Indycar

15th May 202116th August 2021

Rinus VeeKay becomes IndyCar’s third first-time winner in 2021. Romain Grosjean takes maiden podium at GMR Grand Prix.

A miraculous display of race-craft saw Rinus VeeKay take his first IndyCar career victory at the GMR Grand Prix of Indianapolis. He crossed the line five seconds ahead of pole-sitter Romain Grosjean who also was in contention for his first win in the series.

The 20-year-old Dutchman became the fifth winner in five IndyCar races, three of those all being first-time winners in 2021. The win also saw Ed Carpenter Racing in victory lane for the first time since Iowa 2016, won by two-time champion Josef Newgarden

VeeKay becomes the fourth winner 24 or younger to win in 2021 alongside Colton Herta, Patricio O’Ward, and Alex Palou in what seems like a significant changing of the guard.

Romain Grosjean takes 2nd at the GMR Grand Prix. Photo Courtesy of Joe Skibinski.

Romain Grosjean led off the start, building a four-second gap on closest rival Jack Harvey in second. The Frenchman spent 44 laps in the lead but came undone after the second pit stop window. VeeKay, who had managed to undercut Grosjean by seven laps sliced his way through the field pulling off a marvelous three-wide overtake on Jimmie Johnson and Alex Palou in the process.

Meanwhile, Grosjean lost time against the backmarker of Takuma Sato who tried his best to keep himself on the lead-lap. After Grosjean emerged from the pits VeeKay was under a second behind and eventually pulled off the overtake on Lap 49. Stringing together three incredible stints on the red soft compound tyres, VeeKay never looked back, claiming his first career victory, the first Dutchman to do so since Robert Doornbos in Canada 2007.

This also marks Romain Grosjean’s first podium since the 2015 Belgium Grand Prix in what is a miraculous comeback after his near-fatal crash at Bahrain.

Alex Palou at the GMR Grand Prix. Photo Courtesy of Matt Fraver.

Alex Palou continues his strong form bringing home his second podium of the season. After O’Ward’s 15th place finish, the young Spaniard retakes second place in the points standings.

Newgarden did well to recover after losing his place off the start to Britain’s Jack Harvey. The American diced with Palou for the majority of the race, but it well could have been a slow pit-stop which resulted in him taking home fourth, in what is now four out of four races finishing in the top-six. Since retiring in the first race of the season at Barber, he has recovered to third in the points standings.

It was a superb display of strategy which saw Graham Rahal take home fifth place. After getting caught up in a first-lap melee involving Conor Daly, the Rahal Letterman driver made a stop under caution, opting for a two-stop strategy.

Simon Pagenaud led a largely anonymous race, but the speed of his Penske helped move him up the order from tenth to sixth at the end of the race.

Alexander Rossi had to get his elbows out and deal with potential engine issues to move from 14th on the grid to cross the line in seventh ahead of rookie Scott McLaughlin who picked up another top ten finish.

Scott Dixon and Marcus Ericsson climbed up from their disappointing qualifying positions to round out the top ten.

O’Ward tried to follow Scott Dixon with an early pit stop on Lap Four under caution. But the Arrow McLaren SP driver returned to the pits after struggling on that compound, ruining his race and finishing in 15th.

Britain’s Jack Harvey fell out of contention for the win after stalling during a slow pit stop. After coming out of the pits he suffered what seemed to be a puncture and had to return to the pits immediately, dropping him to twenty third.

However, it is still Scott Dixon who leaves as championship leader going into the Indianapolis 500 at the end of May.

14th May 202116th August 2021

Romain Grosjean defies the odds to take first career IndyCar pole at IMS

Romain Grosjean defied all odds to take his first career IndyCar pole position at the GMR Grand Prix of Indianapolis. The rookie edged out two-time champion Josef Newgarden in only his third weekend with Dayle Coyne Racing. This marks the Frenchman’s first single-seater pole since his GP2 days in 2011.

It is also the first pole position for Dayle Coyne Racing since 2018, when compatriot Sebastian Bourdais topped qualifying in Pheonix.

Penske’s Newgarden lost out by only 0.128s but starts in a promising position for the race tomorrow. Seven out of the last eight here have been won by Penske, will they add to that tally?

GMR Grand Prix, Scott McLaughlin. Photo Courtesy of Joe Skibinski.

Scott McLaughlin was arguably just as impressive, sneaking into the Fast Six for the first time in his career and starting in fifth position after his incredible weekend at Texas Motor Speedway behind Meyer Shank’s Jack Harvey in third and Chip Ganassi’s Alex Palou in fourth. Ed Carpenter’s Conor Daly rounded out the Fast Six.

Grosjean only just barely made it through Round two, following a surprise exit from Indianapolis Road Course expert Will Power. The Australian spun on the penultimate corner and was prevented from restarting with a clutch issue. He had previously made it into the Fast Six on eight of the last nine attempts at this circuit. The four-time IMS winner will have some work to do starting tomorrow’s race in twelfth.

Colton Herta, who today signed a new multi-year contract extension with Andretti Autosport, missed out on the Fast Six in seventh, while Rinus VeeKay starts just behind in eighth.

