Arrow McLaren 2023 Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey Practice and Qualifying Report

WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca

Practice and qualifying date: Saturday, September 9

Round: 17/17

Total laps: 95 Laps

Total race distance: 212.6 miles/342.2 km

Length: 2.24 miles/3.60 km

Number of turns: 11

Session start times:

• Warm-Up: Sunday, 9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. PT
• Green Flag: Sunday, 12:26 p.m. PT

TUNE IN: Sunday, 11:30 a.m. PT on NBC

Felix Rosenqvist, No. 6 NTT DATA Arrow McLaren Chevrolet 

Practice 2: 16th, 01:08.2508

Total Laps: 25

Qualifying:

• Round 1, Group 1: 5th, 01:07.2403
• Round 2: 4th, 01:06.7574
• Firestone Fast Six: 1st, 01:06.6416

Starting Position: P1

“That was a killer lap. I had to wrestle my way to it, and there were some sketchy moments, but that made it so much more special. A big thanks to my Arrow McLaren crew, NTT DATA and Team Chevrolet. Tomorrow will be our last race together, so this is an awesome way to get that going. Track position is super important here, so we’ve given ourselves a great opportunity for a positive race.”

Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

Practice 2: 27th, 01:09.4812

Total Laps: 6

Qualifying:

• Round 1, Group 2: 1st, 01:06.8459
• Round 2: 12th, 01:07.9392

Starting Position: P12

“Not the best qualifying for us. It was probably one of our worst all year. I’m not sure what made the balance shift so much in Q2 versus Q1 for me. I just couldn’t extract the lap time. But I’m happy for the team with Felix’s pole. Tomorrow we’ll have three cars with pace starting in three parts of the field, the front, middle and rear. We’re going to give it everything we have to finish our season strong.”

Alexander Rossi, No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet 

Practice 2: 4th, 01:07.8522

Total Laps: 18

Qualifying:

• Round 1, Group 1: 9th, 01:07.5425

Starting Position: P17

“The car was great. There wasn’t much more we could do there once a red flag comes out and takes it away from you. It was the best car we’ve had through the weekend so to not break out of Round 1 is really disappointing. Colton Herta and I have had probably the strongest cars all weekend, and we’re starting in the back half of the field. It’s a shame, but I’m really happy for Felix on pole.”

Gavin Ward, Racing Director, Arrow McLaren

“There’s no better way to mark Felix’s last qualifying with the team than securing a pole position. Historically winners tend to come from the front row here, so this is a good place to start. He put in an awesome lap there, just nailed it on a day where a lot of people made mistakes.

“Alexander got super unlucky with the timing of the red flag. It seemed to be a bit of a detriment to come out at the front of the train because the first three cars out after the red all struggled. I do think that the car has great underlying pace, and he could’ve been right up there. So we’ll have to get creative tomorrow.

“Finally, Pato had a mysterious balance shift with the Q2 set of Firestone Reds relative to Q1, which caught him out there. He was doing the best he could, but clearly it’s something we need to learn from. We’ll go again tomorrow.

“We’re ready for the final race of the season. Let’s see if we can get it done from pole position tomorrow.”