Long Beach qualifying "not fun" for Marcus Ericsson as Andretti teammates secure front-row lockout

Kyle Kirkwood and Colton Herta made it an all-Andretti front row for the 2025 IndyCar Grand Prix of Long Beach, which left Marcus Ericsson out of the mix. The Swede qualified P5 while his teammates enjoyed their success at the top of the timing tables, and he deemed the experience "not fun" in the post-qualifying interview.

Ericsson is a former F1 driver, but when his tenure within the European championship came to an end, he moved over to the racing realm in the United States. He won four races with Chip Ganassi Racing after joining them in 2020, including the elusive Indy 500 in 2022.

Andretti signed him on a multi-year deal that began in 2024. However, this partnership has not borne any fruits yet, as Ericsson has only salvaged a solitary podium finish over the past year and wants to leave an impact on the grid during his 2025 campaign.

After a dismal weekend in Thermal Club, he hopes for a better outing in Long Beach and has made it into the Fast 6 this time. Despite qualifying P5, the 34-year-old was unhappy as was envisioned for a better result with his teammates topping the session and locking out the front row for the team.

Reflecting on it, Ericsson deemed the disparity in their qualifying performances "not fun," and said:

"I mean things are going really well, I think the team has done a tremendous job with a 1-2 and then me, fifth. But, being a racing driver it is not fun to be P5 when your teammates are 1-2, so I'm a bit disappointed, I wanted a bit more. But the team has done a great job, the No. 28 Brian car was really good so we can definitely fight from there tomorrow."

On the other hand, the Long Beach Grand Prix threw a spanner in the works as drivers were given one reduced set of the white-walled primary tires.

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Marcus Ericsson reveals the challenges associated with the new tire allocations

Marcus Ericsson at the IMSA 12 Hours of Sebring - Qualifying - Source: Getty

The Long Beach Grand Prix was extended to 90 laps this year, which was coupled with Firestone giving an even 5:5 split for the allocation of the primary and alternate tires.

This has increased the stakes of the strategy calls during the race, as the longer-lasting rubber sets seem to be scarce. Marcus Ericsson pointed out the issue with this and said (via RACER):

"The challenge we have there is we did that change to have more greens for qualifying, improving that show, but then we missed a little bit there with a grippy and degrading green tire, which they’ve done, and they’ve done a good job with that, but taking away a primary set to do that maybe was not the way to get us all more out on the racetrack."

Meanwhile, Ericsson will start alongside Team Penske's Scott McLaughlin in the third row and bid to bag the 50th-anniversary victory at the Long Beach Grand Prix.