Felix Rosenqvist believes the sense of freedom that came with having his IndyCar future sorted ahead of this weekend’s season-finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca helped to put him in the position to fight for pole for Sunday’s race.
The Swede edged out Scott McLaughlin to claim pole for what will be his final race with Arrow McLaren. Questions around his next steps were answered earlier this week when it was announced that he will move to Meyer Shank Racing next year, and Rosenqvist said that the finalizing that deal felt liberating.
“Like most of us, we don’t like to admit that we’re struggling or being under pressure,” he said. “Obviously I’ve been in the situation for quite a long time where I don’t really know what my future’s going to hold. I always kind of played it off like, ‘It’s fine, I got it under control.’
“I think a couple months ago, I started having some bad results. We had a lot of DNFs and stuff. Kind of things out of my control. You get to a point where you have to settle something for next year. It’s obviously stressful. I think that actually got to me a bit.
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“Having [now] signed a multi-year contract, I couldn’t really believe how free I would feel after that, so… It’s kind of a good reminder for the future [that] when you feel stressed out, you have to take care of those things first, make sure you’re nice and relaxed at the track.”
Rosenqvist said he is keenly aware of the significance of signing off on his tenure with Arrow McLaren with a pole position.
“In a way, it’s ironic,” he said. “It’s just kind of proving the pace we have, that we keep having. Things haven’t been straightforward. We haven’t been good enough this year. I made a lot of mistakes. The team made a lot of mistakes. We had some unfortunate things happening.
“The number one thing you want to keep showing as a driver is your pace. Obviously, Portland [ED: where he finished second] was a very good weekend for us. To kick off this weekend like this is just perfect.
“As I say, it’s the last weekend with the team, so a bit emotional obviously. I love all these guys and girls in Arrow McLaren. It’s definitely a perfect way to end things.”