IndyCar drivers return at Mid-Ohio after injuries
Rosenqvist, VeeKay back on track after June mishaps
Felix Rosenqvist and Rinus VeeKay returned to their cars at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington Friday after both IndyCar drivers were sidelined by injuries.
Rosenqvist missed two races after a crash last month in Detroit. The Swede said Friday he went through IndyCar’s concussion protocol after not being cleared by the league to race June 20 at Road America.
“You only have one brain,” he said. “It doesn’t really mean I have a concussion. But something could be wrong and they cannot take the chance.”
Rosenqvist was hospitalized overnight following a June 12 crash at Detroit. He missed the doubleheader race the next day, which was won by Arrow McLaren SP teammate Pato O’Ward in Rosenqvist’s honor.
VeeKay, meanwhile, missed only one race following June 15 surgery on a broken collarbone resulting from a fall from his bicycle during a training ride. He spent a day in the Chevrolet simulator this week to test the range of motion in his left shoulder.
“Yeah, ready to race and ready to win,” the 20-year-old Dutchman said. “I feel confident. I was first a little bit worried about maybe my neck would be painful with the pressure, with the G-forces, but I’ve done some neck training and felt nothing, feel superstrong.
“Definitely no worries, and as long as I don’t go overhead with my arms, it’s going tobe fine.”
VeeKay dropped from fifth to sixth in the standings after missing Road America and trails IndyCar championship leader Alex Palou by 106 points headed into Sunday’s race at Mid-Ohio. He said he wasn’t concerned about the championship with eight races remaining.
“I just want to get back in the top five in the championship and just do the best I can and show some great racing and of course try to win every weekend,” he said. “It’s definitely going to be tough to catch up, but that’s not really anyof my worries. I’m just goingto give it all and see where Iend up.”
Formula One
Mercedes found welcome speed in the rain at the Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg, with F1 champion Lewis Hamilton leading a damp second practice ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas. The conditions proved less to the liking of championship leader Max Verstappen. The Red Bull driver topped the leader board early on but drifted down to third place as the track became wetter.
Hamilton was .189 seconds ahead of Bottas and .217 clear of Verstappen on Red Bull’s home track. But after losing the last four races to Red Bull, Hamilton remains wary about what will happen in qualifying on Saturday.
“They’ve definitely got something extra in their bag, I already know that,” said Hamilton, whose last win was May 9 at the Spanish GP on May 9. “We’ve definitely made some small steps forward but not enough to close the[gap]. ... ”
Hamilton has an F1 record 100 pole positions but trails Verstappen 3-2 for poles this season.