Will Power's St. Petersburg Grand Prix Weekend Takes a Turn for the Worse
Will Power's morning at the St. Petersburg Grand Prix got off to a rough start after a crash during the second practice session. The Australian driver, who is making his debut with Andretti Global, was navigating the 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit when he locked up his brakes in Turn 10 and crashed into the outside wall, causing significant damage to the front right side of his No. 26 Honda. The incident led to a red flag being thrown just under three minutes into the session.
"I just feel bad for the team," Power said. "We have a lot of time, but to miss this session was a big hit for us considering the session we had yesterday. Not an ideal start." Power, a two-time winner at St. Petersburg, had been dealing with brake lock-up issues during the first practice session on Friday. Although Saturday morning's humid conditions left a narrow dry line on the track, he admitted that it was a lock-up.
"Yeah, it was just a lock-up," Power explained. "You start it and then you've locked that wheel and you've got to get off to unlock it. It was just poor. If it had happened a little earlier, I would have been able to just go straight. But it actually happened, so it was such a light brake pressure too. But like I said, there were tires that were locked a lot yesterday. So, yeah, not ideal."
With qualifying scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET later today, following the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, Power is uncertain if a backup car will be required. "I looked at it, yeah, that's a tough one to get done," he said. "For qualifying, yeah, no problem. But it'd be awesome if we got out. That'd be a big deal for us again just at the end of the session, but I doubt it."
The other significant crash in the session involved the No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet driven by Christian Rasmussen. With just over eight minutes remaining before the split group portion of the session, he did a quarter spin in Turn 1 and hit the wall before coming to a stop in Turn 2. The impact was enough to damage the nosecone and leave him climbing out of the car.
What do you think? Do you think Power will be able to recover and qualify for the race? Or will he need to rely on a backup car? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
