By: Ashley McCubbin

TORONTO, Ontario —- Leading 54 of the 85 laps, Christian Lundgaard made fond memories on the streets of Toronto in 2023 en route to his first career NTT IndyCar Series victory. Another year under his belt, and a podium in the Indianapolis Grand Prix earlier this year, there’s good vibes coming back to Canada for the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver.

“It brings back a lot of good memories,” he told the media on Friday. “I didn’t really get to celebrate it on Sunday. I had to be pulled out from the press conference for a flight to fly home. I came back here in November to just see the place – to see the race track, spots around here. But it brings back a lot of good memories.”

Looking back on how things played out, Lundgaard says the biggest thing which stands out is the relief that came with the win.

“I think the talk last year was it’s not a matter of if, but when, and it was here,” he explained. “We haven’t had one since then. I think we’ve had plenty of opportunities to and failed, so coming back here in a place that we know that we’ve done it brings a lot of optimism.”

It won’t be straight forward for the driver of the No. 45 as he tries to go back-to-back, with some changes being made to the series package in the form of a different tire compound, and the new hybrid system which was implemented.

“There’s compensations from the hybrid with the weight being different, and just trying to compensate – luckily, we have so many tools for simulations to get us in the best window from the get-go,” he explained. “Obviously, that can be wrong at times, but we have a good starting point from last year. I think one thing to keep in mind is we weren’t in the most competitive car that won here last year – we really just started to make progress from practice one to practice two and then qualifying. I think the track evolution is what really helped us. I think if the car we raced on Sunday was close to the car we raced on Friday, but it wasn’t competitive. I think that just shows the track evolution. So even if we are fast in practice, it does not mean we’ll be fast in qualifying or the race. I think with the hybrid, i think a lot of us are going to spend time learning how to use it.”

The hybrid system was implemented for IndyCar beginning with Mid-Ohio, and will be utilised for the rest of the 2024 campaign.

“I don’t think there’s been really any surprises,” he commented. “I think it’s one race we’re allowed to restart on track, the next race we’re not. We saw the issues in Iowa during qualifying. I don’t think we will see that here. It has just come with a lot of complications structurally, and that’s what you’re asking implementing it middle of the season. But other than that, i think it’s been pretty straight forward.”

Lundgaard will take the green flag for the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy from the 16th position.