Herta Dominates, Grosjean Storms to a Podium.
Twenty-seven drivers at the pinnacle of their form descended onto the Monterey Peninsula to cap off Monterey Speed Week and the penultimate round of the 2021 NTT Indy Car Series. It was a welcome return for IndyCar to the WeatherTech Laguna Seca Raceway after missing out in 2020 due to race cancellation. It was clear from the start of the weekend that the the air was buzzing with excitement as drivers, team personnel and fans were truly excited to be back at the famed 2.238 mile circuit for what would be a weekend marked by perfect weather and the drama of a championship extended for some, and eliminated for others.
Bob Ross could not have painted the rolling hills, crisp blue skies and happy trees of WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca better than the the scene that awaited race fans during the weekend. While the early morning hours had some overcast and fog, the afternoon sessions on Saturday and race day opened up to gentle breezes and the comfortable temps that the Monterey Peninsula is known for.
Four drivers came into the weekend still in contention for the championship. After it was all over only three remained, with one of the three an extreme long shot. Alex Palou in the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 10 NTT Data Honda, Scott Dixon in the Chip Ganassi No. 9 PNC Bank Honda, Josef Newgarden in the No. 2 Team Penske Hitachi Chevrolet, and Pato O’Ward in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet came into Monterey hoping to get a stronger grasp on the 2021 Championship
While social media and IndyCar media types were focused on the championship battle that would play out at Laguna Seca and the finale at Long Beach with innumerable scenarios it would be Andretti Autosports’s Colton Herta that would cast aside the maths discussion by shifting the conversation to his pole position. After Saturday qualifying it was an all California and all Andretti Autosport front row as Herta (born in Santa Clarita) would be joined on the front row by Andretti teammate and Nevada City native Alexander Rossi. Among those in the championship fight, Palou would qualify in 4th ahead of championship rivals O’Ward (5th), Dixon (9th) and Newgarden (17th).
Alex Palou in the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 10 NTT Data Honda would leave Laguna Seca with the Championship lead in hand going into the final race of the season.
As the anonymous quotes goes, “mistakes are proof that you are trying.” Herta would prove that point on lap 2 when exiting out of turn 4 he dropped a tire in the dirt allowing Rossi to quickly close the gap and dive to the inside on turn 5. For a brief moment, and at the slimmest of margins, it would appear that he had the move made going to the inside at turn 5, but Rossi’s hopes disappeared as the rear of his car stepped out and he made contact with Herta sending Rossi into the dirt. Rossi managed to get his car back on track but would rejoin a lap down. He finished 25th, two laps down.
Herta put his head down and continued, and wouldn’t stop until he saw the checkered flag, leading all but four laps of the race. Before the end, risk would still come his way as Palou would make a run at Herta while he was stuck behind traffic. Near the middle of the race Palou managed to get within a second of Herta, but not close enough to launch a pass down the inside. By the time they reached the lap 75 Herta pulled out a 5.4 second lead. Herta finished two seconds ahead at the checkered flag. Palou may have been reserved in his attack as his track position and eventual race finish would have him leaving the track a step closer to the championship with one race left in Long Beach and a 35 point lead over Pato O’Ward. The last race will decide the championship making it the 16th consecutive season that the final race crowned the champion.
Huerta’ s two wins at Laguna Seca tied his father Bryan’s record at the track and it was his fifth career victory in three seasons exceeding his fathers 13 season wins total by one.
The Phoenix:
Romain Grosjean, an eleven-year veteran of Formula 1, had one of the scariest crashes in the modern era of F1 at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix. The crash was featured on an episode of the Netflix series Drive to Survive. He unbelievably walked away from the fireball with burns to his hands, but the key point is that he walked away!
Grosjean, who earned the nick name “The Phoenix, “ would pull his poor qualifying position (13th) from the ashes and go about putting on an awesome show of skill and racecraft to elevate himself to the podium.
Grosjean in the No. 51 Dale Coyne Racing with RW Nutex ODT Honda, blitzed the field on a three stop strategy and was the only other driver other than Herta to lead the race with four laps total in the lead. He made 27 passes on track with 15 of those for position. From start to finish he climbed 10 places.
He pitted on lap 73 and emerged in 7th place and would continued his charge on the faster red tires, stealing away one to two seconds a lap from leader Herta and second place Palou. It was an inspiring drive but almost turned to disaster when he had significant contact with Jimmie Johnson in the Corkscrew on what was his second “send it” moment in the famed turn. Grosjean finished in a well-earned third place, putting in a performance demonstrating his F1 experience as he sliced through the field. Based on the crowd reaction, Grosjean certainly earned earned the admiration of all in attendance regardless of who that may have come to cheer on. It was a performance that undoubtedly places Grosjean in the pantheon of drivers that add to the historical highlight reel of prodigious drives to occur at Laguna Seca.
Leaving Laguna Seca, Alex Palou leads, with O’Ward sitting 35 points and Newgarden 49 points behind. Newgarden will need to win and Palou and O’Ward not to finish in Long Beach to become champion.
It was a much needed return for fans, teams and all involved in putting on an IndyCar weekend and special thanks to everyone that made it possible when at times this year the return to events such as this seemed uncertain.
Results (Starting Place in Parenthesis):
1. (1) Colton Herta, Honda, 95, Running
2. (4) Alex Palou, Honda, 95, Running
3. (13) Romain Grosjean, Honda, 95, Running
4. (12) Graham Rahal, Honda, 95, Running
5. (6) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 95, Running
6. (7) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 95, Running
7. (17) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 95, Running
8. (9) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 95, Running
9. (5) Oliver Askew, Honda, 95, Running
10. (14) Ed Jones, Honda, 95, Running
11. (19) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 95, Running
12. (16) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 95, Running
13. (8) Scott Dixon, Honda, 95, Running
14. (21) Sebastien Bourdais, Chevrolet, 94, Running
15. (20) Jack Harvey, Honda, 94, Running
16. (18) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 94, Running
17. (25) Jimmie Johnson, Honda, 94, Running
18. (24) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 94, Running
19. (15) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet, 94, Running
20. (11) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 94, Running
21. (10) Max Chilton, Chevrolet, 94, Running
22. (26) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 94, Running
23. (27) Dalton Kellett, Chevrolet, 94, Running
24. (22) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 94, Running
25. (2) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 93, Running
26. (3) Will Power, Chevrolet, 93, Running
27. (23) Takuma Sato, Honda, 83, Mechanical
Winner’s average speed: 104.114 mph; Time of race: 2:02:31.5444; Margin of victory: 1.9747 seconds; Cautions: 1 for 2 laps; Lead changes: 4 among 2 drivers; Lap leaders: Herta 1-18; Grosjean 19; Herta 20-68; Grosjean 69-71; Herta 72-95.