Ed Jones made it two Dayle Coyne Racing cars in the Top Ten, outpacing Penske’s Simon Pagenaud in tenth, and Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Graham Rahal eleventh.

GMR Grand Prix. O’Ward. Photo Courtesy of Joe Skibinski,

Free Practice pace-setter Alexander Rossi will start fourteenth after just missing out on Round Two, ahead of reigning champion Scott Dixon, who starts two places further back in a disappointing sixteenth. Second-place driver in the championship, Pato O’Ward starts a further two places back 18th.

Jimmie Johnson was slowest in his qualifying group but will start twenty-third ahead of Dalton Kellett and IndyCar returnee Arrow McLaren SP’s Juan Pablo Montoya, who had his two quickest laps deleted for holding up Alex Palou.

STARTING GRID:

Grosjean
Newgarden
Harvey
Palou
McLaughlin
Daly
Herta
VeeKay
Jones
Pagenaud
Rahal
Power
Rosenqvist
Rossi
Ericsson
Dixon
Sato
O’Ward
Hunter-Reau
Bourdais
Kimball
Hinchcliffe
Johnson
Kellett
Montoya

12th May 202116th August 2021

A Changing of the Guard? The GMR IndyCar Grand Prix of Indianapolis Preview

IndyCar will take to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course this weekend for the GMR Grand Prix.

This year, we roll into Indianapolis with four different race winners in as many races with others hot-on-the heels, ready to take snatch victories if the opportunity presents itself.

Scott Dixon comes into this race as points leader with a 22 point margin over nearest rival Patricio O’Ward. He is also last year’s Indianapolis GP winner and will be coming into this weekend with plenty of confidence – confidence that has seen him finish inside the top five in every outing this season.

But for once – it isn’t the highly-rated New Zealander that has got everyone talking.

Changing of the Guard?

Patricio O’Ward won last time out at Texas, taking his long-overdue maiden IndyCar win by beating six-time world champion Scott Dixon. The win, which had been ‘on-the-cards’ for over a year was one of many other success stories across the paddock. Among those are a range of drivers under the age of 25 including Alex Palou who won at Barber while Colton Herta took victory at St. Petersburg. Also, who could forget Rinus VeeKay who is consistently putting in strong performances with the Ed Carpenter Racing outfit?

This isn’t to say that the proverbial ‘old-guard’ are not up to the job. The likes of Scott Dixon, Will Power, and Simon Pagenaud are still serious competition while Josef Newgarden may be mistaken as a younger driver, even he is into his 30’s.

O’Ward currently sits second in the drivers’ championship. Photo Courtesy of James Black.

But while the young guns have shown glimpses of brilliance over the past few seasons, now they are consistently challenging at the front of the field. Pato’s win was something of a ‘monkey on his shoulders’ and will certainly give him the confidence that he belongs at the sharp end. If Arrow McLaren SP can deliver a title-challenging car, you better believe Pato will be a factor in most races.

Alex Palou holds one of the coveted spots at Chip Ganassi Racing and is certainly viewed as the team’s future. This at least ensures the Spaniard has the backing and resources to be a major contender for years. But the fact that he is putting in results in his first season with the team was perhaps beyond most peoples’ expectations.

Rinus VeeKay has made it no secret that top-teams have already been in contact but felt another year with Ed Carpenter would be best for his development in the series. The most likely of destinations for the Dutchman would be either Andretti Autosport or Chip Ganassi to replace Jimmie Johnsons’ part-time no. 48 entry. Wherever his destiny lies his future looks bright and will be a title contender in the next few years.

Interestingly, a third of the available spots on all podiums this year have been filled by these drivers, a significant change on past seasons. Considering Herta and VeeKay’s past success at Indianapolis – I expect them to be a factor once again this weekend at the GMR Grand Prix.

Can Penske Strike Back?

We return to a track where not only Roger Penske himself owns, but where his team has dominated in recent years. Will Power and Simon Pagenaud have stolen the spoils every year between 2015 and 2019. In addition, all excluding 2019 have been won from pole position by the winning Penske driver.

Josef Newgarden wins at the Harvest GP ’20. Photo Courtesy of Doug Matthews.

IndyCar’s last visit to the Road Course was for October’s Harvest GP doubleheader which Penske won on both times of asking – Josef Newgarden followed by Will Power from pole the next day. With five of the last nine IMS road races won from the front row, Friday’s qualifying will prove that much more important.

Newgarden is the highest placed Penske in the drivers’ championship in fourth. By their standards, they will be hoping to change that by the end of this weekend. His unfortunate start to the season at Barber has been something of a blip, finishing consistently in the top-six on every occasion since.

His teammate Will Power by contrast had his turn of misfortunate at the Texas Motor Speedway, slipping down the order and out of contention in both races. Ninth place in the championship is not good enough for the former IndyCar champion and will be looking to capitalise on his winning experience around this circuit.

The GMR Grand Prix will take place on Saturday afternoon in a condensed two-day weekend.

Friday 14th May will play host to qualifying at 21:30 (BST) while the race will get underway on Saturday 15th May at approximately 19:00 (BST).

