Colton Herta in the No.26 Gainbridge Andretti Autosport Honda started Sunday’s Honda Indy Toronto from 14th on the grid to claim his first podium finish of the year coming home in third place.
We finished the Honda Indy Toronto in P3, and it was a crazy one. We had to focus on fuel saving big time near the end of the race, but it ended up being the right strategy because we went from starting 14th to finishing 3rd. The No. 26 Gainbridge Honda team nailed it this weekend and helped to push me forward. I’m really excited for my first podium of the year and what’s next to come.”
Kyle Kirkwood in the No.27 AutoNation Honda started the race from eighth place but fell backward and came home in 15th and speaking following the action he said:
“We had a really fast race car all day long, but I got caught up in an incident that set me back. The situation resulted in a stop and go penalty that set the course for the rest of the race, and we were able to finish 15th. Not where we wanted to end the day at today, but the No. 27 team did a good job this weekend and we’ll just have to bring our A game in Iowa.”
There was disappointment for Romain Grosjean in the No.28 DHL Honda who started the race from ninth but was forced to retire from the event after hitting the wall.
The Frenchman apparently lost grip of his steering wheel result in hitting the wall and speaking following the action he said:
“When I was coming around that turn I just lost the steering wheel. It was a difficult handling recovery to make and I lost the steering wheel in an attempt to maneuver it. Disappointed that we had to cut the race short today, but we’ll just have to move forward from here and focus on the next one.”
Devlin DeFrancesco started his home race from 22nd place and came home in 23rd and speaking following the race he said:
I felt good with the car during warm up today and was happy with how we ran, but we ended up running into some mechanical issues that prevented me from finishing today. I’m feeling disappointed that this happened considering this is my home race, but I know that the team will evaluate the issues we were having and address them properly. I like racing on ovals so I’m looking forward to going to Iowa and getting back out on the track.”
Andretti Autosport Chief Operating Officer Rob Edwards said:
Well, we couldn’t quite replicate the events of the Formula E race in Rome today, but we’re super happy to get Colton back on the podium. It’s unfortunate what happened to both the No. 27 and No. 28 cars during the race since they obviously had the speed to do well, but their incidents ultimately set them back. Also, with this being Devlin’s home race, we hoped for more for him, but we’ll evaluate the issues the car experienced and make improvements where needed so we’re ready for the next race. We’re excited for the doubleheader next week in Iowa and are looking forward to getting back on an oval.”