Sweden’s Marcus Ericsson opened the new IndyCar Series campaign with a bang, pulling ahead late in the race to win the Firestone Grand Prix in St. Petersburg on Sunday in Florida.
Ericsson finished 2.4113 seconds ahead of runner-up Pato O’Ward from Mexico. New Zealand’s Scott Dixon, Alexander Rossi and Great Britain’s Callum Ilott rounded out the top five.
Ericsson, driver of the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, claimed his fourth IndyCar Series victory and his first since winning the Indianapolis 500 last May.
“I think people forget us in some conversations too, when they talk about the championship. We’re here to win,” Ericsson said in his televised interview after the race. “We won the 500 last year. We led the championship for a long time. That’s our mission this year, so this is a good start to that.”
O’Ward was left frustrated after his car briefly lost power with three laps remaining, allowing Ericsson to pass him and hold on for the win.
“We did everything right today. There’s always something,” O’Ward said. “The boys earned it. Dallas is next, so we’re going to fight for it. Compared to where we were last year here, it’s a huge step. We just gave it away. We can’t make it happen anymore.”
British driver Jack Harvey was involved in an accident when his car hit a tire barrier and Kyle Kirkwood’s car went airborne, running over Rinus VeeKays and Harveys. Harvey was in stable condition but was taken to a hospital for further evaluation, according to IndyCar.
Frenchman Romain Grosjean started in pole position but crashed alongside reigning champion Scott McLaughlin in St. Petersburg.
–Field Level Media
Source: sn.dk
