By: Ashley McCubbin

TORONTO, Ontario — Known for running up front in the past on the streets of Toronto, it was surprising to see Helio Castroneves place outside of the top-15 on Sunday in the Honda Indy Toronto.

“Obviously, for the (No.) 06 group, it wasn’t ideal, but 17^th is not the place we want to finish – but it is what it is,” he told NEWS FROM THE PITS. “Great battles out there. Great to be back after four years, so hopefully next year we do better.”

Looking back at the weekend, Castroneves notes they missed it on the set-up, and starting 17th did not help matters with the tight confines.

“We were slipping here on the first few days,” he commented. “Today, we improved a lot. If we started at the front, we probably would’ve had a better situation. We need to be more proactive on the changes that we make.”

In a season he calls average, it’s the latest result to the mixed finishes which Castroneves has produced in his return to the full schedule for the first time since 2017, with a pair of top-10’s in 10 events this year.

“I would say that I know we can do better,” he admitted. “Remember this situation is every place we’re going is the first time. This half of the season, we’re going to be visiting places that I went to last year so hopefully that will improve. But up to Nashville, all the races that we’ve did except Indianapolis will be new, so it’s just like my first time. My first time since 2017 here and Iowa and keep going. I would say its part of the process. I would love to be a little bit better, but it’s part of the process.”

He will hope to get back inside the top-10 this coming weekend at Iowa Speedway, a track which he scored a victory in his last appearance at. His confidence is high entering the event based on not only previous success, but having a “really, really strong” car during testing.