McLaren has not yet officially announced its driver team for its debut in Formula E in 2023, but Felix Rosenqvist already speaks in a farewell tone and stresses the difficulty of leaving Indy
While waiting for a definitive decision from McLaren about his future, Felix Rosenqvist is focusing on competing in the 2022 season of IndyCar Series. And with his career most probably tied to Formula E next year, the Swedish driver has already made it clear that he will find it difficult to leave the category he currently occupies. Not because of the level itself, but because of the "addictive environment" and the people he has met during his time in the American sport.
Rosenqvist revealed that he has been talking to Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren, about the next steps regarding his future. However, the Swede admitted that the conversation with his boss remained only in the realm of theory and resigned himself in case he needs to make a different decision from the one he would most like - to stay at Indy for another year.
"I don't think he [Brown] and I can say, 'What are the chances of me staying [at Indy]? I have already stated that I would like to stay, because I don't think there is a reason to go anywhere else now," Rosenqvist told The Race portal. "I know the situation, you can't always choose what you want. And I think I'm still in a lucky situation where I have something else lined up if something doesn't work out. Even F1 drivers run out of seats," he explained.
"Thinking about it from that side, it's not complicated. But I think the toughest thing is that I really love my team," he stressed. "I really enjoy working with this staff. I think it's always hard, on the emotional side, to think that you might leave them, leave your workplace," he pointed out.
▶️ Get to know the BIG PRÊMIO channel on Twitch by clicking here!
Rosenqvist recently renewed his contract with McLaren until the end of 2023, but the category in which he will race remains a mystery. The team has the Swede and Pato O'Ward in its Indy team, but has the intention of adding a third car next year and dreams about the current champion Álex Palou - involved in an imbroglio with Ganassi - for the position, as well as the already signed Alexander Rossi, who arrives from Andretti.
Thus, Felix already knows he may have to accept a team decision that is not the one he would most like for his career, but he highlighted that the workgroup he got to know at Indy is the main reason he wants to stay in the category for a while longer. In addition, the driver ruled out getting involved in two different competitions at the same time - some Formula E competitors compete simultaneously in the WEC, for example.
"Because I think as you grow up, you kind of learn that this is all you want, you want a place where you are happy working with people," he commented. "It's less about which championship or which sponsor, I think it's all about having that group [of people], which I think I finally have now," he pointed out.
"It's tough, but we'll see what happens. Obviously, I can only pick one thing. So we'll go ahead and see where we are," he stressed.
Rosenqvist admitted that it is difficult to get a definitive answer from Zak Brown, but he approved the conversation between the two about the future. Nevertheless, the driver admitted that not knowing his future yet is a certain distraction, but that he gets behind when he gets in the car to compete.
"I'm not sure, it's hard to have a conversation because I kind of told him how I was feeling about it," he revealed. "And he told me how he feels. I know, at the end of the day, it's a business. It's nothing personal. We just try to make it work and focus, I think the most important thing is focus on the remaining races," he continued.
"Obviously, it's a distraction," he admitted. "But I feel like once we're on the track, everybody is able to focus on the task. And that's all we need to do," he pointed out.
Finally, Rosenqvist made a small balance of his participation in Indy, already in a certain farewell mood. The Swede was the rookie of the year in the category in 2019, but his evolution since then has been less than expected. Recently, he earned his first podium with McLaren, in Toronto.
Next year, McLaren is preparing to compete in Formula E for the first time and will take over Mercedes' operations. Thus, it has gone after the experienced Rene Rast for one of the team's seats and will most likely bring Rosenqvist back to the category, in which he has already competed 25 races for Mahindra between 2016 and 2019.
"I spent my last four years here [at Indy]," he pointed out. "It was hard to integrate coming from Europe, a little late in the stage of my career. But once you're there, it's an addictive environment to be in. The cars are fun to drive, the people are nice - not just the ones you work with, but the fans and media as well," he said.
"It's like a little family traveling around North America," he compared. "So yeah, I love it for sure. It's going to be hard to leave, should I end up going," she closed.