Front Row Start for Rosenqvist, Honda at season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

• Felix Rosenqvist qualifies second for Honda in his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES event with Meyer Shank Racing
• Colton Herta will start fourth for Honda and Andretti Global as the 2024 season opens with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
• Marcus Ericsson also advances to Firestone Fast Six final qualifying in his debut with Andretti Global

Felix Rosenqvist returned to Honda power in the off-season, joining Meyer Shank Racing for the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES, and made an impressive start by qualifying second for Sunday's Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, with a best lap less than six thousandths of a second off the pole.

Colton Herta, race winner here in 2021, will start fourth in his Andretti Global Honda, with teammate and defending race winner Marcus Ericsson qualifying sixth in his debut with the Andretti organization.

In his first full season of INDYCAR competition, Marcus Armstrong led the Chip Ganassi Racing effort and will start 10th, with teammate and six-time series champion Scott Dixon 11th in his CGR Honda.  Christian Lundgaard, 2023 Honda Grand Prix of Toronto race winner, rounded out the top 12 qualifiers in the three rounds of INDYCAR ‘knockout' qualifying today top set the field for Sunday's season opener.

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Honda Qualifying Results

R – Rookie

Quotes
Felix Rosenqvist (#60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda) qualified second in his first race with Meyer Shank Racing: "It's been a really solid start so far with SiriusXM, Honda and Meyer Shank Racing. It's been an incredible start, honestly, we are still kind of finding ourselves a little bit. So we don't want to get carried away, the race is a different challenge. We had a good feeling about the car right from the start of practice yesterday, so big thanks to everyone on the team for making me feel at home right from the start. So we'll see what we can do tomorrow. It's a massive boost to start up front, but we still need to execute in the race and I'm already thinking about Sunday: what we can do with tire wear, race pace, and all that stuff."

Colton Herta (#26 Andretti Global Honda) will start fourth: "It's great to be back in St. Petersburg. Obviously, we want to start the year off strong and make a statement – and that means qualifying up front. We did that, and I'm happy with how the Gainbridge Honda has performed this weekend.  Rolling off fourth gives us a really good shot at what we need to do tomorrow – and that's get on the podium or win."

Marcus Ericsson (#28 Andretti Global Honda) qualified sixth in his first race with Andretti Global: "It's a great performance by the whole 28 crew. They did a really good job. Honda gave me a really good engine out there in the Andretti car, it was working really well already. I'm a little disappointed I didn't get a better run in the fast six [final qualifying round], but still, to be in the fast six my first time out with a new team I think is a really good performance. I think we'll be strong on race day and we can definitely mix it up from there tomorrow. 

Fast Facts

• Honda-powered drivers have won 11 of the 19 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races at St. Petersburg since the event was revived for the 2005 season.  The late Dan Wheldon led a Honda and Andretti Green Racing sweep of the top four positions in the inaugural 2005 event; while Marcus Ericsson took the checkers in last year's race.
• Other Honda winners on the streets of St. Petersburg include Colton Herta in 2021; Sebastian Bourdais in 2017-18; Dario Franchitti in 2011; Will Power in 2010; Ryan Briscoe in 2009; Graham Rahal in 2008; and Helio Castroneves in 2006 and '07.

Where to Watch
Television coverage of Sunday's season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg starts at 12 p.m. ET. Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on NBC Peacock, the INDYCAR Radio Network, and SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation (Channel 160). Honda Racing social media content and video links can be found on: