Arrow McLaren SP’s Pato O’Ward in the No.5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet says that following the opening two races in St Pete and Texas he will take his fifth-place finish in Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
O’Ward started the race from eleventh place and came home in fifth place and speaking following the action he said:
After the first two races of the season, I’ll take finishing fifth. It is a good solid foundation to build on for the rest of the year. We can work from here. We learned some good things through warm-up and the race that should help us when we come back and when we go to another street course.
“I think this is a very solid start to our charge for a championship. I know it’s the third race, but this is what we needed. Barber is next and I love that place.
Felix Rosenqvist in the No.7 Vuse Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet started the race from fourth place however, he fell back during the 85 lap race and finished the event in eleventh place and speaking following the race, the Swede said:
After a horrible first stint, with a lot of tire degradation, I had no rubber left on the tires. It’s a familiar thing at this point with the last event being the same deal. That’s something we really need to solve. I’m not sure if it is driving-related, setup-related or maybe a little bit of both. It’s something we have to fix, because we can’t afford to miss opportunities like today where we had a potential top-five result in the bag.
“It all started slipping away and we were trying to survive out there with massive degradation. It’s a shame to come home 11th, but there are some positives to take away. We had good speed this weekend and we were excited and ready to go. We all want to capitalize on a good finish, and right now that would be good for all of us.
Arrow McLaren SP Team President Taylor Kiel commented saying:
Overall it was a solid day for Arrow McLaren SP, especially given how chaotic the weekend was on track. Pato did a great job of letting the race come to him and slowly working his way toward the front. He drove a smart race, avoided some incidents in front of him and finished fifth.
“Felix started fourth and was keeping pace with the leaders but unfortunately his tires started to fall off sooner than we would have liked during the first stints. He dropped quite a few places but was eventually able to make his way up and finish 11th.
“I can’t say enough about how strong both Arrow McLaren SP crews were today, the pit stops were flawless. I’m proud of the hard work that everybody put in all week and hopefully this is a turning point as we head to Barber in a few weeks.
McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown who was himself racing at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach commented following the race saying:
First top-five finish for Arrow McLaren SP and Pato O’Ward today in Long Beach. Felix Rosenqvist fought hard all race as well and finished 11th.Solid job all around for the team and we’ll look forward to starting the Month of May in Barber. all around for the team and we’ll look forward to starting the Month of May in Barber.