2021 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
# 2021 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

The 2021 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama (officially known as the 2021 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by AmFirst) was an IndyCar motor race held on April 18, 2021 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. It served as the season opener of the 2021 IndyCar Series and was the eleventh running of the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.

Álex Palou won the race for Chip Ganassi Racing, scoring his first career victory in his second season. Team Penske's Will Power finished second, with defending IndyCar champion Scott Dixon rounding out the podium places in third.

## Background

The event was initially scheduled to be held on April 11, 2021, after the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, which was slated to be held on March 7 to become the season opener. However, the St. Petersburg race was rescheduled to April 25, making the Barber race the first round of the 2021 season. The event was then rescheduled from April 11 to be held on the weekend of April 17-18, a week prior to the St. Petersburg race. It marked the return of the event to the calendar, after being canceled in the previous season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Takuma Sato was the previous race winner, having won the race in 2019 for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

### Entrants

24 drivers entered the race, including IndyCar Series debutants Jimmie Johnson (Chip Ganassi Racing) and Romain Grosjean (Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing), with Scott McLaughlin (Team Penske) making his second career start after racing the season finale in 2020.

| Key | Meaning |
| - | - |
| R | Rookie |
| W | Past winner |
| No. | Driver | Team | Engine |
| 2 | Josef Newgarden W | 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 |
| 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 W | 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 W | Team Penske | Chevrolet |
| 26 | Colton Herta | Andretti Autosport | Honda |
| 27 | Alexander Rossi | Andretti Autosport | Honda |
| 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay W | Andretti Autosport | Honda |
| 29 | James Hinchcliffe | Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport | Honda |
| 30 | Takuma Sato W | 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 |

## Practice

### Practice 1

Practice 1 took place at 11:00 AM ET on April 17, 2021. A single red flag was called in the session, when Felix Rosenqvist made contact with the barrier while entering pit road. Álex Palou went fastest in the first practice session of the season with a time of 01:06.4721, ahead of Colton Herta and Josef Newgarden in second and third respectively.

### Practice 2

Practice 2 took place at 2:40 PM ET on April 17, 2021. The session saw multiple red flags for incidents involving a stall for Dalton Kellett, contact with the Turn 14 wall for Herta, and Newgarden losing power after correcting a slide. Andretti Autosport driver Alexander Rossi finished first in the second practice session with a time of 01:06.0797, ahead of Chip Ganassi Racing duo Marcus Ericsson and Scott Dixon.

## Qualifying

Qualifying took place at 5:50 PM ET on April 17, 2021.

### Qualifying classification

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Engine | Time | Time | Time | Time | Final grid |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Engine | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Final grid |
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Engine | Group 1 | Group 2 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Final grid |
| 1 | 5 | Pato O'Ward | Arrow McLaren SP | Chevrolet | N/A | 01:06.0696 | 01:05.5019 | 01:05.8479 | 1 |
| 2 | 27 | Alexander Rossi | Andretti Autosport | Honda | N/A | 01:06.2344 | 01:05.6953 | 01:05.9177 | 2 |
| 3 | 10 | Álex Palou | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 01:05.9032 | N/A | 01:05.6328 | 01:06.0538 | 3 |
| 4 | 2 | Will Power W | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 01:05.9191 | N/A | 01:05.5226 | 01:06.1186 | 4 |
| 5 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | N/A | 01:06.3775 | 01:05.6863 | 01:06.3976 | 5 |
| 6 | 8 | Marcus Ericsson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 01:06.4992 | N/A | 01:05.6614 | 01:06.4102 | 6 |
| 7 | 51 | Romain Grosjean R | Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing | Honda | N/A | 01:06.0709 | 01:05.7643 | N/A | 7 |
| 8 | 2 | Josef Newgarden W | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 01:06.3881 | N/A | 01:05.7902 | N/A | 8 |
| 9 | 26 | Colton Herta | Andretti Autosport | Honda | N/A | 01:06.4282 | 01:05.7957 | N/A | 9 |
| 10 | 20 | Conor Daly | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | N/A | 01:06.1033 | 01:05.9118 | N/A | 10 |
| 11 | 60 | Jack Harvey | Meyer Shank Racing | Honda | 01:06.5234 | N/A | 01:05.9634 | N/A | 11 |
| 12 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin R | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 01:06.4552 | N/A | 01:06.7226 | N/A | 12 |
| 13 | 18 | Ed Jones | Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan | Honda | 01:06.5578 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 13 |
| 14 | 21 | Rinus VeeKay | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | N/A | 01:06.4770 | N/A | N/A | 14 |
| 15 | 22 | Simon Pagenaud W | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 01:06.6480 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 15 |
| 16 | 14 | Sébastien Bourdais | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet | N/A | 01:06.5035 | N/A | N/A | 16 |
| 17 | 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay W | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 01:06.8512 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 17 |
| 18 | 15 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | N/A | 01:06.8489 | N/A | N/A | 18 |
| 19 | 30 | Takuma Sato W | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 01:07.1026 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 19 |
| 20 | 59 | Max Chilton | Carlin | Chevrolet | N/A | 01:07.0021 | N/A | N/A | 20 |
| 21 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson R | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 01:07.7092 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 21 |
| 22 | 7 | Felix Rosenqvist | Arrow McLaren SP | Chevrolet | N/A | 01:07.0254 | N/A | N/A | 22 |
| 23 | 4 | Dalton Kellett | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet | 01:07.8100 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 22 |
| 24 | 29 | James Hinchcliffe | Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport | Honda | N/A | No Time | N/A | N/A | 24 |
| Source: ||||||||||