3rd May 202116th August 2021

O’Ward Seizes Long-Overdue First IndyCar Win at the Texas XPEL 375

Sunday saw Arrow McLaren SP’s Patricio O’Ward clinch victory at the Texas Motor Speedway, his first IndyCar win – and with it, a chance to drive at the F1 Young Drivers Test in Abu Dhabi.

O’Ward had been in incredible form all weekend, coming off the back of a podium at the Genesys300. With 50 laps to go, O’Ward looked set to take the lead of the race when teammate Felix Rosenqvist brought out the final caution following a pitstop in which his right rear tyre failed to attach.

Photo Courtesy of Chris Owens. Josef Newgarden. Texas.

However, Josef Newgarden could not have timed the undercut better. He was in pit-road as the caution was brought out and emerged ahead of Scott Dixon, Graham Rahal, and O’Ward who had been battling all evening.

On the restart, Newgarden made it past Takuma Sato who was still yet to pit, however so too did his nearest rivals. Behind them, O’Ward made quick work of Graham Rahal to move up to second.

Photo Courtesy of Chris Owens. O’Ward. Texas.

Newgarden failed to pull away from the attacking group and came under relentless pressure but it was with 20 Laps to go where the race was won. O’Ward, with steely determination, kept the accelerator planted into Turn 3 and seized the lead of the race.

O’Ward, who prior to this had come second on three occasions, finally broke the duck as he charged on to take the chequered flag, 1.5s ahead of Josef Newgarden.

Pato becomes the first Mexican to win in the American series since Adrian Fernandez at the Auto Club Speedway, 2004. Additionally, this marks McLaren’s first win since their return to IndyCar and the first since Johnny Rutherford at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, 1979.

As an extra reward, McLaren CEO Zak Brown will give O’Ward an opportunity to drive for the McLaren F1 Team at the post-season, Abu Dhabi Young Drivers Test.

Graham Rahal had been in the mix all race pulling off some audacious moves and benefitting massively during the earlier caution brought on by Meyer Shank driver Jack Harvey. Havey had been running in the top five, even overtaking IndyCar champion Will Power in the process until a wheel-bearing failure forced the car into the pits – leaving oil all over the road.

Photo Courtesy of Chris Owens. Dixon leads Power, Rahal. Texas,

Rahal and Power, who had pitted earlier were able to jump a number of cars – including Newgarden – as the field collectively pitted under yellow. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan driver found himself in fifth. Despite both drivers being taken by O’Ward on the restart, Rahal fought bravely against Scott Dixon who had led from pole.

During the final pit stop and caution which was brought out by Felix Rosenqvist, Dixon held on to his advantage over Rahal. But back on track Rahal eventually cleared the Genesys300 winner to take his first podium of the season.

Colton Herta had a brilliant race – starting way down the field after an unfortunate brake issue forced him to retire from the Genesys300. Herta made great use of the undercut pulling off a great move on Simon Pagenaud to take fifth.

Alex Palou, who had started on the front row lost a lot of position after Jack Harvey’s caution. Like yesterday, the Spaniard never looked like he was going to trouble his six-time champion teammate. Despite finishing in seventh, it rounds off a decent weekend for the Barber Motorsport Park winner who finished inside the top ten in both races.

Scott McLaughlin followed up his maiden podium with an eighth-place, well ahead of Rinus VeeKay and Ryan Hunter-Reay, who rounded out the top-10.

Power had been in the battle at the front, but having dropped back slightly by the time of the final restart, but came off worst in the three-wide battle as Herta passed Pagenaud.

The Australian was pushed wide onto the high side and crucially – into the slippery ‘PJ1’ section. The Penske driver veered uncontrollably wide, hitting the barrier and finished down in 13th behind Ed Carpenter and Marcus Ericsson.

Takuma Sato, who decided to try the overcut came up short. After briefly leading after the final pit stops he eventually would eventually fall down to 14th

Photo Courtesy of Chris Owens. First Lap Crash. Texas.

However, the most dramatic moment of the race came during Lap 1 in the form of a horrendous seven-car pile-up. As the field concertinaed, Pietro Fittipaldi was caught out by the late braking of AJ Foyt’s Sebastien Bourdais. His Dayle Coyne entry sent both drivers into a spin collecting: Ed Jones, Alexander Rossi, Dalton Kellett, Tony Kanaan, and Conor Daly in the process. Daly found himself upside down in a scary moment for the Carlin driver but was left relatively unscathed.

Scott Dixon leaves Texas with the lead of the championship while Patricio O’Ward sits 22 points behind. Alex Palou has slipped to third while Newgarden continues his relentless charge up to fourth.

IndyCar gets back underway at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the 15th May for the GMR Grand Prix.

2nd May 202116th August 2021

IndyCar Texas Genesys300: Scott Dixon takes 51st career win. McLaughlin takes second on oval debut.

Scott Dixon dominated the Texas Motor Speedway, leading almost every lap to take victory at the Genesys300, while fellow compatriot Scott McLaughlin achieves a career-best second on his oval debut.

