Marcus Ericsson stunned the NTT IndyCar grid after a dominant Fast 6 performance in Arlington, taking his first pole position after 117 starts.
Prior to the inaugural Arlington weekend, IndyCar announced a modified format for the final part of qualifying. Departing from the standard street-course format, drivers would instead take to the track for one-off laps. And Marcus Ericsson thrived in the new format.
First IndyCar pole at Arlington a long time coming for Marcus Ericsson
Following multiple near misses with P1, Marcus Ericsson finally grabbed that coveted first career pole position on the Streets of Arlington. The Swede’s last pole position came back in 2013, when he was racing in GP2 (now Formula 2). Speaking to the media including Pit Debrief, following qualifying, the 35-year-old driver spoke about how it felt to finally sit at the front of the grid and what took him so long to get there.
“It feels really good. It’s been obviously, like you just mentioned, a lot of races in INDYCAR, but before that I did a lot of races in F1 and then GP2 was my last pole position in 2013, so it’s been like a lifetime since last pole position.
“Yeah, it’s been one of those things. I think I’ve been second four or five times in qualifying in INDYCAR, and been in Fast Six a lot of times. But, yeah, it’s just been not my time, I guess. Worked really hard this winter to be better. It’s an important year for me. I know that. I felt like St. Pete was already a really good step and my best weekend as a whole as an Andretti driver, and then we’ve continued that here this weekend.
“Just building confidence.”
Putting in the work
Marcus Ericsson is heading into a contract year with Andretti Global, and the pressure is on to put in quality performances as he competes in his eighth IndyCar season.
The former Sauber and Caterham F1 driver has been very forthcoming about how much work he’s put in during the offseason to have the great start he’s had so far and improve himself overall as a driver after a tough couple of years.
Additionally, the driver of the No. 28 Honda said in Arlington that he felt he had built on the great result he had at the season opener in St. Pete.
“Like I said, I’ve put a ton of work in. I was very pissed off really after last year and the way I performed, especially the second half. Just felt like I didn’t recognize myself as a driver. I wasn’t aggressive, I lost confidence. I put a lot of work in in the off-season, tried to drive different things.
“Again, like I said, the 28 crew I have this year as well has done a really good job, jumping at the challenge and worked hard to get the car more in the window where I can perform at my best level. I think all those combinations have made it a big step.
“Like I said, I think St. Pete was my best Andretti weekend and we are on our way to better that this weekend.”
A new way to qualify
Prior to the Arlington weekend, the IndyCar series rolled out a new qualifying format for the Fast 6. Running similar to Fast Friday for the Indianapolis 500, drivers would each take to the track for one-off laps instead of the normal road-course format.
Speaking following qualifying, Ericsson spoke about how he felt about the new format, and wether or not it had an affect on his pole position performance on the streets of Arlington.
“Yeah, I mean, I didn’t have much time to sit and think about it, right? It was just a quick debrief with the engineers and then off you go.
“I was very focused on just doing my lap. It’s a bit more pressure in a situation like this where you’re sort of on your own and you get one shot at it. But I always liked that sort of pressure cooker. That’s what I like with the 500 and qualifying there and racing at the 500.
“There’s always, when the pressure is high, I feel like I really perform my best, and I think that helped me today.”
