Chip Ganassi’s Felix Rosenqvist labelled his “silly” crash “tough to accept” after he dropped out of IndyCar’s Genesys 300 whilst battling for the lead with just 10 laps remaining.
The Swedish driver had been running in the top five throughout the race and had been catching team-mate and eventual race-winner, Scott Dixon, in the second half of the race as the duo got caught up in lapped traffic.
After making his final pit stop, Rosenqvist attempted to follow Marco Andretti past the lapped car of James Hinchcliffe. Unfortunately, this left the Ganassi driver on the slippery high line which had lacked grip, eventually sending him into the outside wall.
“I have very rarely been this disappointed, but I guess you have to learn from your mistakes and move on,” said Rosenqvist.
“I came out of the pits on new tyres and found cars going 40 mph slower, so I had to get past them. I came up on Hinchcliffe and went for the outside, which was my decision and which in hindsight I shouldn’t have done.
“It’s a massive shame given the huge pace we’ve had here, and the team deserved this 1-2. Our NTT Data car was just unbelievable tonight.”
Rosenqvist also recognised the need to secure points in the revised 2020 IndyCar season, but took away the positive improvements on ovals.
“I didn’t feel like I was going all out crazy for the win,” he concluded. “I just wanted to roll in with a good finish and good points, and one silly thing screwed everything up. It’s a tough one to take.
“It’s one moment that destroyed an otherwise near-perfect race, and that goes to show how difficult this championship is.
“At the end of the day, we learn from mistakes, and I have to look at the positives on a day like this. It seems like all the hard work I’ve put in to improve on ovals has paid off, and that is very promising for the rest of the season.”
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