Ericsson quietly hoping to extend IndyCar lead at Toronto
Marcus Ericsson enters Sunday’s race in Toronto atop the IndyCar standings and minus the traditional midseason fanfare.
His quiet demeanor, consistent results and even the title of reigning Indianapolis 500 champion have done little to change his public persona.
And with the chatter this weekend focused squarely on the future plans of Ericsson’s teammate, defending series champ Alex Palou, and the continued banter between Andretti Autosport teammates Alexander Rossi and Romain Grosjean, Ericsson seems content to stay in the background for now.
“We all had strong cars (Friday), we did some work last night to try and find a bit more of the feeling I want from the car,” he said after posting the second-fastest lap in practice Saturday. “We’re in good shape. We’re in the mix. It’s going to be tight as always.”
These are the conditions in which the 31-year-old Swede seems to thrive.
Since moving to Chip Ganassi Racing last season, his three wins are tied for third-most behind only two-time series champ Josef Newgarden of Team Penske and Pato O’Ward. last year’s series runner-up with Arrrow McLaren SP. Newgarden has won five times over that span; O’Ward has four wins.
But nobody has been more consistent this season than Ericsson.
While Newgarden’s three wins lead the series, Ericsson has driven the No. 8 Honda to five straight top-10 finishes. He’s posted seven top-10s in the first nine races and has completed 984 of the 1,003 contested race laps this season.
And now after completing Toronto’s bumpy 1.786-mile, 11-turn street course in 1 minute, 0.282 seconds seconds — second only to Herta’s 1:00.0471 — Ericsson finds himself in contention for yet another strong finish that could help pad his 20-point lead over another Penske driver Will Power.
Power, the Australian star, was third-fastest in practice at 1:00.3322 though it’s the more subdued Ericsson who has the momentum and a car he believes can win Sunday.
“For me the biggest thing on tracks like this is to find a car that’s consistent to drive,” said Ericsson, who finished 20th in his only other start at Toronto. “You get confidence as a driver and then you can drive it to the limit. Sometimes, you have a car that’s super fast but you can’t use that speed because it’s hard to extract. I feel like we’re in a good spot.”
THE STREAK
Scott Dixon spent most of the second half of practice on top of the speed chart only to be knocked to fifth late in the 45-minute session.
Still, it was a promising sign for the New Zealand star, who is on the cusp of tying Mario Andretti for second on the IndyCar all-times wins chart. Andretti owns 52 career wins, Dixon has 51.
Dixon has been one of the series’ most consistent and unflappable drivers for two decades winning at least one race in a record 17 consecutive seasons. But his winless streak reached 22 at Mid-Ohio two weeks ago and the six-time series champion desperately needs a win to stay in contention to match A.J. Foyt’s record with a seventh title.
Dixon opened the weekend in sixth, 67 points behind Ericsson and is seeking his first win since May 2021.
CHANGING DYNAMIC
Yes, Herta had the fastest car in practice. And yes, he said the difficult concrete-asphalt transitions, were similar to what he remembered from Toronto’s most recent IndyCar race in 2019.
But the Californian did detect one significant difference.
“Some of the corners are a little bit different with the aeroscreen and how fast you can push through them,” he said. “Overall the feel, the bumps, it feels like it’s been maintained. Places up north, like Detroit or here where they have brutal winters, sometimes you come back and the track’s completely different. But it seems to be well-maintained.”
Herta finished seventh in his first Toronto start in 2019 and captured his only win this season on Indy’s road course.
QUICK TURNAROUND
The start of practice was delayed about 30 minutes at the start of practice because of a crash in the previously scheduled event, and then Palou and Newgarden sent their crew members scrambling with early departures.
Palou, IndyCar’s first Spanish champ, damaged the left side of his No. 10 Honda when he hit the concrete wall in the third turn and again in the fourth turn less than 10 minutes into the 45-minute session. He completed seven laps and watched the rest of practice from pit row.
“That was a shame because we need some track time here,” said Palou, who is making his debut on the streets of Toronto. “We’ll get the car back together. It’s challenging. Fortunately, we had enough time yesterday with 75 minutes.”
Newgarden’s session was even shorter. When the oil pressure alarm alerted the Tennessean to a problem, he pulled into the pits after one lap. A few minutes later, the No. 2 Chevrolet was towed to the garage. Newgarden has won twice in Toronto.
Two-time Indy champ Takuma Sato, of Japan, and Grosjean, of France, also damaged their cars in crashes that briefly brought out red flags. Grosjean, Newgarden and Palou all receives a little extra time by being placed in the second qualifying group.
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