Saturday saw qualifying postponed due to wet weather, as moisture in the air made track-drying efforts increasingly difficult. The session was eventually canceled and the starting grid was formed based on championship positions with Chip Ganassi’s Alex Palou and Penske’s Will Power lining up alongside each other on the first row ahead of Scott Dixon, Colton Herta, Simon Pagenaud, and Britain’s Jack Harvey.

Alex Palou got off to a great start – leading a rather hesitant field who were wary of the darker shaded ‘PJ1’ tarmac which lined the higher portion of the track. This slippery surface, used for NASCAR racing, was highly treacherous and was mostly avoided by the field. This left a much narrower racing line and made overtaking around the outside increasingly difficult.

Photo Courtesy of Chris Owens. Dixon round the outside of Palou, Texas.

That being said, six-time champion Scott Dixon got to work early, picking off both Will Power and Alex Palou on Lap 4. The New Zealander came under pressure from various rivals but was largely untroubled throughout the race, who takes his 51st win in IndyCar, now one behind the all-time great Mario Andretti.

The common understanding was that the race could be done on a three stops strategy. With over 200 laps to complete many drivers went into tyre management mode – some choosing to come into the pits as early as Lap 25 – as they started vibrating due to wear rather than blisters.

Those that pitted early around Lap 50 included: Power, Ericsson, O’Ward, Pagenaud, Sato, Rahal, Carpenter, Hunter-Reay, and Daly.

Unfortunately, Sebastien Bourdais collided with the barrier on Lap 56, bringing out the first caution of the evening. Josef Newgarden was to blame for this incident, who was caught by surprise as Bourdais braked late in front. As a result, Newgarden was sent to the back of the grid, which left the two-time champion plenty to do for the remaining 150 laps.

Those that had not pitted, including Dixon, Palou, Harvey, Herta, Newgarden, and McLaughlin were allowed into the pits under caution on Lap 64. For those that already had, they found themselves shuffled down the grid. The most notable of which was Will Power who found himself loundering in 12th.

Dixon and Palou led the field on the restart ahead of Herta, Harvey, and Alexander Rossi. Tony Kanaan, who had started 23rd and pitted on Lap 25 was the biggest gainer, now in seventh. Australian Supercar Champion Scott McLaughlin was also benefited during this stage who found himself in the sixth,

Palou kept the pressure on Dixon but failed to make any significant moves on his Chip Ganassi teammate, who dived into the pits again on Lap 126. This left Palou in the lead ahead of Pietro Fittipaldi and Will Power as the rest of the leaders took their second pitstops. Power gave it just one more lap, Palou two more, and Fittipaldi three more.

While Dixon’s emerged clearly in the lead Felix Rosenqvist, who’d pitted on lap 118, was up to second for Arrow McLaren SP. Behind him ran McLaughlin while Palou had fallen down to fourth. The undercut strategy really paid off today.

Rosenqvist closed the gap to half a second on Dixon as they ran through heavy traffic. – the top three were separated by just two seconds.

Photo Courtesy of Chris Owens. Hinchcliffe. Texas.

However, Lap 160 saw Andretti Autosport’s James Hinchcliffe crash after getting out of shape in the ‘dirty air’ of Felix Rosenqvist who had just lapped him.

This triggered the final set of pit stops with Dixon, Rosenqvist, and McLaughlin pitting on Lap 172. Second place Rosenqvist lost out massively as Chip Ganassi’s Marcus Ericsson left his pit box without his right rear tyre. The Swede had to take avoiding action onto the grass and lost out to McLaughlin falling down to 12th.

Scott Dixon and Scott McLaughlin led the field now ahead of Arrow McLaren SP’s Patricio O’Ward who had gambled on strategy in the middle portion of the race and gained many positions on new tyres. Behind them included: Alex Palou, Colton Herta, Jack Harvey, Alexander Rossi, Josef Newgarden, Graham Rahal, and Simon Pagenaud.

On the final restart, Dixon sprinted away from McLaughlin and O’Ward, while Newgarden and Rahal made light work of Meyer Shank’s Jack Harvey.

The drama wasn’t over yet as on Lap 191 Herta pulled into the pits – his right rear tyre bursting with flames. The St. Petersburg winner had been running high for most of the race but was done for today and ultimately retired.

Upfront, McLaughlin got within 0.2s of Dixon on the final 5 laps, hoping lapped traffic would cause problems for the defending champion. But it was Dixon who came out on top to take his fifth win at the Texas Motor Speedway – and the lead of the championship.

Photo Courtesy of Chris Owens. Scott McLaughlin, Texas.

McLaughlin finishes second on his debut appearance at an oval. The Kiwi 1-2 made it an impressive weekend for New Zealand motorsport after Brendan Hartley’s success over in WEC’s new Hypercar entry. In only his fourth IndyCar appearance this was a seriously impressive driver and ended the day the highest placed Penske.

O’Ward finished 1.5s down to claim the first podium of the season for Arrow McLaren SP, and move up to fourth in the championship, ahead of Palou who scored his best oval finish and slipped to second in the points.

