Felix Rosenqvist falls just short at Long Beach after dominant drive
- Hope Van Beek
- 1 hour ago
- 6 min read
Written by Hope van Beek, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
Felix Rosenqvist delivered one of the standout performances of the 2026 IndyCar season at the Grand Prix of Long Beach, leading a race-high 51 laps and controlling much of the afternoon before ultimately settling for second place after a decisive pit sequence shifted the balance of the race.
The Meyer Shank Racing driver arrived in Long Beach searching for momentum after a difficult start to the season. What followed was a near-perfect weekend that saw him combine pace, execution and confidence, even if the final result left a sense of unfinished business.
Reflecting on the outcome, Rosenqvist struck a measured tone that balanced pride with frustration. “It’s definitely a mix. I think all in all we got to be happy as a weekend for us at Meyer Shank Racing. We had a win yesterday with Nick (Yelloly) in IMSA.
"We had a pole there as well, then a pole here and a second place. “We just fell short of a grand slam. If you kind of take the perspective, it’s been a very, very good weekend. Obviously, you want to win when you have the opportunity,” he said.
Long Beach marked a turning point for Rosenqvist and Meyer Shank Racing. After inconsistent early results, the team approached the weekend with a focus on resetting both performance and mindset, choosing a slightly different direction in setup and preparation.
That decision paid off immediately, with the Swedish driver showing strong pace from the opening practice sessions, before converting his practice pace into a front-running position and giving himself the platform needed to control the race.
“For sure, yeah. Going into the weekend, we were just trying to do something a little bit different, try to reload a little bit and get the confidence back,” Rosenqvist explained. “I think it’s important mentally, mainly for me, but everyone on the crew, to reset, show what we got, kind of remind us why we’re here.”
The result was a car that allowed him to dictate the race's tempo, particularly during the early and middle stints, when he consistently held the advantage over his closest rivals.
From the start, Rosenqvist established himself as the driver to beat. He managed the gap to Álex Palou, keeping the reigning champion within a controlled window while maintaining enough pace to respond if needed.
The opening phase of the race followed a familiar Long Beach pattern. Tight corners, limited overtaking opportunities and heavy tyre management made track position a bonus, something Rosenqvist maintained with control.
“I feel like today we just had really, really solid pace. Actually incredible pace on the reds, not as good as Alex on the blacks,” Rosenqvist said. “I just kind of struggled a little bit on that last stint. It was going to be hard to pass him anyways.”
As the race developed, strategy began to play a larger role. Like many recent IndyCar events, pit timing and execution would ultimately determine the outcome, particularly given how evenly matched the leading cars were on pace.
The decisive moment came during the final pit cycle. Rosenqvist entered the sequence with a gap of over two seconds, a margin that suggested he could retain the lead even with a slightly slower stop.
Instead, a combination of small factors shifted the advantage to Palou.
“Yeah, that last pit cycle was kind of the defining moment. I don’t even think we had that bad of a stop. We had to come around the 14. I don’t know if Alex had an open in. Details like that matter. It didn’t seem like a super slow stop, but he probably nailed it or his crew,” Rosenqvist explained.
The loss of track position proved critical. At Long Beach, overtaking at the front is notoriously difficult, especially when both drivers are managing tyres and fuel in similar ways.
For Rosenqvist, the moment was both frustrating and decisive.
“I was kind of kicking myself at that point. There’s nothing you can do. You’re sitting there on the pit limiter doing 50 miles an hour. There’s nothing in the world that will get your position back. Yeah, it’s heartbreaking,” he said.
Following the pit cycle, Rosenqvist found himself chasing, rather than leading. The dynamic of the race shifted immediately, with Palou controlling the pace from the front while the Meyer Shank driver focused on defending his position from the back.
Scott Dixon, running on an alternate tyre strategy, closed rapidly in the final stint, adding further pressure to an already tense situation.
“I was more worried about losing Scott, to be honest. He had reds. He was in my gearbox for three, four laps there initially. I was sweating a lot at that point,” Rosenqvist admitted.
The combination of chasing Palou while defending from Dixon required constant adaptation. Fuel saving, tyre management and outright pace all had to be balanced within the same stint.
“That’s IndyCar. You never know what you’re going to have. You’re kind of doing a fuel save initially. Then, in the end, it was more of a sprint race. It just changes how the car behaves and how you drive. You just got to be awake always,” he said.
The introduction of a caution period on Lap 57 added another layer of unpredictability. While it did not significantly alter Rosenqvist’s position, it removed the buffer he had built earlier and reset the fight at the front.
“I mean, I’m just happy it didn’t screw up our race. Things like that can happen. You just end up ruining your whole day. Effectively, we were in the same spot,” he said. “But the annoying thing for me was I had a bit of a cushion. I felt like even with a bad stop, we’ll probably stay ahead.”
Despite the setback, Rosenqvist remained composed and focused on maximising the result. He recognised that while victory had slipped away, the performance itself represented a significant step forward.
“A bit of both. Honestly, I had such a poor start to the year, so I was always going to take a podium,” he said. “It’s very rare that you have a race like that, pace like that. I don’t honestly think I’ve ever had that. A little bit disappointing when you cannot wrap it up.”
Beyond the individual result, the race marked an important milestone for Meyer Shank Racing, who demonstrated not only raw pace but also improved execution across key areas, including pit stops and race strategy.
Rosenqvist highlighted the progress made by the crew, particularly in pit lane, where gains have been difficult to find in recent seasons.
“I’m really proud of the guys. They’ve been improving so much in the pits this winter,” he said. “I think going into this weekend at least we were sitting P6, P7 in pit lane this year. I’m pretty sure we moved up a little bit this weekend. Incredible job. Very rare you can find gains like that.”
That improvement allowed the team to fully capitalise on a competitive car, something that had not always been possible in the past.
Perhaps the most significant outcome of the weekend was the boost in confidence for both driver and team. After a difficult start to the year, Long Beach provided proof that Rosenqvist and Meyer Shank Racing can compete at the front of the field.
“I think first of all we were sort of lucky that we rolled out well. That’s always a huge advantage in IndyCar when you set out in FP1, you have pace in the car,” Rosenqvist explained.
“From there it was kind of like dialling in for qualifying. We sat down before the weekend and decided we wanted to follow our own path a little bit more, honestly, just more of what I need from the car. It paid off.”
While he acknowledged that each race presents different challenges, the underlying belief gained from Long Beach could prove invaluable as the season progresses.
In the end, Rosenqvist crossed the line in second place, securing his first podium since Road America the previous year and his best career finish at Long Beach.
It was a result that combined satisfaction with a clear sense of what might have been.
“End of the day I’ll gladly take a P2 today,” he said. “It was definitely a well more executed race than we probably had as a team. So we’re just going to take that positive and hopefully we can get another shot here later this year.”
At Long Beach, Felix Rosenqvist did almost everything required to win. In a race decided by fine margins and small details, those final elements proved just out of reach. Yet the performance itself sent a clear message. Rosenqvist and Meyer Shank Racing are no longer searching for pace; they have found it.
The next race is the Sonsio Grand Prix on Saturday, 9 May, which opens the Month of May at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the circuit’s 14-turn, 2.439 mi (3.92 km) road course.
