Felix Rosenqvist executed a nearly flawless race, but he was still left standing on the second-highest step on the podium in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
After starting on pole in the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda, Rosenqvist was stellar in controlling the race and keeping four-time and defending IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou safely behind.
However, on lap 57, debris in Turn 3 brought out a caution (the first since 2024), that negated the Rosenqvist’s 3s advantage and set up the last round of pit stops. And it was there that, despite a smooth stop and accelerating off pit road, he was left looking at the rear wing of Palou’s #10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank w/ Curb-Agajanian
Photo by: Penske Entertainment
Though Rosenqvist tried to make the most of the restart with 29 laps to go, he was unable to mount a charge and finished a defeated 3.9663s to the Spaniard.
“I’m just happy it [the pit stop] didn’t screw up our race,” said Rosenqvist, 34. “Things like that can happen. You just end up ruining your whole day. Effectively we were in the same spot.
But the annoying thing for me was I had a bit of a cushion, I had like 2.3 seconds or something. I felt like even with a bad stop, we’ll probably stay ahead. We also did well on fuel stints. These things happen. I kind of knew it was going to be yellow at some point. There it came, so… Yeah, a little bit frustrating. End of the day Alex and his crew did a better job in that moment of pressure there. It’s just something to learn from.”
Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank w/ Curb-Agajanian
Photo by: Penske Entertainment
Rosenqvist led a race-high 51 of the 90 laps, which also stands as the most he’s led in a single race in his IndyCar career.
Having come in with zero top 10s in the opening four races to start the season, finishing 12th (twice – St. Petersburg, Phoenix) over that span, Rosenqvist was eager to deliver a strong result. And although he did that, being so close to his second career win in North America’s premier open-wheel championship is bittersweet.
“It’s definitely a mix,” said Rosenqvist, who has seven career poles. “I think all in all we got to be happy as a weekend for us at Meyer Shank Racing. We had a win yesterday with Nick (Yelloly and Renger van der Zande) in IMSA. We had a pole there as well, then a pole here and a P2. We just fell short of a grand slam.
“If you kind of take the perspective, it’s been a very, very good weekend. Obviously you want to win when you have the opportunity. I’m proud of today. I think everything we were working on paid off today. I’ve been in this position many times before, being on pole or at the front, then something kind of fell short.
“I feel like today we just had really, really solid pace. Actually incredible pace on the reds (softer alternate tires), not as good as Alex on the blacks. I just kind of struggled a little bit on that last stint. It was going to be hard to pass him anyways.
That last pit cycle was the defining moment. I don’t even think we had that bad of a stop. We had to come around the 14 (AJ Foyt Racing’s Caio Collet). I don’t know if Alex had an open in. Details like that matter. It didn’t seem like a super slow stop, but he probably nailed it or his crew.
“Yeah, that happens. End of the day I’ll gladly take a P2 today.”
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