Newgarden salvaged sixth behind the charging Rahal while Britain’s Jack Harvey kept seventh who moves up to fifth in the points – to put this in perspective, his highest championship finish is 15th which he achieved in 2020.

The second race of the Texas doubleheader is the Xpel 375 on Sunday May 2nd. The 248-lap race will get underway just after 10:00pm (BST).

As Saturday’s canceled qualifying would have set the order for both races the grid will be based on the current championship standings following the Genesys300 (Dixon, Palou, Power, O’Ward, Harvey, Newgarden, McLaughlin, Pagenaud, Rahal, and Herta).

RACE 1 CLASSIFICATION:

Dixon
McLaughlin
O’Ward
Palou
Rahal
Newgarden
Harvey
Rossi
Sato
Pagenaud
Kanaan
Ed Jones
Rosenqvist
Power
Fittipaldi
Hunter-Reay
Carpenter
Kellett
Ericsson
VeeKay
Daly
Herta
Hinchcliffe
Bourdais

30th April 202116th August 2021

Deep in the Heart of Texas: The Genesys 300 and Xpel 375 Grand Prix Preview

After opening the 2021 IndyCar season with races on a permanent track and street circuit, we head to our first oval races of the year at Texas Motor Speedway. With two different race winners at both St Pete and Barber alongside the added unpredictability that comes with oval racing, it is highly likely that there may be a different winner this weekend.

Chip Ganassi Racing‘s Alex Palou comes into this race with a narrow two-point lead over teammate Scott Dixon and Will Power in the drivers championship, with last time out race winner Colton Herta leading the charge to challenge the top three.

In addition, drivers like Tony Kanaan and Pietro Fittipaldi will be making their season debuts this weekend, substituting for drivers on road and street course races.

The history of IndyCar racing at the Texas Motor Speedway starts in 1997 – won by Dutch extraordinaire Arie Luyendyk. Since then the circuit has played host to 32 different races and 21 different race winners. Both Helio Castroneves and Scott Dixon are the most successful drivers at Texas with four wins apiece.

If you’re a fan of racing, there’s going to be a lot of it! The 1..5-mile oval located in Fort Worth, Texas will host our first double-header of the season including both the Genesys 300 and the Xpel 375 – the first time Texas has hosted a double-header since 2011. It will be incredibly important to get this track right if a driver wishes to make a significant dent in the championship with 106 points available across both races. Yes, 106!

Unlike 2011, this weekend will be run over a full race distance (In 2011 two races were held on the same day and as a result, the race distance was reduced by half for both). The Genesys 300 will last 212 laps while the second race will be even longer at 248 laps.

Additionally, the qualifying format will see a small tweak. The first lap will determine the starting position for the first race while the second lap will determine the starting position for the second. Normally, when there is only one race your starting position is determined by the combined time for two consecutive timed laps. Got that?

DRIVER CHANGES

Texas Motor Speedway winner (2004) Tony Kanaan will make his return to the series this weekend for Chip Ganassi at both the Genesys 300 and the Xpel 375.

The 2004 series champion is sharing the entry this season with seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, who is focusing on the road courses and street circuits. This will form two out of the four races Kanaan will compete in this year alongside the Indy 500 and the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway, Illinois.

Courtesy of Chris Owens. Ed Carpenter at the Texas Pre Season Test

Joining alongside him is fellow Texas winner Ed Carpenter, who in recent years has opted to race only on ovals. He will take Conor Daly’s place in the Ed Carpenter Racing Air Force Chevrolet entry. Like last year, Daly will drive the Carlin Chevrolet in place of Max Chilton who will sit out for this weekend.

Romain Grosjean will also not be competing this weekend with his Dayle Coyne Racing with RWR entry taken by Peitro Fittipaldi. The Brazilian making his IndyCar comeback after his 2018 season was cut short by injuries suffered in the World Endurance Championship race at Spa, Belgium.

WHO TO LOOK OUT FOR

There are some incredibly talented drivers to watch out for that I could name almost half the field. Alex Palou was our race winner at Barber but suffered a pretty uneventful outing at St Pete finishing down in 17th. The Spaniard has fresh memories of the Speedway and will be hoping to avoid a repeat of his incident with Rinus VeeKay. Both drivers crashed out of the race on Lap 37 after the Dutchman lost control into turn two.

But while Palou retains his lead at the top of the championship, VeeKay will be looking to continue his consistent run of form after finishing twice in the top ten. The Dutchman qualified in the ‘Fast Six’ on both his oval debuts at the Indy 500 and Gateway with a maiden pole position at the Harvest Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway – he may be one to watch to put in an impressive qualifying performance.

During IndyCar’s pre-season test back in March, it was Arrow McLaren SP’s Patricio O’Ward who was the fastest of everyone. Despite picking up a draft on his flying lap he was amongst the top five fastest on the solo runs. O’Ward has been a constant threat in both races of the season and still seeks his maiden victory. O’Ward’s closest rival in that test was Alexander Rossi who still continues to struggle with poor performances this season.

