Rosenqvist preparing for “emotional” Meyer Shank farewell in IndyCar finale
- Archie O’Reilly
- 6 hours ago
- 5 min read
Feelings are bittersweet for Felix Rosenqvist at Laguna Seca this weekend as he gears up to bid goodbye to the Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) team at the close of the IndyCar season on Sunday.
The Swede achieved the team’s best-ever championship result with sixth place last season - levelling his personal best - before headlining his time in the No.60 machine with an immortalising Indianapolis 500 win this May. As his three-year tenure with the organisation comes to an end, the knowledge of what he is leaving behind naturally elicits sadness.
But at the same time, there is excitement as he looks ahead to 2027, when he is bound for a return to Arrow McLaren, with whom he previously raced between 2021 and 2023.
“A little bit of an emotional weekend, the last weekend with the team,” Rosenqvist said. “Obviously we’ve known this for a long time but it’s definitely gone quickly since I announced I was leaving. Excited for the future [but] always a lot on your mind when you know you’re going to leave a good group, a lot of good people, friendships and so on.
“It’s just been a home, a family to me, the last three years. We had a lot of fun moments outside of driving the car. You spend so much time together; I’ve always been a big believer in having fun. Obviously you need to be very focused to do this - everyone in the team needs to be. But MSR has a great balance with having fun and showing up and being pros at the same time, which makes it feel not like work but a very enjoyable time together.
“It’s just a very solid operation. Everyone carries their weight. There’s not enough good things I can say about everyone in the team. Definitely an emotional weekend. [But] the future is looking good and I’m excited for that too.”
One thing Rosenqvist admits he will also miss is the partnerships that have come from Sirius XM’s involvement with MSR. For his final weekend with the team, he is sporting a Nickelback-inspired livery as the latest of a plethora of musical paint schemes.
“The partnerships we’ve had, with especially Sirius XM - Nickleback, Creed, Eminem, Grateful Dead - it’s been probably in the 20s now. That’s also been such a cool thing,” said Rosenqvist, who won the Indy 500 in a Morgan Wallen Radio car.
“I’ve always said that the most important thing in life is family and the second is music. It’s just something that gives you joy every day. To have a partnership that reflects music is very unique, very enjoyable. Definitely take those memories with me.”
Upon joining the team in 2024, Rosenqvist helped to turn around the fortunes of an MSR outfit that achieved only a single top-10 result the campaign prior. Within seven races, he had six top-10 finishes, alongside a front-row start and pole position in the first two rounds, which sandwiched a podium in the Thermal Club exhibition event.
Owing in no small part to Rosenqvist’s guidance, at the end of 2026, they are now regularly in the conversation for podiums and poles. In that process of growth as a unit, Rosenqvist himself feels he has developed both as a driver and leader within an organisation.
“It’s just little things setup-wise, communications-wise,” he said of the lessons he has learned in leadership. “You’re working with people - and people is the biggest thing. That’s the biggest code you have to crack. You have to gel with the people on the stand; you have to make it a comfortable environment for everyone.
“Maybe one person’s ideas will come forward on one pit stand and it won’t on another one because the dynamics between people are different. [On] the No.60 car, we have a really good dynamic on the pit stand. Everyone’s welcome to talk and bring out ideas. That’s probably the biggest lesson: to make it a comfortable environment for everyone.”
Rosenqvist is not overly pleased with his 2026 season, as he sits ninth in the standings - three positions lower than last season - and trails seventh place by 29 points. Inconsistency has defined much of his year, with only six top-10 finishes and no result better than 17th in the four rounds since Portland.
But he has achieved his best single-season return of three podium results, finishing runner-up in Long Beach and Portland (both after taking pole position) to add to his Indy 500 crown, which will forever serve as a life-affirming moment and tie him to MSR for eternity.
“It’s definitely incredibly hard to do,” he said of his victory at the Speedway. “The fact I did it is a bit of a monkey off the back. [But] it’s not the happiest I’ve been with a season overall. I feel like I’ve done mistakes on my own, which cost me quite a lot in certain tracks and races. Maybe not my most complete year. But definitely the highs have been very high.
“Obviously Indy was just incredible. Super proud to have done that with MSR. We’re still celebrating that a little bit every day.”
Rosenqvist has kicked off his final weekend with MSR on the front foot, finishing second to only champion Álex Palou - as he did in both the Long Beach and Portland races - in the opening practice session for the Grand Prix of Monterey.
There has been no animosity internally since confirmation of his exit from the team in late June so there remains a unanimous desire for Rosenqvist to bow out on a high note.
“We all said the best thing we can do is go out and try to win - have some fun as well,” he said. “It’s kind of a no-pressure weekend, in a way. We’re in no man’s land in the championship; we can technically finish seventh, worst case 11th. Just go and do everything you can. I’m definitely going to give it everything this weekend to try to get another one.”
For MSR, attention will turn to 2027 without the driver who has spearheaded the operation for the past three years. That includes Marcus Armstrong’s promotion to the No.60 entry for his third season with the team, while it was announced on Saturday that Mick Schumacher will be joining from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing for his sophomore season.
“It’s funny how this sport works. I driver-coached Mick and Marcus back in the day,” Rosenqvist said. “That’s how old I am. It was back in 2015 when they were just kids.
“Marcus, when he came to the team, I’d known him for a pretty long time but we weren’t best friends or anything. Our relationship has gotten a lot closer this year. Definitely [going to] miss working with him [and would] definitely bring him to the next team if I could. I wish both him and Mick and the whole team best of luck.”
Comments