TORONTO (AP) 鈥� Christian Lundgaard is back at Exhibition Place a year after racing to his first IndyCar victory on the street course.
鈥淚t brings back a lot of good memories,鈥� Lundgaard said Friday. 鈥淏ut it also brings pressure. Of course, we want to perform at the same level as we did last year.鈥�
The race Sunday will be the first street event for the hybrid powertrains introduced two weeks ago at Mid-Ohio.
鈥淚 think with the hybrid this year, a lot of us are going to spend time trying to figure out how to utilize it, but at the same time it鈥檚 about having the car in the right window,鈥� said Lundgaard, the 22-year-old Dane who drives for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
Three-time Toronto champion Will Power is coming off a victory last week in Iowa on an oval. The Team Penske driver also said the biggest adjustment with the hybrids will be their strategic use.
鈥淚t鈥檚 still worth three-tenths (of a second), which is 10 spots in this series, so if it didn鈥檛 work, or if you didn鈥檛 use it properly, it鈥檒l cost you dearly,鈥� Power said.
Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing leads the season standings.
Qualifying was set for Saturday to determine the starting order for the 85-lap race.
In the opening practice session Friday, Colton Herta of Andretti Global had the fastest lap at 1:01.8906, followed by Palou at 1:02.0804. Lundgaard was 12th at 1:02.6594.
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