**Notes**

* Bold text indicates fastest time set in session.

## Warmup

Warmup took place at 11:30 AM ET on April 18, 2021.

Top Warmup Speeds :

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Engine | Lap Time |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 15 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 01:06.7319 |
| 2 | 51 | Romain Grosjean R | Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing | Honda | 01:06.8616 |
| 3 | 14 | Sébastien Bourdais | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet | 01:06.8642 |
| Source: ||||||

## Race

The race started at 3:00 PM ET on April 18, 2021.

### Race classification

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Engine | Laps | Time/Retired | Pit Stops | Grid | Laps Led | Pts. |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 10 | Álex Palou | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 90 | 1:52:53.0361 | 2 | 3 | 56 | 53 |
| 2 | 12 | Will Power W | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 90 | +0.4016 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 41 |
| 3 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 90 | +2.9881 | 2 | 5 | | 35 |
| 4 | 5 | Pato O'Ward | Arrow McLaren SP | Chevrolet | 90 | +3.9741 | 3 | 1 | 25 | 34 |
| 5 | 14 | Sébastien Bourdais | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet | 90 | +10.6967 | 3 | 16 | 4 | 31 |
| 6 | 21 | Rinus VeeKay | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | 90 | +13.8750 | 4 | 14 | 1 | 29 |
| 7 | 15 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 90 | +18.7387 | 3 | 18 | | 26 |
| 8 | 8 | Marcus Ericsson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 90 | +20.0700 | 2 | 6 | | 24 |
| 9 | 27 | Alexander Rossi | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 90 | +20.5601 | 3 | 2 | | 22 |
| 10 | 51 | Romain Grosjean R | Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing | Honda | 90 | +45.0805 | 2 | 7 | | 20 |
| 11 | 60 | Jack Harvey | Meyer Shank Racing | Honda | 90 | +50.0788 | 3 | 11 | | 19 |
| 12 | 22 | Simon Pagenaud W | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 90 | +59.0522 | 3 | 15 | | 18 |
| 13 | 30 | Takuma Sato W | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 90 | +1:05.5887 | 3 | 19 | | 17 |
| 14 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin R | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 90 | +1:06.0562 | 3 | 12 | | 16 |
| 15 | 18 | Ed Jones | Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan | Honda | 90 | +1:08.4093 | 3 | 13 | | 15 |
| 16 | 20 | Conor Daly | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | 90 | +1:09.1076 | 3 | 10 | | 14 |
| 17 | 29 | James Hinchcliffe | Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport | Honda | 89 | +1 Lap | 3 | 24 | | 13 |
| 18 | 4 | Dalton Kellett | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet | 89 | +1 Lap | 4 | 23 | | 12 |
| 19 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson R | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 87 | +3 Laps | 3 | 21 | | 11 |
| 20 | 59 | Max Chilton | Carlin | Chevrolet | 86 | +4 Laps | 4 | 20 | | 10 |
| 21 | 7 | Felix Rosenqvist | Arrow McLaren SP | Chevrolet | 62 | Contact | 3 | 22 | | 9 |
| 22 | 26 | Colton Herta | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 25 | Contact | 2 | 9 | | 8 |
| 23 | 2 | Josef Newgarden W | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 0 | Contact | 0 | 8 | | 7 |
| 24 | 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay W | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 0 | Contact | 0 | 17 | | 6 |
| Fastest lap: Pato O'Ward (Arrow McLaren SP) – 01:06.8182 (lap 65) |||||||||||
| Source: |||||||||||

## Championship standings after the race

| Pos. | Driver | Points |
| - | - | - |
| 1 | Álex Palou | 53 |
| 2 | Will Power | 41 |
| 3 | Scott Dixon | 35 |
| 4 | Pato O'Ward | 34 |
| 5 | Sébastien Bourdais | 31 |
| Source: |||
| Pos. | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | Honda | 90 |
| 2 | Chevrolet | 73 |
| Source: |||

* Note: Only the top five positions are included.
