Andretti Autosport's Alexander Rossi believes qualifying for the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterrey at Laguna Seca could prove pivotal to the outcome of the 2019 NTT IndyCar championship.
The Californian circuit is a notoriously tough place to overtake. When the series was last at Laguna Seca, in three of the last five CART races from 2000 to 2004, the pole sitter has gone on to win the race.
Rossi, despite his reputation for making tough overtakes work in his favour, feels the opportunity to win his first IndyCar title would be a much easier affair should he make the front row.
In Rossi's hands, the #28 NAPA car does have two pole positions to its name from Long Beach and the first race of the Detroit doubleheader, both of which were achieved in dominant fashion.
Currently 41 points behind championship leader Josef Newgarden, Rossi would need to win the double-points season finale with the Penske driver seventh or lower, emphasising the importance of qualifying ahead of his rivals.
"I've been saying for a while this championship very well could be decided in qualifying at Laguna," said Rossi. "It's no secret that we're expecting it to be a challenging race to pass just because of its history.
"So, yeah, I mean, it's 100% going to be a critical qualifying session that you're going to have to be inch-perfect and nail it through all three rounds.
"The guy that's on pole, if he's one of the guys that are in the championship fight, it's going to make their job to win the thing a whole lot easier."
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