Grosjean put in a late lap to overtake his team-mate for the top qualifying spot. Photo: Kevin Dejewski
The first IndyCar race of the 2023 season produced a dramatic qualifying session from the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.
When the checkered flag waived, it was fan favorite Romain Grosjean who was at the top of the timesheets, earning his second IndyCar pole position, and his first on a street course.
Grosjean completed his fastest lap at the end of the Fast 6 session, running a lap of the 1.8-mile course in a scant 59.5532 seconds.
Andretti Autosport came out swinging in qualifying, with the front row locked out by the historic team. It was Colton Herta that will join the Frenchman leading the field away, as he was a few tenths of a second slower on Saturday afternoon.
Pato O’Ward earned the third starting position, logging a lap just over the magic one minute barrier. He will start alongside Marcus Ericsson on the second row.
Kyle Kirkwood did not ultimately share the same fortune as his team-mates, as he hit the wall hard just moments after starting his first flying lap in the Fast 6 round. A small mistake and a lockup of his front tires was all that it took to take the sophomore driver out of pole contention.
Scott McLaughlin also had trouble in the final round, spinning dramatically into the final hairpin. The same corner gave the Kiwi trouble earlier in the weekend, and was the culprit that ensured he will start from the third row on Sunday.
Alex Palou just missed out on the Fast 6, with McLaughlin pipping the Spaniard in the final seconds of the second round but just one hundredth of a second.
Palou joins his Ganassi team-mate Scott Dixon in the lower half of the top 10, with only Felix Rosenqvist slotted between them in eighth.
Josef Newgarden had a disappointing run and failed to advance out of the first round. He will have to start from all the way down in 14th position.
Remarkably, considering how many cars were wrecked in the earlier practice sessions, there was very little in the way of carnage before the final round.
Simon Pagenaud was the one exception, and the veteran was forced to retire after out-braking himself into the tricky turn 4 and hitting the tire barriers in the first session of the afternoon.
The record-breaking 27-car field will take the green Sunday afternoon at 12:30 Eastern Time.
Keyword: Grosjean earns stunning IndyCar pole at St. Petersburg