Image by Barry Cantrell/LAT


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By: Mark Glendenning | September 21, 2019 4:14 PM


Felix Rosenqvist fired a broadside at IndyCar’s stewards after a qualifying penalty prevented him from progressing out of the first round at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Saturday.

The Chip Ganassi Racing rookie ran wide on the way up the hill towards the Corkscrew and dropped a wheel into the dirt, spinning him part-way across the track. James Hinchcliffe checked up to avoid him, and Rosenqvist was able to rejoin and continue.

Race control swiftly determined that the incident constituted qualifying interference and that Rosenqvist’s two fastest laps from the session would be disallowed. Rosenqvist’s best laps would have been comfortably fast enough for him to progress to the next round, but the penalty instead relegates him to 14th for tomorrow’s race.


The penalty was consistent with rule 8.3.5 and rule 8.3.5.1, which states that “if a Car interferes with the Qualifications attempt of another Car other than through a Red Condition”… “if the violation occurs during Segment One (1) or Segment Two (2), the Car’s best two (2) timed laps during that segment shall be disallowed and the Car shall not advance to the next segment.”

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Rosenqvist’s argument was that the infraction occurred during the relatively inconsequential opening minutes of the session when drivers were still lapping on blacks before making their dedicated runs on the alternate tires.

“I don’t know what they were thinking,” said an incensed Rosenqvist. “That lap didn’t mean anything for anyone. I had a spin. Then they’re saying I blocked someone while I was spinning. It was the second lap on black tires, which doesn’t mean anything. "Those bastards sitting in their AC booth, who never raced a lap in their lives, have no idea that we are all trying as hard as we can to qualify, and spinning out is part of that."

"You don't ruin your qualifying by spinning in front of someone who is BEHIND you!"

“We were working for three days for this moment. We had the fastest time on track, and the guys just did an incredible job, and I think it’s unfair to take that away. Honestly, one of the most ridiculous decisions I have ever seen.”

"At least it's not like those IMSA guys where you have a jar of Vaseline duct-taped to the roll cage."
( https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/a...w-you-out.html )


"It's not like NASCAR where they block the pit exit with cars and the next guy can't get onto the track."

Asked whether he’d take the matter up with the series, Rosenqvist said that he didn’t see much point.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “They ruined our day. I don’t know why. Maybe someone has something against me — or they want Herta to win the rookie championship.”

Herta indeed snipped a point out of Rosenqvist’s Rookie of the Year lead by claiming pole position for the race, then promptly held up his middle finger, while gripping his left buttock.



Felix Rosenqvist, Penalty, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, IndyCar

 

'The biggest shock is where we came from' - Hinchcliffe

Image by Cantrell/LAT


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By: Mark Glendenning September 21, 2019 6:15 PM


James Hinchcliffe admits he was surprised by the scale of turnaround that the Arrow SPM team was able to produce to help him earn a place in the Fast Six during qualifying for IndyCar’s season finale at Laguna Seca on Saturday.

Both Arrow SPM cars had struggled during the opening part of the weekend, and Hinchcliffe told RACER that they only hit upon the change that made the difference late in the third practice session on Saturday morning.

“It’s shocking for us to think that it’s only our second Fast Six of the year, but the biggest shock is which redneck country music bar we came from,” said Hinchcliffe, who will start tomorrow’s race from fifth on the grid, "thanks to my inspector buddies who sent that other bastard to the tail end of the field."

Off the pace in the first two practice sessions, the Arrow SPM team made a ‘philosophy change’ in P3, boosting a surprised Hinchcliffe into the Fast Six in qualifying. Image by Cantrell/LAT


“This whole weekend has been a huge struggle for us across all the cars — we haven’t really had the pace that we’ve had at other road courses this year. Through the test day, through Friday — even the overnight changes we made this morning weren’t good. But then halfway through P3, we took a new philosophy, threw it at it — we really had nothing to lose at that point — and put the car into the window where we could drive it.

“That was P3 after the new tire run, so I had one run on it before qualifying. It was a very different set-up, very different driving required; but the guys didn’t give up — they kept trying to find a new solution, and I’m really proud of them for getting that done today.”

Hinchcliffe expects those gains to carry over into tomorrow’s race, although as with the rest of the field, the high levels of tire degradation that have been evident through the weekend will present a challenge.

“Even on the blacks on the banker laps, we were inside the top six for all of those sessions, so luckily the balance doesn’t seem to be shifting too strong from reds to blacks,” he said. “So I think balance-wise it will be OK. It’s just how we do with degradation. That’s going to be the big thing tomorrow. The tires are falling off in a big way here, which is great because it makes the racing exciting, but it definitely makes things more complicated for us in the cockpit.”

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Hinchcliffe’s road to the Fast Six included his playing an unwitting part in qualifying’s main moment of drama, when Felix Rosenqvist spun across the track during the first round. Hinchcliffe lost 0.7s avoiding the stationary Ganassi car, prompting race control to dock the Swede his two fastest laps and denying him passage into the next round — a sanction that earned a blistering rebuke from the rookie.

“That’s a tough one,” said Hinchcliffe. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to anybody from IndyCar to have them explain why it wasn’t just a yellow flag penalty and why it was an interference penalty. I want to know what the difference is. Technically you interfere with somebody when you cause a yellow, but there shouldn’t be a yellow flag penalty if that’s how they’re going to do it. But if you interfere with them by causing a yellow, it should default to the yellow.

“I mean, the point of the interference penalty in my understanding is to stop guys from blocking and holding a guy up; and that’s not what he did. He was sideways on the racetrack; he wasn’t intentionally holding me up.

“I feel bad for him. Obviously he’s been super-quick all weekend. But IndyCar made a decision, and it is what it is.”
So bend over buddy, that's racing.


Arrow Schmidt Peterson, James Hinchcliffe, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, IndyCar