United States 2021 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
Race details
1st round of the 2021 IndyCar season
DateApril 18, 2021
Official nameHonda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by AmFirst
LocationBarber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Alabama
CoursePermanent racing facility
2.380 mi / 3.830 km
Distance90 laps
214.200 mi / 344.700 km
Pole position
DriverMexico Patricio O'Ward (Arrow McLaren SP)
Time01:05.8479
Fastest lap
DriverMexico Patricio O'Ward (Arrow McLaren SP)
Time01:06.8182 (on lap 65 of 90)
Podium
FirstSpain Álex Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing)
SecondAustralia Will Power (Team Penske)
ThirdNew Zealand Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing)

The 2021 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama (officially known as the 2021 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by AmFirst) was an IndyCar motor race held on April 18, 2021 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.[1] It served as the season opener of the 2021 IndyCar Series and was the eleventh running of the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.

Álex Palou won the race for Chip Ganassi Racing, scoring his first career victory in his second season. Team Penske's Will Power finished second, with defending IndyCar champion Scott Dixon rounding out the podium places in third.[2]

Background

The event was initially scheduled to be held on April 11, 2021, after the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, which was slated to be held on March 7 to become the season opener. However, the St. Petersburg race was rescheduled to April 25, making the Barber race the first round of the 2021 season.[3] The event was then rescheduled from April 11 to be held on the weekend of April 17-18, a week prior to the St. Petersburg race.[4] It marked the return of the event to the calendar, after being canceled in the previous season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Takuma Sato was the previous race winner, having won the race in 2019 for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.[5]

Entrants

Further information: 2021 IndyCar Series § Confirmed entries

24 drivers entered the race, including IndyCar Series debutants Jimmie Johnson (Chip Ganassi Racing) and Romain Grosjean (Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing), with Scott McLaughlin (Team Penske) making his second career start after racing the season finale in 2020.[6]

Key Meaning
 R  Rookie
 W  Past winner
No. Driver Team Engine
2 United States Josef Newgarden  W  Team Penske Chevrolet
3 New Zealand Scott McLaughlin  R  Team Penske Chevrolet
4 Canada Dalton Kellett A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet
5 Mexico Patricio O'Ward Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet
7 Sweden Felix Rosenqvist Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet
8 Sweden Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
9 New Zealand Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
10 Spain Álex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
12 Australia Will Power  W  Team Penske Chevrolet
14 France Sébastien Bourdais A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet
15 United States Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
18 United Arab Emirates Ed Jones Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda
20 United States Conor Daly Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
21 Netherlands Rinus VeeKay Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
22 France Simon Pagenaud  W  Team Penske Chevrolet
26 United States Colton Herta Andretti Autosport Honda
27 United States Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda
28 United States Ryan Hunter-Reay  W  Andretti Autosport Honda
29 Canada James Hinchcliffe Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport Honda
30 Japan Takuma Sato  W  Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
48 United States Jimmie Johnson  R  Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
51 France Romain Grosjean  R  Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing Honda
59 United Kingdom Max Chilton Carlin Chevrolet
60 United Kingdom Jack Harvey Meyer Shank Racing Honda

Practice

Practice 1

Practice 1 took place at 11:00 AM ET on April 17, 2021.[1] A single red flag was called in the session, when Felix Rosenqvist made contact with the barrier while entering pit road. Álex Palou went fastest in the first practice session of the season with a time of 01:06.4721, ahead of Colton Herta and Josef Newgarden in second and third respectively.[7]

Top Practice Speeds
Pos No. Driver Team Engine Lap Time
1 10 Spain Álex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 01:06.4721
2 26 United States Colton Herta Andretti Autosport Honda 01:06.4897
3 2 United States Josef Newgarden  W  Team Penske Chevrolet 01:06.4957
Source:[8]

