Josef Newgarden is remaining positive, despite a perplexing qualifying session for the IndyCar Grand Prix of St. Petersburg which saw him qualify 12th for the race.
Although he failed to trouble the sharp end of the order, Newgarden felt that his No. 21 car had decent grip and balance throughout the qualifying session.
However, the car simply lacked overall speed, with Newgarden under the impression that his car had more performance than was on display around the St. Petersburg street course.
"I felt pretty positive all day, but it's perplexing why we didn't have the speed there in qualifying,” explained Newgarden, who won twice last season.
“Sometimes this is a perplexing track. You can have good balance, the car can feel like it has good grip and but you just don't have the speed.
“We'll try and get it sorted for tomorrow and have a good race car.”
Despite suffering a lacklustre qualifying result, Newgarden is remaining positive ahead of the 110-lap race.
The St. Petersburg street course is notorious for providing unpredictable races, which will give Newgarden and those around him an extra incentive during the race.
“I feel confident still, it's just a shame we couldn't be a little bit quicker,” continued Newgarden.
“I felt like we had more performance than what we showed, the car was really good and it felt good, it just wasn't quick enough."
