IndyCar-The Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama final race was held on May 1st at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, in the south of the United States. It was around the circuit that was hit by heavy rain in the morning, but before noon of the start time, the rain clouds flowed away to the eastern sky and the blue sky spread. The temperature rose to 23 degrees Celsius at a stretch, and a high-speed race with 26 IndyCars was held in front of many fans under excellent conditions where it was not hot and humid due to moderate wind.
Barber Motorsports Park, which was created by making the best use of the terrain of the hills, is a technical circuit with a variety of corners laid out from high speed to low speed with intense ups and downs. In the race, which was physically difficult and was contested for 90 laps on this difficult course, 2021 IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou (from Spain / 25 years old) finished in 2nd place. He has jumped to the top of the drivers’ championship race this season.
Parrow, who was 3rd in qualifying, kept 4th to 5th and repeated laps, and when he finished the second pit stop, he suddenly moved up to 2nd. From there, he set his sights on winning the Barber championship for the second year in a row, and for about 30 laps he showed off his battle for victory with Pato Orward (Chevrolet). Their battle, which pushed out 3rd and below, became a dead heat where the interval could be shortened within 1 second. However, Parrow couldn’t get close enough to achieve a come-from-behind victory and received the checkered flag in 2nd place.
Parrow took the lead in the championship by taking the podium for the third time as early as four of the 17 races scheduled for this season. He is three points behind the second driver.
Behind the two fighting for the championship, a fierce battle for position continued endlessly within the top ten. Among them, Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing / Honda finished 5th. It was a really wonderful catch-up from 13th place in qualifying.
In addition, Romain Grosjean (Andretti Autosport) and Graham Rahal (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) fought a fierce position battle with the car in contact at the end of the race. Their match was settled when Rahal slowed down on the final lap due to fuel-related problems. Grosjean finished 7th and Rahal 8th.
Grosjean’s Andretti Autosport teammates Alexander Rossi and Colton Herta (Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian) finished in 9th and 10th respectively.
Takuma Sato (Dale Coyne Racing with RWR) adopted a 2-stop strategy from 17th place in qualifying. He moved up to 10th place with several pit stops in the early stages. However, the strategy of choosing soft tires at the first pit stop did not suit the development, and he was forced into a difficult battle to gradually lower the ranking in the middle of the race. He increased his pace from the second pit stop, where he chose soft tires, and aimed to advance to the top, but he reached the goal in 13th place.
Takuma Sato and Dale Coyne Racing wih RWR did not finish the machine as expected in the two practices held on Friday and Saturday and in the qualifying, but the machine setting was greatly improved in the final practice after the qualifying and it was stable in the race. I was lapping at a pace. The next round, the GMR Grand Prix, which will be held at intervals of two weeks, will also be a battle on the permanent road course, so Takuma Sato’s good performance is expected.
Alex Palou (Chip Ganassi RacinChip Ganassi Racing)
“Overall, the finals Overall, I think the final day was a good day. The cars were very fast and our performance was satisfactory. We won. But unfortunately we couldn’t reach our goal of winning today. Of course, we will try to win again in the next race. This year we have a great start to the season. It’s run out and it’s finally May, an important month. I’m really looking forward to the Indianapolis 500, a traditional event with a final race at the end of the month. May is a really special time for us. It started with a road course race, followed by the Indy 500. I think it was a good day to win. The car is very fast and Takuma Sato is very fast and our performance is satisfying. We were fighting for the championship, but unfortunately today we couldn’t reach the goal of winning and Takuma Sato 51. Of course, we will try to win again in the next race. Once again, we have a great start to the season and we are celebrating the important month of May with Dale Coyne Racing with RWR. The Indy 500, a traditional event with final races at the end of the month. I’m really looking forward to it now. May It was a tough weekend for us. We were able to move up the position at the start and then move up to 9th place, and we’re back to restart. We had chosen the primary tires for the mid-race race. The strategy didn’t work for us and we had to lower our rankings. We also needed to save on fuel. It was the same condition for everyone. And at the end of the race, our car was good. We could pass Joseph New Garden (Chivore), but until we were able to do so. It took a little too long. 13th place wasn’t what I wanted, but the team made great pit stops both times and kept this momentum for the Indy GP and the Indy 500. Looking forward to it is a really special time for us. It starts with a road course race and then in. Di 500 is coming up. “
Takuma Sato (Dale Coyne Racing with RWR)
“It was a tough weekend for us. We were able to move up the position at the start and then move up to 9th place, and we’re back to restart, but we’re tires fighting in the middle of the race. The strategy wasn’t in our favor and we had to lower our rankings. We also needed to save fuel. This was the same condition for everyone. And at the end of the race, our car was good. We could pass Joseph Newgarden (Chevrolet), but it took a little too long to be able to do so. 13th place isn’t what I wanted, but the team made great pit stops both times and I’m looking forward to keeping this momentum in the Indy GP and Indy 500. “
Category: Category: F1 / Indycar