Practice 2

Practice 2 took place at 2:40 PM ET on April 17, 2021.[1] The session saw multiple red flags for incidents involving a stall for Dalton Kellett, contact with the Turn 14 wall for Herta, and Newgarden losing power after correcting a slide. Andretti Autosport driver Alexander Rossi finished first in the second practice session with a time of 01:06.0797, ahead of Chip Ganassi Racing duo Marcus Ericsson and Scott Dixon.[9]

Top Practice Speeds
Pos No. Driver Team Engine Lap Time
1 27 United States Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda 01:06.0797
2 8 Sweden Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 01:06.2190
3 9 New Zealand Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 01:06.3018
Source:[10]

Qualifying

Qualifying took place at 5:50 PM ET on April 17, 2021.[1]

Qualifying classification

Pos No. Driver Team Engine Time Final
grid
Round 1 Round 2 Round 3
Group 1 Group 2
1 5 Mexico Pato O'Ward Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet N/A 01:06.0696 01:05.5019 01:05.8479 1
2 27 United States Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda N/A 01:06.2344 01:05.6953 01:05.9177 2
3 10 Spain Álex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 01:05.9032 N/A 01:05.6328 01:06.0538 3
4 2 Australia Will Power  W  Team Penske Chevrolet 01:05.9191 N/A 01:05.5226 01:06.1186 4
5 9 New Zealand Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda N/A 01:06.3775 01:05.6863 01:06.3976 5
6 8 Sweden Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 01:06.4992 N/A 01:05.6614 01:06.4102 6
7 51 France Romain Grosjean  R  Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing Honda N/A 01:06.0709 01:05.7643 N/A 7
8 2 United States Josef Newgarden  W  Team Penske Chevrolet 01:06.3881 N/A 01:05.7902 N/A 8
9 26 United States Colton Herta Andretti Autosport Honda N/A 01:06.4282 01:05.7957 N/A 9
10 20 United States Conor Daly Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet N/A 01:06.1033 01:05.9118 N/A 10
11 60 United Kingdom Jack Harvey Meyer Shank Racing Honda 01:06.5234 N/A 01:05.9634 N/A 11
12 3 New Zealand Scott McLaughlin  R  Team Penske Chevrolet 01:06.4552 N/A 01:06.7226 N/A 12
13 18 United Arab Emirates Ed Jones Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda 01:06.5578 N/A N/A N/A 13
14 21 Netherlands Rinus VeeKay Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet N/A 01:06.4770 N/A N/A 14
15 22 France Simon Pagenaud  W  Team Penske Chevrolet 01:06.6480 N/A N/A N/A 15
16 14 France Sébastien Bourdais A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet N/A 01:06.5035 N/A N/A 16
17 28 United States Ryan Hunter-Reay  W  Andretti Autosport Honda 01:06.8512 N/A N/A N/A 17
18 15 United States Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda N/A 01:06.8489 N/A N/A 18
19 30 Japan Takuma Sato  W  Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 01:07.1026 N/A N/A N/A 19
20 59 United Kingdom Max Chilton Carlin Chevrolet N/A 01:07.0021 N/A N/A 20
21 48 United States Jimmie Johnson  R  Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 01:07.7092 N/A N/A N/A 21
22 7 Sweden Felix Rosenqvist Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet N/A 01:07.0254 N/A N/A 22
23 4 Canada Dalton Kellett A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 01:07.8100 N/A N/A N/A 22
24 29 Canada James Hinchcliffe Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport Honda N/A No Time N/A N/A 24
Source:[11]
Notes

Warmup

Warmup took place at 11:30 AM ET on April 18, 2021.[1]

Top Warmup Speeds
Pos No. Driver Team Engine Lap Time
1 15 United States Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 01:06.7319
2 51 France Romain Grosjean  R  Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing Honda 01:06.8616
3 14 France Sébastien Bourdais A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 01:06.8642
Source:[12]


Race

The race started at 3:00 PM ET on April 18, 2021.[1]

