Quali Report: St. Petersburg

With Saturday's on-track action complete on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, the Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team feels ready to fight on race day.

Pato O'Ward starts the season with his first Firestone Fast Six performance in qualifying and will start Sunday's 100-lap event from the third position. Felix Rosenqvist ran quickest in Group 1 of Round 1, but wasn't able to capitalize in Round 2 despite going quicker and will start eighth. Also in Round 2, Alexander Rossi had a tire lockup entering Turn 1, forcing him to start the race from 12th on Sunday.

Read what Arrow McLaren's Racing Director Gavin Ward and the drivers Pato O'Ward, Felix Rosenqvist and Alexander Rossi said after a practice and qualifying session on Saturday.

Key info

"We've got a car to fight with tomorrow. I'm really, really happy with it. From the first practice, we didn't get the cleanest of runs on every single tire, but we knew we had a competitive car, so coming into qualifying, it was just all about executing. I'm excited for tomorrow, I really am."

"It was a good qualifying. It's tough when you miss out by a couple of hundredths. It's so tight. I think there are six guys within the same tenth of a second. It's hard to be mad about this spot because I did my lap, and our strategy was to go out early. I think the track maybe got a little bit better toward the end of the session, but that is race management, and it paid off in Q1 and maybe didn't pay off in Q2. We're up there, and we're looking good for the race."

"It was a good recovery from yesterday. I think we had some issues that we weren't able to resolve, and those were rectified for the most part today. A little bit disappointed to be P12, but ultimately I think it was a good effort from the team to get us back into a competitive spot. The cars are quick, as you can see with the results from Pato and Felix got today. We'll keep understanding overnight and come back tomorrow."

Gavin Ward, Racing Director, Arrow McLaren, said:

"Pretty good start to the season qualifying for the team. Having all cars in the top 12 is a pretty good achievement with how tight this series is these days. At the end of the day, the key to the championship is getting consistent top-six finishes, and I think all of our drivers can do that tomorrow. We'll get our heads down to try to figure out the best way to do that."

Session times

Join the team

McLaren Plus is our free-to-join fan loyalty program, bringing McLaren fans closer to the team with the most inclusive, rewarding and open-to-all fan programs in motor sports.

Sign up now, or current members can amend their details in the form below if necessary.