Arrow McLaren had a wonderful Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at the GMR Grand Prix of Indianapolis on the IMS road course. Felix Rosenqvist started the race from second place on the grid and came home in fifth place. Alexander Rossi, who joined the team over the 2022 off-season, scored his first podium for his new team as he came from tenth place to finish the race in third place.
Pato O’Ward in the No.5 Arrow McLaren ended the race in second place and is currently in second place in the championship. Speaking following the action he commented saying:
”Hats off to everyone. My competitors were extremely strong today, they really were, so congrats Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing, but for us we’re P2, P3 and P5 as a team. That’s pretty phenomenal, and the team gave me a great race car. We were kind of just running our own race today. We were there fighting with Lundgaard and all of my teammates, but once I got in front of them, I just had to try and minimize the gap with Palou, but I just think they were very strong today. We were kind of hanging on there at the end, just trying to not destroy our Firestone Reds, bring it home and bring some solid points.”
Alexander Rossi in the No.7 VELO Chevrolet spoke following the race saying:
“To get three cars in the top five is nearly impossible these days. Arrow McLaren has done a phenomenal job all year. You can’t talk enough about how challenging it is to add a car in the off-season, and we’ve done it with relative apparent ease. I know there’s a lot of work behind the scenes, but I’m really proud to get the first podium for the team and the first one as a part of Team Chevy. It was a good day. We’ve had really strong pace on race days, we just haven’t gotten the results that we feel like we deserve. We’re missing a little bit on qualifying days, but the pieces are coming together and I’ve got an awesome team and awesome teammates around me.”
Felix Rosenqvist in the No.6 SmartStop Chevrolet finished the race in fifth place and speaking following the race he commented saying:
”Indy GP is done, finished with P5. Top five for the whole team, Pato P2 and Alexander P3, so big congrats to them and the whole team. That’s a massive statement going into May, and I think in NTT INDYCAR SERIES, it’s kind of rare to do that. Personally, I wasn’t super pleased with how the race went. It could have been better, but hey, it’s a P5. After starting P2, it’s not terrible, but I feel like this track is still a bit of a mystery for me, but we’ll keep pushing. In general, big smiles into the 500.”
Arrow McLaren Race Director Gavin Ward commented saying:
“Two cars on the podium, all three in the top five, is a great day for the team. It’s a fantastic day, probably one of the best days the team’s had. You always want more, but I think this is a good day for the team to kind of realize what we’re capable of. We’re nipping at the heels of something pretty special, so this is great morale boost and confidence boost going into the big one.”
Tony Kanaan will join the race team on Tuesday as he prepares for his final Indianapolis 500.