2021 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Practice Report

#5: Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet
Streets of St. Petersburg 
Date: Sunday, April 25 
Round: 2/17 
Race laps: 100 
Total race distance: 180 miles/289.68 km 
Length: 1.8 miles/2.89 km 
Number of turns: 14 
Remaining session start times: 
Practice 2: Saturday, 9:45 – 10:30 a.m. ET 
Qualifying: Saturday, 1:45 – 3:00 p.m. ET 
Green Flag: Sunday, 12:30 p.m. ET 
TUNE IN: Sunday, 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC 
Felix Rosenqvist – No. 7 Vuse Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet
Practice 1: 7th, 1:00.9956 “We had some issues with the gearbox, so we were kinda delayed on getting out. We got some solid laps in at the end. I think the baseline was good, and I think we are competitive. Definitely some things to trim out and to improve on with the No. 7 Vuse Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, but to start with, it was a pretty good feeling.”
Pato O’Ward – No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet
Practice: 9th, 1:01.0603 “First practice in the books. We have to get the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet more in the window. We are lacking in a few places, so we will make sure to make some good changes for tomorrow. We will see how we stack up in Practice 2, but it’s really tight out there. The first 18 were within three or four tenths. It’s going to be a really tight qualifying, but it’s going to be very important for the race. When you start up front here, it’s definitely a lot easier on both the driver and team than when you start at the back.”
Taylor Kiel – President, Arrow McLaren SP
“It is nice to be back in St. Pete on a street course. It’s been a little while. These events are pretty bit tricky because you don’t get to test at circuits like this very often. We came here with a package that we have kind of fine tuned over the years. It is close but it’s not perfect. We have some work to do tonight, but the engineers have a direction and we know what they need to do. We will get it done overnight and see how it is tomorrow.”