2021 Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey

The 2021 Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey was an IndyCar motor race held on September 19, 2021 at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.[1] It was the 15th round of the 2021 IndyCar Series.

United States 2021 Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey
Race details
15th round of the 2021 IndyCar season
DateSeptember 19, 2021
Official nameFirestone Grand Prix of Monterey
LocationWeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, California
CoursePermanent racing facility
2.238 mi / 3.602 km
Distance95 laps
212.61 mi / 342.163 km
WeatherSunny
Pole position
DriverUnited States Colton Herta (Andretti Autosport with Curb Agajanian)
Time01:10.7994
Fastest lap
DriverUnited States Josef Newgarden (Team Penske)
Time01:13.0826 (on lap 10 of 95)
Podium
FirstUnited States Colton Herta (Andretti Autosport with Curb Agajanian)
SecondSpain Álex Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing)
ThirdFrance Romain Grosjean (Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing)

Andretti Autosport's Colton Herta won the race after leading 91 of 95 laps of the race, scoring his second win of the season and his second IndyCar win at Laguna Seca after he won the previous edition in 2019. Championship leader Álex Palou finished in second, ahead of rookie Romain Grosjean, who came third after gaining ten positions from his starting position, scoring his third IndyCar career podium.[2][3]

Background

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The event, which was held on the weekend of September 17-19, 2021 at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, returned to the series after its absence in the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the penultimate race of the 2021 season, following the Grand Prix of Portland at the Portland International Raceway, which was held one week before this race, and preceding the season finale in the following week at the Streets of Long Beach.

Colton Herta was the previous race winner, having won the race in 2019 with Harding Steinbrenner Racing.

Championship standings before the race

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After his win at the Grand Prix of Portland, Álex Palou retook the championship lead with a 25-point advantage from Pato O'Ward, who only finished 14th and subsequently dropped to second place in the standings. Third-placed Josef Newgarden closed the difference to O'Ward into a nine-point gap with a fifth placed finish at Portland, while Scott Dixon and Marcus Ericsson improved their points tally in fourth and fifth respectively after strong finishes at Portland, with Dixon scoring a podium.

Honda remained in the lead of the manufacturer's standings over Chevrolet.

Entrants

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

Practice

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Practice 1

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Practice 1 took place at 5:30 PM ET on September 17.[1] The session saw numerous incidents happen, such as Colton Herta going off-track past the Corkscrew and Hélio Castroneves making contact with the tire barriers in Turn 2, though no major damage was caused. Josef Newgarden topped the first practice charts with a time of 01:11.7125, besting Herta in second and Álex Palou in third.[4]

Top Practice Speeds
Pos No. Driver Team Engine Lap Time
1 2   Josef Newgarden Team Penske Chevrolet 01:11.7125
2 26   Colton Herta  W  Andretti Autosport with Curb Agajanian Honda 01:11.7927
3 10   Álex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 01:11.9750
Source:[5]

Practice 2

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Practice 2 took place at 1:45 PM ET on September 18.[1] The session was marred with two red flags, which cut up to 20 minutes of session time. Dalton Kellett lost control of and crashed his No. 4 car in Turn 4, triggering the first red flag. After the session restarted, Rinus VeeKay crashed at nearly the same spot as Kellett did, bringing out the second red flag of the session. Both drivers were unharmed. Rookie Scott McLaughlin topped the session with the best time of 01:10.8755, with Colton Herta and Álex Palou finishing second and third fastest.[6]

Top Practice Speeds
Pos No. Driver Team Engine Lap Time
1 3   Scott McLaughlin  R  Team Penske Chevrolet 01:10.8755
2 26   Colton Herta  W  Andretti Autosport with Curb Agajanian Honda 01:11.0224
3 10   Álex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 01:11.0312
Source:[7]

Qualifying

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Qualifying took place at 5:05 PM ET on September 18.[1] Colton Herta took pole position with a time of 01:10.7994, ahead of Andretti teammate Alexander Rossi and Penske driver Will Power, who finished second and third respectively.[8]