Race classification

Pos No. Driver Team Engine Laps Time/Retired Pit
Stops 		Grid Laps
Led 		Pts.
1 10 Spain Álex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 90 1:52:53.0361 2 3 56 53
2 12 Australia Will Power  W  Team Penske Chevrolet 90 +0.4016 2 4 4 41
3 9 New Zealand Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 90 +2.9881 2 5 35
4 5 Mexico Pato O'Ward Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet 90 +3.9741 3 1 25 34
5 14 France Sébastien Bourdais A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 90 +10.6967 3 16 4 31
6 21 Netherlands Rinus VeeKay Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 90 +13.8750 4 14 1 29
7 15 United States Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 90 +18.7387 3 18 26
8 8 Sweden Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 90 +20.0700 2 6 24
9 27 United States Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda 90 +20.5601 3 2 22
10 51 France Romain Grosjean  R  Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing Honda 90 +45.0805 2 7 20
11 60 United Kingdom Jack Harvey Meyer Shank Racing Honda 90 +50.0788 3 11 19
12 22 France Simon Pagenaud  W  Team Penske Chevrolet 90 +59.0522 3 15 18
13 30 Japan Takuma Sato  W  Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 90 +1:05.5887 3 19 17
14 3 New Zealand Scott McLaughlin  R  Team Penske Chevrolet 90 +1:06.0562 3 12 16
15 18 United Arab Emirates Ed Jones Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda 90 +1:08.4093 3 13 15
16 20 United States Conor Daly Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 90 +1:09.1076 3 10 14
17 29 Canada James Hinchcliffe Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport Honda 89 +1 Lap 3 24 13
18 4 Canada Dalton Kellett A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 89 +1 Lap 4 23 12
19 48 United States Jimmie Johnson  R  Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 87 +3 Laps 3 21 11
20 59 United Kingdom Max Chilton Carlin Chevrolet 86 +4 Laps 4 20 10
21 7 Sweden Felix Rosenqvist Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet 62 Contact 3 22 9
22 26 United States Colton Herta Andretti Autosport Honda 25 Contact 2 9 8
23 2 United States Josef Newgarden  W  Team Penske Chevrolet 0 Contact 0 8 7
24 28 United States Ryan Hunter-Reay  W  Andretti Autosport Honda 0 Contact 0 17 6
Fastest lap: Mexico Pato O'Ward (Arrow McLaren SP) – 01:06.8182 (lap 65)
Source:[13]

Championship standings after the race

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama". IndyCar.com. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  2. ^ "Palou Holds Off Heavyweights for First Win in Barber Thriller". IndyCar.com. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  3. ^ "IndyCar season opener will be Barber after St. Pete moved - NBC Sports". MotorSportsTalk | NBC Sports. January 6, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  4. ^ "INDYCAR Announces Update for 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Opener". IndyCar.com. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  5. ^ "Barber IndyCar: Sato scores dominant win, beats Dixon, Bourdais". us.motorsport.com. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  6. ^ "NTT INDYCAR SERIES: BARBER SPOTTER GUIDE". view.ceros.com.
  7. ^ "Palou leads opening Barber IndyCar practice". April 17, 2021.
  8. ^ "Practice - Results" (PDF). racer.com. April 17, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  9. ^ "Rossi tops second Barber IndyCar practice". RACER. April 17, 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  10. ^ "Practice - Results" (PDF). racer.com. April 17, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  11. ^ "Qualifications - Results (Road Course Elimination)" (PDF). indycar.com. April 17, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 14, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  12. ^ "Practice - Results" (PDF). indycar.com. April 18, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  13. ^ "Race - Results (11inch) - Final" (PDF). indycar.com. April 18, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  14. ^ a b "Points Calculator - Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama - Race" (PDF). NBC Sports. April 18, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.

External links

Previous race:None, season premiere IndyCar Series2021 season Next race:2021 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Previous race:2019 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama Indy Grand Prix of Alabama Next race:2022 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
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