The last round of the IndyCar series witnessed the most hotly-anticipated debut for a recent Formula 1 driver on an oval since Fernando Alonso first tackled the Indianapolis 500 debut four years ago.
Romain Grosjean acquitted himself well on his initiation at Gateway Motorsports Park, the two-kilometre / one-and-a-quarter-mile speedway in the suburbs of St Louis, Missouri.This was something Grosjean had been looking forward to ever since he first considered IndyCar as an option for his post-Formula 1 career. Before he’d seen the 2021 schedule, the then-Haas F1 driver assumed there were more than four oval races planned. However his willingness to experiment with a different and potentially more dangerous form of racing was understandably tempered by his horror crash in the Bahrain Grand Prix.
After securing a deal to join Dale Coyne and Rick Ware in February, Grosjean initially planned to run only the road and street courses, but reserved the possibility of running at Gateway towards the end of the season. After the approval of his family, and a successful open test in July, he officially added last weekend’s Gateway 500 to his 2021 slate.
On paper, his results seemed nothing to shout about: He qualified 14th out of 24 cars and finished in the same position, one lap behind winner Josef Newgarden. Yet there were still flashes of brilliance which suggested that a top 10 finish at minimum was possible.
Take for instance, his blistering charge through the field after a lap 77 restart. It had been hard for Grosjean to settle into a steady rhythm up to that point, after four cautions for accidents meant 40 of the first 75 laps were run under yellow.
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“We just need to keep digging, as they say on the oval,” said Grosjean’s race engineer, Olivier Boisson, to his driver on the radio just before the race restarted – with Grosjean back where he started the race, in 14th, and on a fresh set of tyres.
A lap later, Grosjean and Dalton Kellett brushed wheels as they dove into turn three together. This could have been the end of both drivers’ races in an instant. Instead, Grosjean just drove past Kellett into 12th place. Any lingering trepidations about battling hard for position following his Bahrain Grand Prix crash were clearly a thing of the past.
Within another three laps he was past Conor Daly, one of the series’ most underrated oval runners. In another two laps, he had broken into the top ten by overtaking Jack Harvey. And then one lap after passing Harvey, Grosjean got past fellow rookie Scott McLaughlin, whose best finish of the season thus far was on the 1.5 mile bullring at Texas Motor Speedway.
Grosjean settled into a prolonged battle with former Indy 500 winner and series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay, the man Grosjean is tipped to replace at Andretti next season according to many in the paddock. This time, Hunter-Reay was able to keep his most likely successor at bay until he came to the pits for routine service.
Things could have ended in disaster for Grosjean on lap 173 of 260, when his purple number 51 machine washed out of the preferred line through turns one and two, into the marbles and millimetres away from the SAFER barrier. Daly, Harvey, and Simon Pagenaud were all able to pass him with ease.
That taught him a vital lesson about oval racing versus racing on road and street courses: If a driver misses their line through one corner on a road course, they have at least another 10 corners to make up for it. If a driver misses their marks on one corner of an oval, they’ve compromised at least half of their lap in an instant.
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On lap 183, Grosjean made his final scheduled pit stop, which dropped him off of the lead lap. He remained a lap down for the remainder of the race, thanks to a caution on lap 201 for Alexander Rossi turn two accident.
So what did the man himself think of finishing his first oval race? “It was a very, very good experience,” recalls Grosjean. “We tried a strategy that didn’t quite go our way, so the end result isn’t as good as our race, but we had a fast car, we learned a lot.”
“I made a couple of mistakes on cold tyres and got into the marbles, but I was able to save it and I managed to make some good passes. I’m happy with this first oval race.”
That it’s this close between McLaughlin and Grosjean with three races to go is something of a surprise. Grosjean skipped the previous three oval races, including the Indianapolis 500, the only double points race on the schedule. The Indy 500 was a missed opportunity for McLaughlin to potentially put the season-long Rookie of the Year battle out of reach, regardless of whether Grosjean ran Gateway or not.
McLaughlin, still acclimatising to the enormous change from Australian Supercars to single-seaters, is yet to record a top-five finish on a road course. Grosjean therefore looks well-placed to pressure his Penske rival in the standings over the remaining rounds.
The championship will be decided over a trio of races in quick succession starting this weekend on the Portland road course. The series will then move to another road course, Laguna Seca, which Grosjean has already tested at, and conclude on the streets of Long Beach.
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Peter Johnson
9th September 2021, 12:44
I like Grosjean. He seems like a genuine guy and I wish him all the best in the IndyCar series. He’s doing ok. But honestly to compare a guy with his long experience in the peak open wheel category that is F1 with Scott McLaughlin coming out of sedans is a joke. Grosjean should not even be eligible for the rookie title after having spent all those years in F1. He’s way more qualified than half the field. Scotty has come out of touring cars and is doing really well (check Jimmy Johnson’s results). Surely, as it seems is the tone of this article, Romain cannot possibly be considered an underdog.
