Speaking to Pit Debrief and other media outlets ahead of the inaugural IndyCar race on the streets of Arlington, Juncos Hollinger driver Rinus VeeKay revealed that Alex Palou apologised to him for their incident at Phoenix last weekend.
All good between Rinus VeeKay and Alex Palou ahead of Arlington IndyCar round following crash last Saturday
As Graham Rahal went down the inside of Alex Palou at turn 3 for position and made a clean move, the Dutchman looked to take advantage.
With the Spaniard easing up the track because he did not see the Juncos driver to his right as VeeKay’s front left tyre was up alongside Palou’s right rear tyre, contact was made. The CGR car ended up in the wall, his day was done on lap 22. For VeeKay, he had to pit and went multiple laps down.
The 25-year-old revealed in the media pen to Pit Debrief and other media outlets that he got an apology from Alex Palou and all is good between the pair. He added that he felt some responsibility for it too.
“We talked to each other. He apologised. I’m like, ‘yeah, I probably should take some responsibility as well’.
“It felt like an oval incident. It’s unfortunate that it’s the two of us, for sure.
“But no, we spoke to each other. It’s fine. We’re both excited to get a good result here in Arlington.”
Watching the first street race in Nashville as preparation for this weekend
When IndyCar reaches a new street course, entertainment and action is guaranteed. At Nashville in 2021, Marcus Ericsson broke his front wing on lap 5 but somehow continued in the race to win. He had gone airborne over the rear wing of Sebastian Bourdais car.
VeeKay explained how that played a big part in his preparation as the drivers only truly got to experience this venue by doing a track walk ahead of Practice 1.
“Yeah, I watched a new street course race, as in Nashville 2021, kind of like when things go crazy, what is the flow of the race, what happens.
“Apparently I have got to drive over somebody’s rear wing, fly through the air, and then win the race. That is what Ericsson did.
“But that’s kind of what I did. And for the rest, I kind of sat together with the team, looked at the surface differences, and what package do we want to start with.”
Rinus VeeKay predicts tows in Arlington IndyCar qualifying
The drivers face a big challenge in Practice 1 getting up to speed with the track. It will also be a big challenge for the teams to get set-up, ride height and suspension settings spot on. It is a very bumpy circuit with elevation changes also. Finding a good compromise for downforce levels is going to be key as well.
Alongside that, there is a massive straight between turns 9 and 10. VeeKay is predicting slipstreams, akin to what has happened for many years at Monza, Spa and other circuits in F1, F2 and/or F3. It is almost unheard of on road and street courses to look for slipstreams.
“It’s tough because I only did a few laps in the simulator since we didn’t have an actual track scan. We didn’t have the elevation changes.
“Turn 2 seems like a pretty big dip with the elevation change at the apex. I think that’ll be a big one.
“For sure, downforce levels are going to be a talking point with that straightaway being almost a mile long. How much downforce are people running while keeping their corner speeds up?
“Having that straightaway advantage, I think that’ll be a good talking point. Especially getting a tow in qualifying will be very much comparable to Monza in F1, F2, F3, where everybody’s trying to get a tow.
“I think some people will get it right, some people will get it wrong. It will be interesting.”
Rinus VeeKay on his 100th IndyCar start
After that collision with Alex Palou at Phoenix last weekend, when the Spaniard was making his 100th IndyCar start, Rinus VeeKay will be hoping for better luck as he reaches the same milestone.
Asked by Pit Debrief if it is a different feeling heading into Arlington, the one-time race winner is focusing on a good result and working with the team as usual.
In St. Pete he had a very good race, finishing P9 following a relatively disappointing qualifying. On the evidence of that, Juncos Hollinger Racing have made a step over the long winter on street courses.
“Not any differently, really. Just really believing in my experience at the moment.
“Just like any race, go into it open-minded and know that the team’s developments have been really good in the off-season.
“Our street course package is quick. Have confidence in the crew around me.”
