Race Report: 2021 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Session Notes:

• Just prior to the start of the race, the ambient temperature was 84 degrees with 72% relative humidity under mostly cloudy skies. The track temperature was 112 degrees according to Firestone engineers.
• Pole sitter Colton Herta held the lead on the initial start through Turn 1 and ended up leading a total of 97 laps en route to his fourth career NTT IndyCar Series victory.
• Herta's win was the first on the streets of St. Petersburg. His four series victories tie his father Bryan Herta, who also had four wins in Indy car competition.
• The effort marked the 66th victory for Andretti Autosport. The team had two previous wins at St. Petersburg: Dan Wheldon in 2005 and James Hinchcliffe in 2013.
• Josef Newgarden's second place finish marked his third consecutive podium result at St. Petersburg. He won the race in 2019 and 2020.
• Simon Pagenaud's third-place result was his third podium finish at St. Petersburg.
• The race was slowed by three cautions:
  • On Lap 15, Jimmie Johnson went off course at Turn 13. While the No. 48 Honda was still running, Johnson was unable to extricate it from the tire barrier prompting INDYCAR to throw a yellow flag on Lap 17.
  • Johnson again caused a yellow-flag condition when he spun in Turn 3, but the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion was able to continue without assistance from the AMR INDYCAR Safety Team.
  • The race's third and final full-course caution came on Lap 80 when Ed Jones' No. 18 Honda stopped on course after contact with both James Hinchcliffe and Pato O'Ward.
• Passing was up in 2021 versus 2020, with 166 overall passes this year and 145 last year. However, passing for position was less: 97 in 2021 vs. 123 in 2020.

Session Notes:

• At the start of morning warm-up, the ambient temperature was 78 degrees with 89% relative humidity under cloudy skies. The track temperature was 87 degrees according to Firestone engineers.
• The 30-minute session ran without significant incident. While drivers did find various runoffs throughout the 1.8-mile circuit, they were either able to extricate themselves or the AMR INDYCAR Safety team effected a restart without necessitating a red-flag condition.
• At the conclusion of the session, 2021 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg pole winner Colton Herta was fastest overall with a 1:00.6632.

Session Notes

• Like Round 2, the six-minute Firestone Fast Six proceeded without incident.
• Colton Herta’s 1:00.3210 proved the fastest lap of the session, earning the Andretti Autosport driver his first pole of 2021 and the fifth of his NTT IndyCar Series career. His last pole was at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in September 2020, and his previous best start at St. Petersburg was third in October 2020.
• The effort by Herta marked Andretti’s 44th pole position in Indy car competition and its fourth at St. Petersburg. The team’s previous pole winners at the track were Bryan Herta in 2005, Dario Franchitti in 2006 and Tony Kanaan in 2008.
• The front row starters — Herta and Jack Harvey — could be considered an all-Andretti front row as Harvey’s No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda receives technical support from Andretti Technologies.
• Will Power’s absence from the Firestone Fast Six marked the first time he failed to compete for pole at St. Petersburg in his Indy car career. The last time he failed to advance out of Round 1 qualifying was at Toronto in 2019.

Session Notes

• Round 2 ran without incident throughout its 10-minute duration.
• Advancing to the Firestone Fast Six were Colton Herta, Josef Newgarden, Sebastien Bourdais, Pato O’Ward, Jack Harvey and Simon Pagenaud.
• The remaining drivers will start in positions seven through 12.

Session Notes

• Dalton Kellett was penalized his two fastest laps and the ability to advance when he was charged with qualifying interference in an incident involving Rinus VeeKay.
• Near the end of the session, Will Power spun which drew the attention of Race Control but no action was taken.
• Josef Newgarden, Graham Rahal, Jack Harvey, VeeKay, James Hinchcliffe and Alex Palou advanced to Round 2.
• The remaining drivers in positions seven through 12 will start in the even-numbered positions from 14 to 24.

Session Notes

• The start of qualifying was delayed by five minutes due to necessary track repairs for damage sustained during the previous on-track session.
• Scott Dixon caused a local yellow that impacted another competitor when he found himself in a run-off area, earning a penalty that stripped him of his fastest lap. Dixon still managed to advance to Round 2 with the sixth-fastest lap of Group 1.
• Along with Dixon, Alexander Rossi, Colton Herta, Pato O’Ward, Simon Pagenaud and Sebastien Bourdais also advanced to Round 2.
• The remaining drivers in positions seven through 12 will start in the odd-numbered positions from 13 to 23.

Session Notes:

• Unlike Friday's Practice 1, Practice 2's 45 minutes ran without incident. While drivers including Simon Pagenaud and Felix Rosenqvist found run-off areas, both were able to get out without needing assistance form the AMR INDYCAR Safety Team.
• At the start of the session, the ambient temperature was 77 degrees under cloudy skies. The track temperature was 86 degrees according to Firestone engineers.
• While not an in-session issue, Dalton Kellett was penalized 10 minutes of practice time for being late to driver weigh-in prior to the start of practice.
• At the checkered flag, Josef Newgarden's 1:00.0622 came closest to toppling Jordan King's established qualifying track record, a 1:00.0476 set in 2018.

Session Notes:

• Timing and scoring issues prompted a nine-minute red flag and the absence of publicly available data on the INDYCAR website throughout session.
• Due due the technical difficulties, the session was extended nine minutes to account for the technical difficulties.
• At the time of the session's restart, the ambient temperature was 82 degrees and the track temperature was 121 degrees according to Firestone engineers.
• Two minutes prior to the revised Practice 1 end time, Sebastien Bourdais caused a red flag when his No. 14 Chevrolet stopped in the Turn 10 runoff.
• Green-flag practice resumed for one final minute prior to the checkered flag being displayed.