During Sunday’s IndyCar race around the streets of Detroit, Felix Rosenqvist and Alexander Rossi found themselves battling against each other for a spot on the podium.
There was not just one swap of position, but a few different instances of side by side action from the team-mates in the closing laps.
The bosses in the pit lane gave them leave to battle it out as they saw fit, and both drivers were skilled enough to keep their cars in one piece. Although, they didn’t give each other much extra room either.
Speaking after the race, Rosenqvist talked about his respect for Rossi and how he feels there was no problem to be fighting his team-mate so hard for position.
“I mean, we race hard, but I think we also race fair,” said Rosenqvist. “Obviously we like each other. We don’t have any intentions to put each other in the wall. But, yeah, it was tight.
“I think the move wasn’t really high-risk. I was completely alongside him into [turn] three. Yeah, just gets tight, man. It’s so close. He squeezed me a little bit on entry, I squeezed him a little bit on exit.
“I think it’s a good problem to have. The Arrow McLaren cars have been up there every race. You’re going to find yourself in a situation where you’re fighting team-mates.
“I think it’s something we’ll discuss internally if we can manage it differently. Obviously there were no team calls on this one, which is cool. They let us battle it out on the track.
“I think Will [Power, with Team Penske] can explain how it works when you have a lot of good cars at the front. It’s a good problem to have.”
Despite the close quarters, everything worked out quite well for the two Arrow McLaren drivers this past weekend. Rosenqvist earned his first podium of the season and Rossi came home just behind in fifth.
The team’s three drivers have logged a combined 10 top-five finishes so far this season, putting them second for that particular statistic behind the Chip Ganassi Racing squad.
Fans always appreciate an extra helping of side by side racing, and will be hoping that the team continues to allow their drivers to race each other in future races despite the high risk.
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