Qualifying classification

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Pos No. Driver Team Engine Time Final
grid
Round 1 Round 2 Round 3
Group 1 Group 2
1 26   Colton Herta  W  Andretti Autosport with Curb Agajanian Honda 01:10.9020 N/A 01:10.5847 01:10.7994 1
2 27   Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda N/A 01:11.0691 01:10.9169 01:10.9951 2
3 12   Will Power Team Penske Chevrolet N/A 01:11.2836 01:10.8333 01:11.13171 3
4 10   Álex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda N/A 01:11.4397 01:10.8351 01:11.3317 4
5 45   Oliver Askew Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda N/A 01:11.0155 01:10.9117 01:11.8937 5
6 5   Pato O'Ward Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet 01:11.2992 N/A 01:11.0220 01:24.27152 6
7 8   Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 01:11.3179 N/A 01:11.2581 N/A 7
8 9   Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 01:11.5276 N/A 01:11.2768 N/A 8
9 22   Simon Pagenaud Team Penske Chevrolet 01:11.3775 N/A 01:11.3067 N/A 9
10 59   Max Chilton Carlin Chevrolet N/A 01:11.1852 01:11.3088 N/A 10
11 29   James Hinchcliffe Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport Honda N/A 01:11.3542 01:11.4567 N/A 11
12 15   Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 01:10.9915 N/A 01:12.5932 N/A 12
13 51   Romain Grosjean  R  Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing Honda 01:11.5303 N/A N/A N/A 13
14 18   Ed Jones Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda N/A 01:11.4692 N/A N/A 14
15 7   Felix Rosenqvist Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet 01:11.5446 N/A N/A N/A 15
16 3   Scott McLaughlin  R  Chip Ganassi Racing Honda N/A 01:11.5767 N/A N/A 16
17 2   Josef Newgarden Team Penske Chevrolet 01:11.5503 N/A N/A N/A 17
18 20   Conor Daly Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet N/A 01:11.5921 N/A N/A 18
19 28   Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda 01:11.6721 N/A N/A N/A 19
20 60   Jack Harvey Meyer Shank Racing Honda N/A 01:11.6689 N/A N/A 20
21 14   Sébastien Bourdais A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 01:11.9776 N/A N/A N/A 21
22 06   Hélio Castroneves Meyer Shank Racing Honda N/A 01:11.8071 N/A N/A 22
23 30   Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 01:12.1443 N/A N/A N/A 22
24 21   Rinus VeeKay Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet N/A 01:12.2843 N/A N/A 24
25 48   Jimmie Johnson  R  Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 01:12.2865 N/A N/A N/A 25
26 77   Callum Ilott  R  Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet N/A 01:12.3558 N/A N/A 26
27 4   Dalton Kellett A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet N/A 01:12.6055 N/A N/A 27
Source:[9]
Notes
  • Bold text indicates fastest time set in session.
  • ^1 - Will Power was initially second fastest, but had his lap invalidated, as officials judged him to have failed to slow down during a local yellow caused by Pato O'Ward's spin at the Corkscrew.[8]
  • ^2 - Pato O'Ward had his best time invalidated due to a penalty for his spin at the Corkscrew.[8]

Final Practice

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Warmup took place at 12:00 PM ET on September 19.[1] Rookie Callum Ilott spun off into the tire barriers in Turn 6 during the session, causing a red flag. Ilott was uninjured. Alexander Rossi went fastest with a time of 01:12.8632, with Colton Herta finishing second and Takuma Sato finishing third.[10]

Top Warmup Speeds
Pos No. Driver Team Engine Lap Time
1 27   Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda 01:12.8632
2 26   Colton Herta  W  Andretti Autosport with Curb Agajanian Honda 01:12.9651
3 30   Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 01:13.3539
Source:[11]

Race

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The race started at 3:00 PM ET on September 19.[1] On lap 2, race leader Colton Herta and Alexander Rossi made contact in Turn 2, as Rossi attempted to capitalize on a Herta mistake. However, while Herta managed to continue without problems, Rossi spun into the gravel and stalled, causing a caution as his car was restarted – he would later finish 25th, two laps behind. On lap 10, Will Power, who started third, suddenly had engine problems that prompted him to pit to resolve the issue – he finished the race two laps behind in 26th. Takuma Sato spun at the Corkscrew mid-race. As Sato's car stalled, it rolled backwards towards Scott Dixon, who attempted an evasive maneuver by driving off-track, but to no avail, as he suffered damage to his right sidepod and undertray. Dixon was forced to drive on with the damage and would later finish 13th.

Herta led most of the race, being in the lead for 91 of 95 laps. Romain Grosjean led the four remaining lead laps, as he made a surge to the front from thirteenth. Grosjean made several passes at the iconic Corkscrew corner, most notably his pass against fellow rookie Jimmie Johnson towards the end of the race, as Grosjean was quickly gaining to the lead pack after fitting on a fresh set of tires and as Johnson was defending to protect his teammate, Álex Palou, who was running in second place. The two were able to continue racing, but Grosjean's pace would dwindle after the incident.

