got a little bit of work to do with Felix. It’s pretty frustrating. In the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, as competitive as it is, you have to nail everything. We didn’t quite execute, but tomorrow is another day."

Session Times

Warmup

Sunday, 10:15 - 10:45 a.m. ET

Tune In

Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET on USA Network

Green Flag

Sunday, 1:30 p.m. ET

ARROW McLAREN INDYCAR TEAM

PARTNERS
Chevrolet - Grid Logo
NTT Data - Grid Logo
Smartstop - Grid Logo
VELO - Grid Logo
Onsemi - Grid Logo
California Closets Logo
Collars & Co. - Grid Logo
Expand Machinery - Grid Logo
Firestone - Grid Logo
Keco - Grid Logo
Mechanix Wear - Grid Logo
NewAge Products Logo
Republic Airways - Grid Logo
Stratasys - Grid Logo