Long Beach runner-up Grosjean rues inability to use push-to-pass

The Swiss driver, who took pole in St. Petersburg, started third in Long Beach and was closely tracking his pole-winning Andretti Autosport teammate Kyle Kirkwood for most of the race. But having pitted a lap before Kirkwood – by team design, to respond to Josef Newgarden making his final stop – he didn’t have the fuel to allow him to use his huge amount of push-to-pass boost.

Grosjean who is in his third season of IndyCar and his second with Andretti, said: “First thing we've got to say is congratulations to the whole team – first, second, fourth [Colton Herta]. It's been awesome, a good weekend.

“Kyle has done an amazing job in qualifying and again in the race. I mean, he didn't make any mistake in front of me. Couldn't use any of that.

“We had a great strategy, did a very good job. Had a very fast car. Because the way the race turn out, I had to save a lot of fuel on the last stint. I had 188 seconds of push to pass left, but I was not allowed to use it. For once I saved too much, I guess.

“It sucks. I just wanted to push the button and I wasn't allowed to. I would lie if I said I wouldn't have loved to be on the top step of the podium today, and I thought I had a chance. Just the way the race turned out and the fuel situation was, it wasn't possible.

“As a team, I think it's very good where we are. The team has been working super-hard through the winter to improve our pit stops. I believe in Texas I had the fastest pitstop of everyone. Here again we had a fast pitstop.”

Grosjean made his second and final pitstop a lap after middle-stint leader Newgarden’s, to keep the team in the hunt should a yellow fall and favor the early-stoppers. Grosjean produced a great in-lap and emerged in front of the Team Penske driver, but Kirkwood who had been running ahead of him went a further lap, and jumped both to regain the lead he had held through the opening stint.

“We knew that in lap and out lap were going to be critical,” said Grosjean. “I was hoping that I was going to be the one going a lap longer than everyone else, but it was Kyle. It's normal, he was the leader. We had to cover Josef Newgarden. We did that well.

“Yeah, as I said, the fuel situation was not easy to manage through the end of the race. Created a lot of issues with brakes getting too cool, tires losing temperature.

“We had good cars and managed to get 1-2.”

He later mentioned: “I'll be 37 tomorrow. I wish I win for my birthday, but P2, I’ll take it.”