Courtesy of Chris Owens. Herta at the Texas Pre Season Test

Colton Herta comes off the back of one of his strongest performances of his career with a win at St Pete. The young American is in imperious form, picking up where he left off finishing third in his sophomore IndyCar season and staking a claim as the team leader at Andretti versus the likes of Ryan Hunter-Reay and Alexander Rossi. Last year, Herta was incredibly consistent on ovals, finishing inside the top ten on six occasions. His best result that year on ovals came at the Harvest Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway where he finished second alongside an equally impressive qualifying performance.

And as always you can never count out six-time champion Scott Dixon. With his win record at the track, he will be a threat to win once more and could take the points lead by the end of the weekend. He was last year’s winner at the Texas Motor Speedway and is coming off the back of two top-five finishes. Dixon is someone who is famous for knowing how best to execute a strategy on ovals and will most likely find his way to the top of the field even if he starts far down the order.

Texas will see qualifying take place on Saturday 1st May at 21:00 (BST) followed by the Genesys 300 at midnight, 00:00 (BST).

The Xpel 375 will take place on Sunday 2nd May at 22:00 (BST).

You can watch the race on SkySportF1 in the UK. Alternatively, you can read our post-race reports following each event. In solidarity, with fellow organisations ThePitCrewOnline will be taking part in a social media boycott across the weekend in protest of online hate.

25th April 202116th August 2021

IndyCar St. Petersburg Grand Prix: Herta fends off Newgarden in most dominant victory yet.

Colton Herta was the class of the field this weekend, leading from pole and fending off two-time IndyCar champion Josef Newgarden to take victory at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

Herta held off Newgarden on two late restarts to become the third local driver to win at this 14-turn street course. The late St. Petersburg resident Dan Wheldon won in 2005, while Sebastien Bourdais won in 2017.

Photo Courtesy of Joe Skibinski. Colton Herta.

Herta’s fourth career victory was his first with his father, Bryan, as his race strategist. His dad won the pole here in 2005. The win also tied his dad’s career total.

With five top-five finishes in his last six. Three podiums. Two race victories. Whatever way you look at it, Herta is making something of a name for himself and his battle with Newgarden is being labelled by some as IndyCar’s ‘The Changing of the Guard’.

Newgarden finished his final remaining stint on sticker red (softer) tyres in contrast to Herta’s primary blacks (hards). On the restart, he was able to keep within one second of Herta for the majority of the final 20 laps. Unfortunately, his tyres started to drop off, leaving no option but to settle for second and bank important championship points after failing to finish at Barber Motorsports Park.

Newgarden was followed by Penske teammate Simon Pagenaud, who finished 12th a week ago but drove a strong and faultless race to finish third.

Jack Harvey, who started on the front row, took fourth, followed by Scott Dixon in fifth for his second consecutive top-five. Takuma Sato and Marcus Ericsson both picked up nine spots from 15th and 16th to sixth and seventh, respectively, followed by Will Power’s surge up the field picking up 12 spots from 20th to eighth.

Rinus VeeKay struggled on the soft tyre early on and did well to take ninth from his sixth-place start given his early slip down the order and early first stop.

Sebastien Bourdais rounded out the top-10, his second time in the top-10 in two weeks.

Photo Courtesy of Joe Skibinski. Jimmie Johnson.

Chip Ganassi’s Jimmie Johnson brought out the first caution of the race on Lap 15, locking up his tyres into Turn 13 and slid into the barrier. Luckily, Johnson was able to free his car and return to the track. This caution caused the likes of Power, McLaughlin and Grosjean, who were near the back of the grid to pit for alternative black (hard) tyres in anticipation of a caution.

The NASCAR champion would eventually finish 22nd, five laps down on the leaders, ahead of Max Chilton and Dalton Kellett who suffered from a mechanical failure and a spin respectively.

The next incident came on Lap 23 involving Takuma Sato and James Hinchcliffe. While battling inside the top-15, the two smacked front tyres, causing a flat front-right on the car of Hinchcliffe. This incident forced the Canadian to make an extra stop and would finish a lap down in 18th.

Photo Courtesy of Joe Skibinski. Alexander Rossi.

Lap 37 epitomised what was a calamitous race for Alexander Rossi. The American emerged from a slow pit stop ahead of Graham Rahal., both drivers looking sure on for top-five finishes. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan driver dived down the inside of Turn four as Rossi turned in, with the two slamming into each other twice before coming to a halt in the tyre barrier. The collision left Rossi with a flat right-front and struggled to reverse back on to the track. Soon after, Rossi pitted for a front wing change and eventually finished down in 21st with Rahal in 15th.

Jimmie Johnson caused havoc yet again on Lap 73, spinning out on cold tyres and bringing out the penultimate caution, the final one coming by way of Ed Jones who made contact with James Hinchcliffe before being spun around by Pato O’Ward on Lap 80.

Last week’s winner Alex Palou failed to make an impression and finished down in 17th. He still remains at the top of the championship with Will Power, Scott Dixon and Colton Herta behind separated by five points.

The good news is you don’t have to wait long till we go green again. IndyCar returns in just a week to the Texas Motor Speedway for the Genesys 300, the first oval of the year.

