INDIANAPOLIS – Felix Rosenqvist’s rookie season in the NTT IndyCar Series has been a combination of speed, potential and learning. The driver from Sweden drives the No. 10 NTT DATA Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing and has been quite impressive in his debut season.
Rosenqvist got another learning experience on Wednesday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and this one was part of a valuable lesson.
He learned the limit of the race car at the four-cornered, 2.5-mile speedway and hit the Turn 2 wall in the final hour of practice.
Rosenqvist was uninjured but the car was badly damaged as it was returned to the team’s garages in Gasoline Alley.
“It went very quickly,” Rosenqvist told NTT INDYCAR Mobile. “What I can remember is I had a bit of understeer coming into the corner behind Colton Herta. There was a bunch of air on my front wing and that when the car snapped.
“I really feel like there is a lot to learn and every track scenario is different. There is still a lot for me to learn.”
Rosenqvist took his crash course on the delicate art of high-speed racing at IMS and will take this experience and learn from it. He will be back for more today when practice resumes for the 103rd Indianapolis 500 at 11 a.m. ET. All practices this week can be seen on the INDYCAR Pass on the NBC Sports Gold platform.
By the end of the month, Rosenqvist is hoping to learn enough to master IMS, but that is a difficult task for even the savviest veterans.
Rosenqvist ended Wednesday’s sessions 16th on the speed list with a fast lap of 226.787 mph. He ran 95 laps in the session.
“I’ve been taking it really slow, step-by-step on every run,” Rosenqvist said. “Overall, it was a positive day. Jack Harvey was really close and did a good job of keeping away from having a clash there. It’s difficult with a car coming across the track like that.
“It just snapped and that happens quick on the ovals. With the experience I have, it is hard to get to the limit because the limit hits you pretty hard.
“This track can bite you pretty quick.”
Indianapolis Motor Speedway has a way of bringing a driver back to reality and that happened to the 27-year-old Wednesday.
“I felt good, was getting better and better every run,” Rosenqvist said. “I guess I got too much confidence there on that final run.
“Big thanks to Chip Ganassi for building a safer car. I’m fine after taking a big hit so I’m good to go after the car is ready again.”