Arrow McLaren 2024 Grand Prix of Long Beach Friday Report

The return to the streets of Long Beach is off to a strong start.

The Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team took to the track for Practice 1 on Friday, and Pato O'Ward finished first overall, followed by Alexander Rossi in seventh and Théo Pourchaire in 21st.

On Saturday, the team is back on the 11-turn circuit for Practice 2 and qualifying.

See what the drivers and Team Principal Gavin Ward said following Friday's on-track session.

"This was a really solid start to the weekend for the team. It's similar to last year where we had strong pace. I say that knowing it is an NTT INDYCAR SERIES weekend, though, where you need to execute in every single session and maximize every opportunity that you have. You need to really find which direction you need to go because there is so much track evolution. We'll continue to work toward a strong qualifying tomorrow."

"It's good to be back in Long Beach. The car is in the window; I just think we need to fine-tune a couple things to find a little bit of speed. But overall, that was a really good start, and I'm just happy to be back here. I can't wait to get back out tomorrow and see what we can do in qualifying.

Théo Pourchaire, No. 6 onsemi Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, said:

"The car felt really good, and I enjoyed my first taste of INDYCAR racing. Every lap was a learning process for me. The track is tough physically and very bumpy, but the No. 6 onsemi Arrow McLaren Chevrolet is very powerful, and I enjoyed driving it a lot. I learned a lot throughout my first session. I had a lot of traffic when I was driving on the Firestone Alternate tires, so I couldn't finish a lap, but I think we could've been around the top 10 if we did complete a lap. That is really promising for my first time driving in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. I'm very happy with the Arrow McLaren team, as the car was great and Pato was P1, which is encouraging for the rest of the weekend. If you know the car is capable of being P1, then it gives you confidence."

Gavin Ward, Team Principal, Arrow McLaren, said:

"That was a good and very productive session. It's great to see Pato put up a good time on the Firestone Alternate tires, but you have to take that with a grain of salt in a busy, crowded session like that. It's still a good reference point for the other guys to learn off of, which is always nice. We have a couple things to figure out to unlock a touch more speed out of Alexander, but I think he's in the mix. I'm really impressed with Théo's approach through the session. He just kept building up to it. There are a couple corners where I think he's going to improve on as we keep going, but I'm very encouraged with his approach. There's a lot for him to learn today, and I told him to just enjoy it, find a rhythm and just keep building. I think he did that."

Session Start Times