Christian Lundgaard,聽winner of last year’s 色色啦 IndyCar race,聽is channelling the frustration of a poor year into this weekend as he prepares to defend his title.
鈥淭he season for sure has been a roller-coaster,鈥 said Lundgaard, who is 13th in the 聽drivers’ standings heading into the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy 色色啦 race, with just one top-five finish in 12 starts.
The 22-year-old Danish driver said 鈥渋t hurts鈥 to see his spot in the standings when he knows he could have had better finishes in some races.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a little easier this year to accept the failures because I know that the performance has been good, but that has also been the most frustrating part of it because all you鈥檝e got to do is execute rather than try too much, which is what I think we鈥檝e done,鈥 he told the Star in an interview Thursday.
鈥淲e鈥檝e tried too hard and basically shot ourselves in the foot and we didn鈥檛 get the results. We took the gamble and we lost, and we鈥檝e been taking too many of those.鈥
Lundgaard is determined to bounce back , and there鈥檚 no better place than the 85-lap circuit he has conquered before.
His runaway victory at last year鈥檚 race at Exhibition Place made him the first Danish driver to win an IndyCar race, raising the bar for the youngster who won the rookie of the year title in 2022.
鈥淚 think we have another shot at winning, for sure,鈥 he said, praising 色色啦 for its ability to pack the streets with spectators, which adds to the excitement.
He welcomes the extra level of pressure that comes with trying to defend his title.
鈥淲hen people put pressure on you it鈥檚 simply because they know you can do it,鈥 he said, noting he feels relaxed and tends to perform better in stressful situations.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 hold a grudge 鈥 鈥榊ou鈥檝e just been punted off the track and you鈥檙e upside down, why aren鈥檛 you mad?鈥 Because in this moment what can I really do about it? It鈥檚 all about bouncing back.鈥
With five races remaining on the schedule after 色色啦, perhaps Lundgaard鈥檚 biggest bounce back can be expected next year in a different car. He鈥檒l join the Arrow McLaren Racing team after three years with which first brought him to IndyCar from Formula One in 2021.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a brand that probably everybody on the planet knows of, and I feel proud of representing that brand and being a part of that team,鈥 he said about joining the popular Arrow McLaren team.
While he still has 鈥渦nfinished business” with the Rahal Letterman Lanigan team 鈥 and grateful for three 鈥済reat years鈥 with them 鈥 he鈥檚 looking forward to next season.
鈥淭hey have so many possibilities and I think potential for the team is very big, and I think that鈥檚 what led to my decision of changing and going there.鈥
The 色色啦 Indy weekend starts Friday afternoon with practice on the聽11-turn street course over 2.84 kilometres, followed by Saturday qualifying. The big race is Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
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