Competing in his fourth full-time season in the NTT IndyCar Series, Felix Rosenqvist is within reach of a milestone start. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s GMR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, the driver of the No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet will make his 50th career start in the IndyCar Series.
A native of Värnamo, Sweden, Rosenqvist, the 2015 European Formula 3 champion with an extensive competition and race-winning background across a variety of motorsports regions, made his inaugural presence in the IndyCar Series at the start of the 2019 season. By then, Rosenqvist, who was also coming off two strong seasons in Formula E, joined forces with Chip Ganassi Racing to replace Ed Jones and pilot the No. 10 Dallara-Honda.
Making his debut in the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in March, Rosenqvist notched a strong fourth-place result after starting third and leading 31 laps. During the following 11 scheduled events, he achieved his maiden pole at the Indianapolis Grand Prix Circuit in May and a total of seven top-10 results.
In late July, Rosenqvist earned his first IndyCar podium result at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course after finishing in second place behind teammate Scott Dixon. The following event at Pocono Raceway, however, he was involved in a harrowing opening lap accident after being clipped by Takuma Sato in the Tunnel Turn as his car dragged the catch fence and nearly flipped before coming to rest driver’s right-size up. Despite the wild ride, the driver emerged uninjured. Following the Pocono wreck, Rosenqvist managed to collect a second podium result of the season after finishing second at Portland International Raceway and a fifth-place result in the season-finale Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in September. By finishing sixth in the final standings, Rosenqvist captured the 2019 Rookie-of-the-Year title.
Remaining at Chip Ganassi Racing for the 2020 season, Rosenqvist rallied from a three-race slump to start the season by achieving his maiden IndyCar career victory in the second of a Road America doubleheader feature in July after overtaking Pato O’Ward with two laps remaining. Despite the win, Rosenqvist finished in the top 10 in four of the remaining 10 events to the season as he settled in 11th place in the final standings.
Following a two-year stint with Chip Ganassi Racing, Rosenqvist transitioned to Arrow McLaren SP to pilot the No. 7 Dallara-Chevrolet, where he replaced Oliver Askew and competed alongside his new teammate, Pato O’Ward. Through the first six events of the season, Rosenqvist struggled with consistency as he finished no higher than 12th, which occurred at the Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, in April.
Then during the first of two Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix events at The Raceway at Bell Isle, Michigan, Rosenqvist was involved in another harrowing accident on Lap 24 of 70 after a locked throttle to his car sent the driver head-on into the tire barriers at full speed as the car came to a rest atop the barriers. Despite surviving the incident, Rosenqvist, who was taken to a downtown Detroit hospital for further evaluation, did not participate in the following two IndyCar events at Detroit and Road America as Oliver Askew and Kevin Magnussen took turns filling in the No. 7 Dallara-Chevrolet.
Making his return at Mid-Ohio, where he finished 23rd, Rosenqvist went on to finish in the top 10 twice during the final six events of the 2021 IndyCar season, with his best on-track result being sixth place at Portland International Raceway in September. When the season concluded at California’s Long Beach Street Circuit, Rosenqvist settled in 21st place in the final standings.
Remaining at Arrow McLaren SP for the 2022 season, Rosenqvist notched his second IndyCar career pole position at Texas Motor Speedway in March and has achieved a season-best result of 11th place at the Streets of Long Beach in April. He is currently ranked in 16th place in the drivers’ standings through the first four scheduled events.
Through 49 previous IndyCar starts, Rosenqvist has achieved one victory, two poles, three podiums, 110 laps led and an average-finishing result of 13.2.
Rosenqvist is scheduled to make his 50th NTT IndyCar Series career start in the GMR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on Saturday, May 14, with coverage to occur at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.
