Can anyone stop Palou?
In a race dominated by tyre wear, we saw different strategies cause drivers to come and go, whilst Herta simply drove away up front. As for the title race, it is all but wrapped up, apart from if we see a disaster at Long Beach.
If it wasn’t for Herta this year, Andretti would look like a midfield team at best, however, he has simply destroyed the opposition in 2 of the races this year, to at least save some face for what we call one of the big 3 teams. From the pole, he never really looked challenged, except for when Rossi crashed into him on Lap 2. Palou was close for most of the race, yet never really looked in a position to go for the win. Those 2 cars were in a league of their own for most of the race. For Herta it will be a nice way to end a season with so much promise, but lacking a lot of execution. Whereas for Palou, it was a massive step forwards, to his first IndyCar title. I think that the calm, smooth, calculated drive Alex did, shows why he should be the champion this year.
There was nearly a late upset for the front two, as Grosjean put on a late charge, to get within a couple of seconds of them. He had been quiet for the first half of the race, and then all of a sudden started to charge through the pack, especially when he put on the reds for the last stint. You could see he was really enjoying himself, making divebombs on other cars, although the one on Johnson was a bit rash. It will surely be only a matter of time before he gets his first win in IndyCar, likely next year when he will probably be at Andretti.
Much like Grosjean, Rahal was climbing through the field during the race. This kind of race is where his experience can really come in handy, along with great pace from the team, which was shown too by his teammate. O’Ward didn’t mind the result too much itself, as he felt it was where the car was at, he just was disappointed about losing more ground to Palou. Tyre wear seemed to really hurt him badly, which isn’t surprising given how he usually pushes flat out when he can. It would be a miracle for McLaren if they snatched the title from Palou, although we must remember they went well at Detroit earlier in the year, also on a street course.
6th wasn’t enough to keep Ericsson in contention for the title, despite this, Marcus has really come of age this year. So, looking to the future, there could be more to come from the cool, calm Swede. Newgarden probably had the busiest day of anyone, as he made 4 stops whilst gaining 10 places, in the hope of catching a lucky yellow, to vault ahead of Palou. He did all he could from his starting spot, as overtaking wasn’t easy here, unless you had a clear tyre advantage. Even if he had qualified well at the last 2 races, I don’t think he could have beaten Palou at either of them, the Spaniard is just too good right now.
Pagenaud and Askew had solid days, staying in the top 10 all race. Pagenaud continues to be good but not spectacular at Penske, which may be why he will likely not be there next year. Askew did brilliantly again, as this was a tough race for someone not used to racing these cars. That combined with him qualifying 5th, shows he should be on the grid next year, which may not be as easy as we once thought it was. Jones, Hunter-Reay, and McLaughlin were stuck on the normal 3 stop strategy and weren’t really able to go anywhere. The first two will probably be fairly pleased with the result, however, Scott showed more potential this weekend, and has lost a lot of points to Grosjean in the Rookie of the year standings.
It was a surprise to see Dixon falling back in a race like this, as skills like tyre saving you would think could help him here. That being said, most of the year has been a surprise, as Dixon has been shown up by a younger faster driver, upon entering the Chip Ganassi stable. It will be interesting to see if he can bounce back for 2022. Talking of Chip Ganassi Racing, Johnson had his best day ever in IndyCar, with not only his best result, but he also fought with many other cars, passing some too. I know this may sound patronising when talking about a 7 time NASCAR champion, but it has been a real struggle for him this year. The 4 stop strategy clearly helped him too.
Ilott and Juncos continue to grow into IndyCar, I think that 2022 will be when we really see what they can do, as they are clearly still leaning about the car at the moment. Power yet again has no luck, as he suffered electrical issues whilst running 2nd. Whereas Sato did not cover himself in glory, as he spun at the corkscrew, hitting Dixon as he went. Rossi made a simple error early on, of oversteering into Herta as they battled for the lead, which sums up his year really.
With 1 race to go, most of the grid have something to prove, after a year where they haven’t delivered on what was promised. Add to this, drivers wanting to leave on a high, others auditioning for 2022 seats, oh and a title battle too, and we could find ourselves with a chaotic race on Sunday, to end the IndyCar season.
-M
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