Roger Penske's right-hand man gets blunt about Josef Newgarden's belt issue at the Long Beach GP
Josef Newgarden suffered a seatbelt issue at the IndyCar Long Beach Grand Prix, which forced him to finish last at the 90-lap event. The team was left floundering for answers, a statement which was resounded by Roger Penske's right-hand man and Team Penske President, Tim Cindric.
The two-time IndyCar champion had a troubled start to the Long Beach Grand Prix weekend as he got knocked out during the first round of qualifying. Despite the initial setback, Newgarden aimed to get his championship back on track.
The Team Penske driver started 15th but gambled on a different strategy than his peers to earn spots up the grid. This gamble paid off as he got inside the top-10 and was slated for a top-five finish.
However, while his car was being serviced by his mechanics, Josef Newgarden found out about his loose seatbelts. This called for an unscheduled pit stop on the subsequent lap on safety grounds and lost over a lap in the whole saga.
Reflecting on Newgarden's botched Long Beach Grand Prix due to the seatbelt woes, Tim Cindric said (via Frontstretch Open Wheel):
"Obviously without the belt problem, I think we [would have] finished in the top five. We had a really fast car without any cautions. That's about what the intention was for the day. But, unfortunately we got to figure out why the belts came off the right-handers a couple [of] times." (0:10 onwards)
After a torrid weekend in Thermal Club, Josef Newgarden's hopes were crushed after the seatbelt troubles caused him to lose dozens of potential points.
"A punch in the gut": Josef Newgarden admits the Long Beach Grand Prix as a damning result
The two-time Indy 500 winner was unhappy after a potential top-five result was snubbed away from him. Despite this, Newgarden still held his head up and envisioned a better next race.
Though he tried to move ahead from the result at Long Beach, Josef Newgarden was stuck about the potential loss at Long Beach, and said (via Team Penske):
"That was one of the best cars I've had at Long Beach, no doubt and it is terrible to be talking about finishing in last place with it. The Astemo team executed extremely well today and did everything right. We were moving forward and to have this happen with the belts is just a punch in the gut. We have Barber next to get back on the right side of the momentum before the month of May."
After the 27th-place result at Long Beach, the 34-year-old sits 10th in the championship standings, the lowest among the Team Penske drivers.