St Petersburg GP: Post-qualification statements

After the qualifying session of the St. Petersburg GP and a few hours before the first race of the 2015 IndyCar season, we offer you some of the main reactions from the drivers.

Will Power – Team Penske / Chevrolet – 1st:

Power ideally starts the 2015 IndyCar season. He remained at the top of the timesheets all weekend. The Australian is very calm since his title in 2014: « It has been a very good winter break. The team’s way of being, my teammates (Castroneves, Montoya, and Pagenaud), has provided me with a lot of motivation. Honestly, winning the title made the off-season very enjoyable. You’re not sitting there wondering why you’re still not winning. » The man with 24 victories was 3 times runner-up before grabbing the Grail.

However, he is fully aware of the closeness of the competition and savors this moment: « You no longer see anyone taking more than 3 or 4 pole positions in a season. It’s the same for victory. It’s amazing every time you’re at the front. »

Simon Pagenaud – Team Penske / Chevrolet – 2nd:

« It’s incredible to start like this with Team Penske. We have a very good pace. The car is amazing. » The Frenchman was, however, hindered during his last fast lap, seemingly due to Sébastien Bourdais’ off-track excursion: « The last lap, I was ahead of my time but I had to be careful because of a yellow flag. Unfortunately, I couldn’t fight with Will. »

Helio Castroneves – Team Penske / Chevrolet – 3rd:

« I have three other very good guys in the team », says the Brazilian, « at the end of the day, you just push to the limit. It’s a testament to great teamwork. Having the top 4 places shows that all four of us are pushing to the limit. »

Juan Pablo Montoya – Team Penske / Chevrolet – 4th:

« I’m a little disappointed with this time, to be honest, » declares the Colombian, « for the team I think it shows the way we have worked hard this winter. It also shows that having Simon [Pagenaud] on board and having a team of 4 cars is a very good thing. »

Takuma Sato – A.J. Foyt Enterprises / Honda – 5th:

« It’s a very exciting new season with the new Honda and Chevrolet aerodynamic packages, » indicates the former F1 driver, « we obviously need to maximize performance. Following the winter tests, I think we can be satisfied with today’s result. »

Sébastien Bourdais – KVSH Racing / Chevrolet – 6th:

« We started the weekend in a hole. It might not have shown in the times, but we weren’t happy with the car. It was quite difficult. So getting into the “Fast 6” (the final phase of qualifying) is a good achievement, said the Frenchman. « But something happened on the last lap. I was a bit greedy. I was 0.15 seconds faster, I went off into a runoff area and probably ruined Simon [Pagenaud]’s lap. »