24th April 202116th August 2021

Colton Herta snatches pole from Jack Harvey at St. Petersburg

Andretti Autosport’s Colton Herta took his fourth career IndyCar pole position after narrowly edging out Britain’s Jack Harvey at St. Petersburg.

Herta snatched pole by a quarter of a second over Harvey on his final run and will be hoping he can convert his starting grid place into a win following his unfortunate 2020 St. Petersburg Grand Prix where he started on the second row and ended outside the top ten.

This is the first time Herta will start on pole at St. Petersburg since the 2017 IndyLights championship, where he took the race win in dominant style.

Jack Harvey can take some comfort in his best qualifying position since the 2020 Indianapolis 500. He starts in front of seasoned veterans such as Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden and Simon Pagenaud in third and fourth respectively.

Several teams struggled to set representative times on the Firestone alternate tyres through Q1 and Q2. Patricio O’Ward tried heading out on fresh primaries and opted to stay on them. The team believed his final lap would be faster than his rivals could manage on used softs that they’d already deployed in the earlier sessions. Unfortunately, this tactic did not pay off. He finished in sixth, 0.75s from pole position. Alongside him is two-time St. Petersburg winner and local resident Sebastien Bourdais – once again showing fine form around this track.

Rinus VeeKay, still driving with a broken finger and fresh after finishing sixth at Barber Motorsports Park was the first car to miss out on the ‘Fast Six’ so starts seventh

Scott Dixon had a disastrous qualifying session. The Kiwi spun going into turn 8 which in turn impeded another driver. The defending champion had his fastest time deleted as a result. His second fastest time was quick enough to earn him eighth position for tomorrow’s race.

Behind him was Graham Rahal while last weeks race winner Alex Palou was 10th.

Alexander Rossi had been the fastest in the first qualifying group but failed to make the Fast Six and starts 11th ahead of Andretti team-mate James Hinchcliffe.

Romain Grosjean who looked promising at times could not make it out of the first qualifying group and will start in 18th just behind Felix Rosenqvist in 17th who is experiencing a rather disappointing turn of form.

The biggest shock of qualifying came in the form of Will Power. The Australian, who has claimed nine out of the last 11 pole position at St. Pete struggled massively and spun out on his final lap. He will start down in 20th place.

Jimmie Johnson, who improved by over half a second on his personal best time of the weekend also could not make it out of the first qualifying round and will start in 23rd position.

CLASSIFICATION:

Colton Herta
Jack Harvey
Josef Newgarden
Simon Pagenaud
Sebastien Bourdais
Patricio O’Ward
Rinus VeeKay
Scott Dixon
Graham Rahal
Alex Palou
Alexander Rossi
James Hinchcliffe
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Scott McLaughlin
Takuma Sato
Marcus Ericsson
Felix Roseqnvist
Romain Grosjean
Conor Daly
Will Power
Ed Jones
Max Chilton
Jimmie Johnson
Dalton Kellett

23rd April 202116th August 2021

Long Time No See: The Firestone IndyCar Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Preview

The 2021 NTT IndyCar Series kicked off with a bang last week as Chip Ganassi’s debutant Alex Palou took his maiden championship victory, holding off Penske’s Will Power in the process. As all eyes fall on the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – they will also be Palou with high expectations for what this young Spaniard can do?

What is typically the opening race of the season, was moved last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 2020 saw the Grand Prix host the season finale for the first time in the history of the series. Once more, because of the pandemic the race was rescheduled in 2021, initially set for 7th March to the 25th April.

The Firestone Grand Prix is a highlight for many IndyCar and motorsport fans alike. This 2.9 km, high-speed and technical street course features picturesque views of St. Petersburg waterfront and utilises parts of the nearby Albert Whitted Airport.

WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR?

Last year saw the culmination of a season-long title battle between Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden. Newgarden had gradually chipped away at the New Zealander’s advantage over a five race period and had the oppurtunity to snatch the title at the final attempt. However, both drivers failed to make an impression in qualifying and started in eleventh and ninth respectively. Will Power went on to take his ninth pole at St. Petersburg and led into the first corner.

Power’s lead didn’t last long, overtaken by Alexander Rossi who would dominate the race until lap 36, when Will Power brought out the first of a string of cautions by crashing out of the race.

Alexander Rossi’s race came to an end on lap 70, crashing from the lead and gifting the position to Andretti Autosport teammate Colton Herta. After a series of cautionary period due to the likes of Hinchcliffe, Harvey, Marco Andretti and Takuma Sato, Herta led with Alex Palou behind in second.

Newgarden and Dixon had been quietly navigating the chaos of the race, and found themselves in third and fifth respectively. With Palou and Herta in the lead, Newgarden took advantage when both drivers went wide on the next restart, gifting the American the lead while Dixon clambered up to third.

After an incident with Oliver Askew brought out the final caution of the race, the subsequent restart saw Josef Newgarden pull a significant gap, while McLaren SP’s Patricio O’Ward took Scott Dixon and Colton Herta for second place. Herta would eventually catch the tyre barrier and fall out of the top ten, leaving Newgarden, O’Ward and Dixon as the final top three.

Despite having cut almost 100 points out of Dixon’s lead across the secons half of the season, it would not be enough. Dixon finished the season just 16 points ahead of Newgarden to take his sixth IndyCar title.