Colton Herta won the race, clinching consecutive wins at the Monterey Grand Prix as he won the 2019 edition, repeating a feat achieved by his father, Bryan Herta, in 1998 and 1999. Championship leader Álex Palou finished second, extending his points lead over Pato O'Ward, who finished fifth, to 35 points. Rookie Romain Grosjean took his third IndyCar podium as he finished third, narrowing the gap in the battle for Rookie of the Year to fellow rookie Scott McLaughlin into 20 points. 2020 champion Scott Dixon saw his title hopes end, as the gap between him and Palou grew to 72 points, ruling out consecutive championship wins for Dixon.[2][12]

Race classification

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Pos No. Driver Team Engine Laps Time/Retired Pit
Stops
Grid Laps
Led
Pts.
1 26   Colton Herta  W  Andretti Autosport with Curb Agajanian Honda 95 2:02:31.5444 3 1 91 54
2 10   Álex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 95 +1.9747 3 4 40
3 51   Romain Grosjean  R  Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing Honda 95 +3.7087 3 13 4 36
4 15   Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 95 +13.8616 3 12 32
5 5   Pato O'Ward Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet 95 +24.6972 3 6 30
6 8   Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 95 +28.5032 3 7 28
7 3   Josef Newgarden Team Penske Chevrolet 95 +29.7267 4 17 26
8 22   Simon Pagenaud Team Penske Chevrolet 95 +30.4215 3 9 24
9 45   Oliver Askew Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 95 +32.4675 3 5 22
10 18   Ed Jones Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda 95 +47.9944 3 14 20
11 28   Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda 95 +1:07.1843 3 19 0 19
12 3   Scott McLaughlin  R  Team Penske Chevrolet 95 +1:13.4940 3 16 18
13 9   Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 95 +1:16.3595 3 8 17
14 14   Sébastien Bourdais A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 94 +1 Lap 3 21 16
15 60   Jack Harvey Meyer Shank Racing Honda 94 +1 Lap 3 20 15
16 20   Conor Daly Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 94 +1 Lap 3 18 14
17 48   Jimmie Johnson  R  Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 94 +1 Lap 4 25 13
18 21   Rinus VeeKay Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 94 +1 Lap 4 24 12
19 7   Felix Rosenqvist Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet 94 +1 Lap 4 15 11
20 29   James Hinchcliffe Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport Honda 94 +1 Lap 4 11 10
21 59   Max Chilton Carlin Chevrolet 94 +1 Lap 4 10 9
22 77   Callum Ilott  R  Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet 94 +1 Lap 5 26 8
23 4   Dalton Kellett A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 94 +1 Lap 3 27 7
24 06   Hélio Castroneves Meyer Shank Racing Honda 94 +1 Lap 4 22 6
25 27   Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda 93 +2 Laps 3 2 5
26 12   Will Power Team Penske Chevrolet 93 +2 Laps 3 3 5
27 30   Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 83 Mechanical 4 23 5
Fastest lap:   Josef Newgarden (Team Penske) – 01:13.0826 (lap 10)
Source:[13]

Championship standings after the race

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Honda clinched their fourth consecutive Manufacturer's Cup at Laguna Seca, as the top five finishers featured four Honda-powered cars.[14] The drivers' championship was decided at the final race of the season, where Álex Palou needed to finish 12th or better to win the championship, with Pato O'Ward and Josef Newgarden mathematically still in contention.[2]

  • Note: Only the top five positions are included.
  • Bold text indicates Championship Winners.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey". IndyCar.com. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Herta Dominates in Laguna Seca Win; Palou Closes on Title". IndyCar.com. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  3. ^ "Herta scores dominant victory at Laguna Seca". RACER. September 19, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  4. ^ "Newgarden Paces Opening Practice at Laguna Seca". IndyCar.com. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  5. ^ "Practice - Results" (PDF). IndyCar Series. September 17, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 19, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  6. ^ "McLaughlin Jumps to Top of Saturday Practice at Laguna Seca". IndyCar.com. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  7. ^ "Practice - Results" (PDF). IndyCar Series. September 18, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  8. ^ a b c "Herta Continues Mastery of Laguna Seca with NTT P1 Award". IndyCar.com. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  9. ^ "Qualifications - Results" (PDF). IndyCar Series. September 18, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  10. ^ "Rossi Leads Misty, Chilly Laguna Seca Warmup". IndyCar.com. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  11. ^ "Practice - Results" (PDF). IndyCar Series. September 19, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  12. ^ "Paddock Buzz: Dixon's Title Reign Ends with Bang on Tough Day". IndyCar.com. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  13. ^ a b "Race - Results - Final" (PDF). IndyCar Series. September 19, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  14. ^ "Honda clinches IndyCar manufacturers' title in Monterey". RACER. September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  15. ^ "Points - Indycar Engine" (PDF). motorsports.nbcsports.com. September 19, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 21, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
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