Alexander Rossi led 10 laps and finished third in Sunday’s NTT IndyCar Series round at California’s WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca.
It was one of Rossi’s best efforts of the season for Arrow McLaren and one he believes gives the team plenty of momentum to build upon.
“I think we were able to just start strong this weekend,” he said after the race. “Obviously qualifying was strong for us. We know how important qualifying is to get a good result in this championship. We knew we had a good shot at it today.
“I was glad we were able to manage the race and have good pace kind of in all phases. It was a welcome change of pace,” Rossi continued. “Hopefully it gives us a good foundation, good framework to go forward for what few road courses we have left in the year.”
Rossi’s teammates Pato O’Ward and Nolan Siegel finished eighth and 12th, respectively.
“I think it was a good day for the organization. I think our pace out front, pushing, was certainly better than what we could do once it kind of switched to a fuel race,” Rossi said. “Nonetheless, it was a great job by the team all around to manage a difficult race with the strategy flipping back and forth. Kind of wild there with all the restarts at the end.
“Ultimately we’ll take a lot of positives from this weekend and build on it going into Mid-Ohio where we’re starting a whole new wild, crazy, unknown era of hybrids.”
The next round of the NTT IndyCar Series will be July 6-7 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course where hybrid engine technology will be introduced.
• Romain Grosjean finished fourth and produced the best NTT IndyCar Series finish for Juncos-Hollinger Racing.
“What a good race. I think we knew we had a fast race car, but it was a tough race and we saw a few people going off [track] a few times,” Grosjean said. “I went off myself a few times. It was very physical, very hard, but I think we did an amazing job with Chevy and the whole team all weekend. I am very proud of everyone.”
• In only his third IndyCar Series race and his first for Arrow McLaren, 19-year-old Nolan Siegel raced from 23rd starting spot to finish 12th.
“I think it was a successful day. It wasn’t without its challenges, but everyone pushed through and kept at it all race long,” Siegel said. “We were able to make up a ton of spots at the end there. I’m really happy with the No. 6 NTT Data Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. The car was truly the best it’s been all weekend, and it was really fast all day. A lot of this was because of the pit stops that the crew did and the strategy that was called. I’m grateful for my crew and can’t wait to work with them more in the future.”
• Will Power was the best-finishing Team Penske driver Sunday at Laguna Seca. Power battled back throughout the day and finished seventh. However, he lost the point lead to race winner Alex Palou.
“I had a bad first lap and was last,” Power said. “Went back up to sixth, went back to 10th. It was still a good recovery day. When you can make the most of those bad days, it is good stuff for the points. It will be a tight battle to the end, but we will keep digging in the Verizon Business Chevrolet.”
• Santino Ferrucci raced the No. 14 A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet through the field to finish ninth and collect his fifth top-10 finish of the campaign.
“Another top 10. Honestly, we’re kind of on a streak right now,” Ferrucci said. “If it wasn’t, obviously, for the hiccup at Road America. Pretty bummed in myself. I feel like I let the guys down with the blocking penalty. I think we missed out on a chance to get a little closer to the top-five. The good thing is, we’re on a roll right now. We’ve got solid momentum. We’ll work on getting qualifying up, and it’ll be there.”
• Honda’s victory on Sunday was the fifth consecutive win for the manufacturer at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca since the championship returned to the Monterey Peninsula in 2019.
Honda’s first win at Laguna Seca came in 1996 with the famous pass in the “Corkscrew” by Alex Zanardi.
• Since 2022, Alex Palou has 25 top-three finishes in NTT IndyCar Series competition, most among all drivers. Team Penske teammates Josef Newgarden and Will Power are both tied for second with 17.
• Led by runner-up Colton Herta, Andretti Global placed all three of its cars in the top 10 on Sunday. Kyle Kirkwood finished fifth, while Marcus Ericsson was 10th.