WHAT TO EXPECT THIS WEEKEND?

Newgarden has won the last two consecutive races at St.Petersburg while Will Power holds an incredible nine pole positions, yet has failed to win since 2014. You wouldn’t look past any of these two drivers to be in the mix come qualifying. However, Newgarden will want to bounce back after a dissapointing showing last-time out at Barber Motorsports Park. After a terrifying crash on lap one, Newgarden needs a positive weekend to get his championship up and running.

Alexander Rossi’s race last time out epitomised his entire season, which was plagued with bad-luck, unfortunate circumstances, penalties and costly errors. Rossi qualified impressively in second last year – he knows he has the pace around this circuit. Barring any unfortunate incidents look out for the American seeking redemption.

Also ending the 2020 St. Petersburg Grand Prix with a costly error was Patricio O’Ward. However, after coming tantalisingly close to his first career win at Barber, the Mexican will be doing whatever he can to finish in victory lane.

A resident of St. Petersburg. A.J Foyt Enterprises’ Sebastien Bourdais has a tremendous amount of success at his home race. He’s won here two times and is coming off the back of two consecutive top five finishes. If you’re looking for an outside contender, he’s the man.

And lastly, who could not forget Chip Ganassi’s debutant winner Alex Palou. Having qualified in second at Barber Motorsport, he impressively mastered the two-stop strategy to take his first IndyCar win. To finish ahead of his six-time champion teammate Scott Dixon, not to mention Will Power – he caught the eye of many in the motorsport world. With significant road course experience Palou, and having narrowly missed out on a podium last-time out at St. Pete – keep your eyes peeled on this impressive Spaniard.

St. Pete will see quliafying take place on Saturday 24th April at 18:45 (BST) while the race will get under way on Sunday 25th April at 17:00 (BST).

You can watch the race on SkySportF1 in the UK. Alternatively, you can find live-text updates on ThePitCrewOnline Twitter account during the race.

18th April 202116th August 2021

Alex Palou wins on IndyCar debut with Chip Ganassi at Barber Motorsports Park

IndyCar fans were treated to a new race winner on Sunday, as Alex Palou stormed to victory at the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama season opener. The Spaniard managed to hold off the late-charging Will Power by half a second to take his first career win on his debut for Chip Ganassi Racing.

The race started in dramatic fashion with Arrow McLaren SP pole winner Patricio O’Ward leading Alexander Rossi, Alex Palou, and Will Power off the line. They didn’t even get to finish a full lap before Josef Newgarden brought out the first full course yellow after colliding with Colton Herta, Hunter-Reay, Felix Rosenqvist, Max Chilton, and Rinus VeeKay. The two-time IndyCar champion subsequently retired from the race followed by Herta and Chilton.

After the restart, O’Ward led with an incredibly difficult and tail-happy car until pitting on lap 18 of 90, opting to switch from his fresh set of red tyres for a used set of blacks and committing to a three-stop strategy. The drivers who committed to a two-stop strategy stayed out for 14 laps, during which O’Ward lost time in traffic. Alex Palou was the main benefactor who gained the ned lead from both O’Ward and Rossi.

Palou made his first put stop on lap 31, also choosing to go for used blacks and emerging ahead of Pato O’Ward. However, Palou struggled to get heat into the tyres and was promptly passed by the Mexican in turn five.

After the other two-stoppers including Power, Dixon and Ericsson pitted, O’Ward retook the lead looking far more comfortable on the black compound tyres. On lap 45, O’Ward made his second pit stop, swapping back onto the softer red compounds. This time, it was the Mexican who struggled with tyre temperatures and was passed by both Sebastian Bourdais and Rinus VeeKay.

This left the victory in the hands of those on the two-stop strategy. Marcus Ericsson was the first of those to take their final pit stop on lap 60, choosing to go for another set of blacks. This worked to the Swede’s advantage who passed O’Ward with ease before the McLaren driver made his final pit stop on lap 6, just four laps after Palou and Dixon.

After all the remaining pit stops this left Alex Palou with a sizeable margin ahead of Will Power, Scott Dixon and Pato O’Ward, separated by just ten seconds. However, with almost all of his push-to-pass still to use. Power set about chasing down Palou for the lead.

On the final lap of the race, Power used almost all of his push-to-pass and made it to within half a second of the leader. But it was one lap too late as Alex Palou crossed the line to take his first career win, holding off two series champions in the process.

Scott Dixon finished in third while Pato O’Ward had to settle for fourth, less than one second away from the podium position.

Bourdais, VeeKay were next, followed by Graham Rahal who passed Marcus Ericsson with a few laps to go. Ericsson only just made the chequered flag before running out of fuel.

Former F1 driver Romain Grosjean was the highest placed rookie. He was one of those who attempted the two-stop strategy and was able to round out the top ten.

Penske’s Scott McLaughlin finished in 14th, while seven-times NASCAR Cup series champion Jimmie Johnson struggled to adapt to his new machinery. He spun after the first few laps which brought out a full course yellow. He eventually finished several laps down from the leaders.