July ended with a bang in Monterey, California. After 5 races in a row, drivers faced Laguna Seca with less practice than usual. But with Pato O’Ward reducing the gap in Toronto, Alex Palou fought back. He reclaimed top position with a dominate win.
Reduced Running in Monterey
Drivers faced a lack of running this weekend in Monterey. With rain and low clouds preventing the medical helicopter from running Practice 2 was cancelled.
This saw drivers contend with qualifying after only one session, compared to the usual 2. This cost some drivers, such as Kyle Kirkwood, crucial positions as they faced an early exit.
In response to this, IndyCar chose to move the Warm-Up session to Saturday evening, swapping it to a shorter practice session. Whilst this helped, it was less than ideal on such a technical track.
Overcut Vs Undercut
As always, tyre choice and pit strategy was key throughout the race. Drivers were between the soft and hard compounds, but also between new and used tyres. As O’Ward hunted down Colton Herta for P2 at the start of the race, James Hinchcliffe remarked that it would be an “ebb and flow kind of race”, where the drivers were split on strategy.
As well as tyre choice, drivers had to decide whether on not to undercut their competitors or run longer. Most chose to undercut and it paid off. However, in the case of O’Ward, it wasn’t the right call. An ill-timed caution period prevented O’Ward making the undercut work against Herta. In the post race conference, Herta said that this “opened up a new race for us.”
After the second round of pit stops O’Ward’s teammate, Christian Lundgaard, capitalised on pitting earlier, and with warmer tyres made a move in the infamous Corkscrew. This undercut and move ultimately helped Lundgaard get a P2 finish.
In contrast, some drivers were able to take advantage of running long. The alternate strategy of staying out saw the likes of Scott Dixon and Callum Ilott get into the top 10. They finished P5 and P6 respectively and both made up the most positions in the race.
Questionable Cautions
The race in Monterey saw a total of 5 caution periods, running under yellow for 15 laps.
The first came from Kyffin Simpson colliding with Felix Rosenqvist at turn 6 on the first lap. Whilst Rosenqvist was able to continue, Simpson retired – a disappointing result following his maiden podium. Jacob Abel caused the second caution a few laps later, locking up and finding himself in a wall at Turn 3. He was okay but unable to continue the race.
Rinus VeeKay and Ericsson caused the 3rd and 4th caution periods – two incidents which brought questions. VeeKay was beached in the gravel after being hit by Kyle Kirkwood and race control waited a lap to set a caution. Kirkwood was given a stop-and-go penalty for this move.
In similar fashion, they waited 3 laps to caution the race after Marcus Ericsson spun on the entry to the Corkscrew. He was beached on the blind entry but was eventually able to get back running. Some drivers questioned the long wait over their radios due to safety.
Santino Ferrucci’s spin on the entry to the Corkscrew caused the final caution period but was also able to continue running.
Armstrong Splits the Penske’s
A highlight of the race was Meyer Shank Racing’s Marcus Armstrong battling with all three Team Penske drivers.
Whilst the Team Penske drivers were all running in the top 10, their second pits brought them out close to Armstrong (who benefited from an undercut). Initially, they were able to hold him off but Armstrong was able to make his way through on both Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden a few laps later.
After the restarts on laps 82 and 88, Armstrong was closing in on Will Power – even attempting to make passes. But the Australian was able to defend and keep the younger Kiwi behind him.
Palou Dominates Again
Alex Palou once again dominated the race and took maximum points away from the weekend. Starting alongside championship contender O’Ward, he got a text-book start and was quickly far ahead of the pack.
Chip Ganassi Racing pitted him when VeeKay was hit but it was slightly too early and they missed the caution period. This dropped him to P3 but he was able to clear Nolan Siegel and Dixon ahead of him within a few laps.
Palou was able to get an 8-second lead over Lundgaard and was consistently running 8 tenths quicker than the field. However, his lead was reduced due to the caution periods nearing the end. Despite this, he managed the restarts perfectly and was able to take an 8th win of the season.
Commentator Will Buxton said that Palou had been “utterly imperious from the get go” as the Spaniard crossed the finish line.
“I’m happy that we were able to capitalise and get that win. Yeah, could not be happier”
– Alex Palou on his win in the post race conference.
With his win in Monterey, Palou has now eliminated everyone from P3 in the standings. With a 121 point lead over O’Ward, they are now the only two in contention for the championship.
The Top 10 for the race can be seen below:
With the conclusion of the Java House Grand Prix of Monterey, IndyCar now sees a short break. With three races remaining, O’Ward and Palou will certainly be battling it out until the end. Next up? The Bitnile.com Grand Prix of Portland on the 10th August.