Ericsson, who started on the front row for a street course for the first time, lost out to Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden in the pits when the majority of the field pitted under yellow, and then on the Lap 25 restart, he was passed by O’Ward between Turns 7 and 8. However, the 2022 Indy 500 winner was then delayed when O’Ward also tried to nose inside leader Kyle Kirkwood and spun, partly blocking the track.
Ericsson got going again but was now eighth – which became seventh when off-strategy Agustin Canapino pitted his damaged Juncos Hollinger Racing car. The Swede regrouped and swiftly passed his compatriot, Felix Rosenqvist, and on lap 43 passed the struggling Scott McLaughlin.
Ericsson passed Colton Herta for fourth just before the second round of stops on Laps 52-55, and then passed the slowing Newgarden for third on Lap 60.
Over the final 25 laps, Ericsson reeled in the Andretti Autosport pair of Kirkwood and Grosjean, closing to within a second of the latter, but ultimately claimed third. Combined with his victory in St. Petersburg and eighth at Texas Motor Speedway, it was enough to send him to the top of the championship table.
“I think it was a great weekend for us,” he said afterward. “Tying best qualifying results for me. I think we had a really good race going. The only sort of issue we had in the race was that restart when Pato decided to dive down there and try to take out a lot of cars. Got caught out in that. Had to almost stop the car. I think I lost five or six positions there. From there on, it was tough.
“We had the pace in the car to fight for the win today. So it was a good recovery to come back and still finish on the podium. I think the pace on the last stint was amazing. Really, really happy.”
Asked to assess his chances had he not been delayed by O’Ward causing a track obstruction, Ericsson replied: “I think we had a good chance at it. We were running second behind Kyle [in the first stint]. I think we had a bit more pace than him, especially at the end of the race.
“It's tough on a street course to overtake. Kyle did a great job, deserved the win today. But I think we definitely could have given him a run for it in the end there. That's racing. Sometimes it happens. We had to bounce back. I was happy to be able to make some good overtakes on my way back to the podium. I'll take that. We're back in the championship lead.
“Of course, could have, would have, should have. Maybe we could have challenged for it today but it wasn't our day, and we're happy with that.”
Ericsson remarked that being back at the top of the points standings, as he was after six of the rounds last year, gave him confidence.
“Last year already, we were fighting for the championship and leading the championship for a long time,” he recalled. “I was disappointed to miss out on that, but used that as motivation this winter to work hard on myself and my team. I think we've come out even stronger this year. Winning in St. Pete showed that.
“We had a good weekend on a bad weekend in Texas – quite a good result. Here again this weekend, we had tremendous speed. We're definitely in the fight. Leading the championship feels good, but it's a long way to go. We need to keep focused and keep working hard.
“But, yeah, I'm really happy with the start of the year obviously.”
