Felix Rosenqvist feels closer to victory as he prepares for 100th IndyCar start

Consistency is the name of the game for Felix Rosenqvist, who began the 2025 IndyCar season with three top-seven finishes and his best start in the series in his second year aboard the No. 60 Honda of Meyer Shank Racing, ranking fourth in the standings.

Now, as the IndyCar field heads to Barber Motorsports Park for this weekend’s Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix, Rosenqvist is not desperate to get more immediately, as he feels the package – this year in a technical alliance with Chip Ganassi Racing after MSR ended a pairing with Andretti Global – is already good enough and bigger results would come naturally.

Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing

Photo by: Penske Entertainment

“I think the podium at Long Beach was very close, to be honest. We had a fuel reading error at the end, which definitely didn’t help. We were third for most of the race. I think our approach is, if you keep knocking on the door, keep qualifying well, have a good race pace, it’s going to come to us. Not just a podium, but I think a win at some point,” said Rosenqvist in a call with the media, including Motorsport.com.

“We’re not really in a hurry to get a big result or anything like that. We just want to do what we do and improve the little things we can. It’ll come to us when the moment is there. But yeah, I think honestly every weekend now it seems like we have a good chance of getting a good result.

Conquering tricky Barber

“I think Barber is always a bit tricky. It’s one of those tracks where you never really know what you’re going to get when you show up. I’m not going to tell you that I’m going to go and win Barber. (But) there’s nothing that says we can’t. I think we’re getting stronger every race. I think we’re definitely a consistent podium contender now. I think it’s going to come. We’re just going to keep doing what we’re doing.

Birmingham last year was already a very solid race for Rosenqvist as he started fifth and finished fourth, which ended up being his best result of a season that promised much more at the time, but then failed to deliver. Both the driver and MSR want to make sure that doesn’t happen again in 2025.

“That’s a big thing we’ve been working on in the off-season. We know we’ve had speed, which we had all year, all season, last year. We probably were one of the strongest qualifiers in the field. We maintained that part this year. But I feel like we’re better in the races. We got to the point now, okay, we have this speed, how do we get the points. It’s always in the small things. It’s pit stops, strategy, tire deg, race pace, just how you flow through the weekend”, he said.

“I think the work has paid off in that aspect so far. I think last year at this time, when we were fifth in points, it was kind of hard to see what we could have done better because I feel like we just kind of nailed the first few weekends. Now it’s more like, hey, we can probably do a little bit better. Even though we’re good in the points, we still see some low-hanging fruit. That’s the big difference. We know now that we’re pretty fast. We’re working on all the important areas.

Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing

Photo by: Penske Entertainment

A team leader at MSR

As Rosenqvist prepares for his 100th IndyCar Series start this weekend, the 33-year-old seems to be embracing his role as team leader with Meyer Shank Racing after previous experiences with Chip Ganassi Racing and Arrow McLaren.

“I think when I joined Shank last year, it was kind of the natural thing to do, I guess. I don’t know if I said it, but I don’t necessarily feel like I’m calling all the shots. We’re a team organization. I think everybody’s input goes in. We take everybody’s input and discuss it. Everybody kind of pulls their weight in different ways. But I think probably having a little more confidence now as a more routine driver has certainly made a difference, like making decisions when it counts. Sometimes you’re in a tricky situation where you have to go this way, that way on a setup. You have to make the shot,” he explained.

“I think before, my first year in IndyCar, it was easier to just do what Scott (Dixon) does because he’s experienced. Now you actually have to make that decision. I think the more I’ve been in that situation, it seems to pay off pretty well, which gives you more confidence. It’s kind of a spiral in a good way.

Photos from Barber Motorsports Park – Practice