Jim from US (@jimfromus)
9th September 2021, 13:03
Grojean is an underdog because his strategist always makes the wrong decisions. You would think that by dumb luck they would win a race but no.
Conzo77
9th September 2021, 13:07
Don’t underestimate Scotty McJandal, and don’t underestimate how different Indycar is – as a whole – to both F1 _and_ V8SC.
Conzo77
9th September 2021, 13:05
I love and follow Indycars and F1. Period. New Sentence.
It makes me so happy to see RoGro blossom in Indycars. Somehow, it seems an awesome place for him. I’ve been amazed at his performance and guts, and sheer racecraft, among a field of drivers I rate extremely highly. Scotty McL.’s not exactly the slowest, least talented driver to step into a racing car, and the fact Romain has a realistic chance of beating him to RotY is … massively … impressive … in my book.
I found Gateway a bit of a messy race, but Romain made sure there was entertainment aplenty. It’s great to see the huge ‘giraffe smile’ again … Looking forward to seeing what’s he going to do for the rest of the season, and then the next. GoRoGro!!!!
And, of course, if you think you don’t like Indycars (like I thought, a couple of years back), I can recommend making a pact with yourself to watch it for at least 5-6 races without judgement, just trying to get the hang of how Indycar racing ticks, without making up your mind. Don’t be surprised if your Sundays (or whichever day you watch the races) end up being significantly more fun than they used to be :)
Don
9th September 2021, 16:14
I love both F1 and IndyCar too. Why wouldn’t anyone if they’re a fan of open wheel racing? Both have their special qualities and are the best series on earth.
RG has done a great job this year and has shown he is a special driver, now that he is driving something above the worst car in the field at (Haas). We may see him back in F1 as the rumor is solid that Michael Andretti has purchased Alfa Romeo an will start ownership in the 2023 season. RG and Colton Herta would probably be the driver pairing.
Conzo77
10th September 2021, 8:21
“Both have their special qualities and are the best series on earth.”, yep, my view exactly.
Wow, I didn’t know about the Alfa Romeo rumors! I don’t know if this will mean it’ll come under the Andretti Autosport umbrella, but they certainly know how to run a team – and it’d be cool to see the name back in F1.
Peter Johnson
9th September 2021, 13:19
How can you say that Romain is “massively impressive ” in almost, nearly, but not quite, beating a guy who has come out of touring cars? I have watched plenty of IndyCar this year. It’s a series that is improving and has provided some good racing. But to me I’d rate F1 drivers way above the level of IndyCar – adjustment or not. Romain has met expectations adequately, McLaughlin has exceeded them and Johnson ought to give it away.
John H (@john-h)
9th September 2021, 13:51
I think very well summed up Peter.
someone or something
9th September 2021, 13:57
You seem to have missed a rather important fact during your plenty of watching: Grosjean has skipped 3 races so far, in which McLaughlin was able to score no less than 84 points. And he might yet still beat him.
Peter Johnson
9th September 2021, 23:38
My point is, so he should.
someone or something
10th September 2021, 3:04
Based on what? He’s already outperforming him fair and square. Saying he should beat his fellow rookie by at least the amount the latter has scored in three additional races (including a double points event, so basically four races) doesn’t sound remotely meaningful, but rather like a weird, a posteriori, pulled from you-know-where criterion.
Peter Johnson
10th September 2021, 4:03
I was referring to your last sentence. Can we stop now?
someone or something
10th September 2021, 13:45
My last sentence has a context, without which it is meaningless. So, what were you trying to say?
– That Grosjean should be better than McLaughlin (but not necessarily in the final points standing, considering how many races Grosjean has missed)? In that case, I don’t understand your reaction to the article.
– Or that he should beat McLaughlin in the points standing regardless? In that case, I don’t understand your reaction to my comment.
Marinated Monolith (@)
10th September 2021, 6:45
I think you’re underestimating just how much of an advantage McLaughlin has by driving for Penske.
Yes, IndyCar’s pecking order has changed somewhat but Penske is still a much bigger operation than Dale Coyne and this difference more or less even things out for both McLaughlin and Grosjean.
So yeah, the fact that Grosjean isn’t far behind in the standings despite missing 3 races, including the Indy 500, is still a pretty impressive achievement.
Peter Johnson
10th September 2021, 11:56
Grosjean has had nine seasons in F1 and 10 podiums. He should not be considered a rookie in any series on the planet. Not even close. It just happens that he is considered a rookie because he hasn’t done IndyCar before . Can you all stop thinking he is doing something special this year? He’s fast no doubt and inconsistent no doubt, as proven by his F1 record. McLaughlin has come out of, oh that’s right, touring cars! He is a genuine rookie in open wheelers. If Romain was to win Rookie of the year it would be an embarrassment for Indy and him.