Marco Andretti took his best result since finishing on the podium at Auto Club Speedway back in 2015 when he finished fourth around the streets of Toronto on Sunday.
The Andretti Autosport driver started the race in eleventh position, but the American driver felt his pace was deserving for around sixth or seventh place, so he was naturally happy to leave Canada with a top four result.
Andretti thanked his team for giving him a good car and for having good pit stops throughout the race, and he was content to have finished so high despite saving fuel in the closing stages.
“I think (it seemed like) we were quiet all weekend because we got hosed by that yellow in qualifying,” said Andretti. “But, I think our pace was actually about sixth or seventh, so we’re happy to come away with a fourth.
“My engineer did a good job with the car. We were really balanced. I could really wring it out and we saved fuel at the end. I had a good car here in Toronto. I’m happy for the UFD team; the boys did a great job for us all day in the pits.”
Team-mate Ryan Hunter-Reay finished sixth, and felt that the turnaround compared to 2016 for the team and for Honda was remarkable. The former series champion lost fifth late in the day to Simon Pagenaud after his car became loose due to worn tyres, but he felt it was a good day for Andretti Autosport with three cars inside the top six.
“We had a bit of a handful today, for sure,” said Hunter-Reay. “The result was a good turnaround, though. Really nice good job by Alex (Rossi), finishing second and Marco (Andretti) grabbing fourth.
“We had a great battle with Simon (Pagenaud). I was almost able to hold him off to keep fifth, but we just couldn’t keep it and finished sixth. I just got too loose at the end. I think I burnt the rears off trying to catch Marco. That’s the way it goes, though.
“Overall, it was a pretty good day and a good turnaround from last year.”
