Colton Herta had the fastest lap in this mirrning’s warmup session for this afternoon’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Scott Dixon led most of the session before Herrta put down his quick lap, the only lap in 1:05 range.
Points leader Scott McLaughlin crew discovered a broken header after just two laps and they are changing the engine.
The practice had just one red flag. With about eight minutes left
Graham Rahat slid and his rear wing had slight contact with the wall.
The results:
Tomorrow’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will begin just where the 2021 race stopped-Colton Herta will lead the field to green flag followed by Josef Newgarden. In a qualifying session which the previous track record shredded to bits, Herta set the new mark of 1:05.3.
Herta and his Andretti Autosport teammates asserted the perennial dominance the team has has had since 2018. Alexander Rossi won the race in 2018 and 2019 from the pole. Herta won here last fall and now has added the pole.
Newgarden did not lead Team Penske in either of the practices, but came on strong during qualifying. Neither Will Power nor Scott McLaughlin advanced to the Fast Six. McLaughlin will be absent from the first row for the first time this season.
Meyer Shank Racing.lookred very strong in practice, but neither Simon Pagenaud nor Helio Castroneves advanced to the final round.
Romain Grosjean led the final practice and appeared to be on his way to the pole. He ran his car into the tire barrier, bringing out a red flag with just two seconds left in the session. The incident moved him to sixth place. The five remaining cars had an opportunity for one more timed lap
Only Felix Rosenqvist and Rosdi took advantage of the time. Rossi’s attempt ended as needed to use the runoff area. Rosenqvisy did not improve.
Qualifying results. Note-Devlin DeFrancesco will start 23rd tomorrow as he serves a six grid place penalty. I will have more thoughts on the day later this evening.
Tomorrow’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will begin just where the 2021 race stopped-Colton Herta will lead the field to green flag followed by Josef Newgarden. In a qualifying session which the previous track record shredded to bits, Herta set the new mark of 1:05.3.
Herta and his Andretti Autosport teammates asserted the perennial dominance the team has has had since 2018. Alexander Rossi won the race in 2018 and 2019 from the pole. Herta won here last fall and now has added the pole.
Newgarden did not lead Team Penske in either of the practices, but came on strong during qualifying. Neither Will Power nor Scott McLaughlin advanced to the Fast Six. McLaughlin will be absent from the first row for the first time this season.
Meyer Shank Racing.lookred very strong in practice, but neither Simon Pagenaud nor Helio Castroneves advanced to the final round.
Romain Grosjean led the final practice and appeared to be on his way to the pole. He ran his car into the tire barrier, bringing out a red flag with just two seconds left in the session. The incident moved him to sixth place. The five remaining cars had an opportunity for one more timed lap
Only Felix Rosenqvist and Rosdi took advantage of the time. Rossi’s attempt ended as needed to use the runoff area. Rosenqvisy did not improve.
Qualifying results. Note-Devlin DeFrancesco will start 23rd tomorrow as he serves a six grid place penalty. I will have more thoughts on the day later this evening.
Image: Pato O’Ward
Before the first wheel turned at St. Pete 17 days, it was widely assumed that Alexander Rossi would leave Andretti Autosport at the end of this season. Rumors have him going to either Ganassi in the fourth car currently driven by Jimmie Johnson, or Will Power’s seat in car 12 at Penske. I am okay with this. The speculation has simmered since late 2021.
Yesterday, Racer magazine’s Marshall Pruett posted a piece about Pato O’Ward in which the AMSP driver says it is possible he will be in a different situation in 2023. he wasn’t clear whether that ride would be in Indycar with another team or in another slot within the McLaren organization.
Meanwhile, Michael Andretti continues to pursue his goal of F1 team ownership. His quest looks to widened. He still hopes that the current Formula 1 owners will accept his new team. There is also talk that he is speaking to Red Bull about buying the Alpha Tauri team. Should Andretti acquire an F1 component to his racing empire, Colton Herta will move to the European based circuit.
Last week Herta signed a development driver contract with McLaren, which gives him an opportunity to get more super license points to qualify to drive in F1.
The good news is that Andretti is not likely to have a Formula 1 team until 2024, and it is unlikely that McLaren will have an open F1 seat before then for O’Ward. Rossi apparently will stay in Indycar for the forseeable future.
We need to enjoy watching Herta and O’Ward this year and next. After that, who knows? It isn’t as if the cupboard of young talent is bare should the two young guns leave. Kyle Kirkwood, Christian Lundgaard, and Callum Ilott will easily take over the spotlight.
We are just one race into the 2022 season. Can’t we just enjoy the racing at this point and save all the musical chairs stuff until late July? Silly Season seems to arrive earlier every year, but three weeks after the first race is way too early.
My Texas coverage starts later today. I will be on site this weekend. Please follow along.
Saturdays don’t usually start with driver news, so to see a story about Colton Herta signing an F1 development deal with McLaren was a shock to wake up to.
First, let’s look at what the deal is NOT:
It will not affect his Indycar schedule.
Herta will not participate in the first free practice on Friday of a Grand Prix weekend as of now, but there are two opportunities in the United States- Miami in May and Austin in October- which might change that. It is unlikely.
The deal does not affect Pato O’Ward’s status with McLaren. O’Ward is still a long way from F1.
Herta is not in line for a McLaren Formula 1 ride. Lando Norris is locked for several years, Daniel Riccardo is believed to have a contract through 2023.
The deals allows Herta to test in a Formula 1 car. The program allows testing in a 2021 or older car. This program is to develop drivers, not equipment.
From what I have seen, McLaren CEO Zak Brown is helping Michael Andretti should Andretti’s bid to gain entry into Formula 1 for 2024 is successful. He will have a young American driver with some familiarity with F1 machinery.
I think this allows Herta fans the best of both worlds. He will be in Indycar for at least two more seasons, while getting time in an F1 car. After that we will see what happens. Herta will be a great story to follow in F1.
Perhaps we could look ahead to 2026. After a fierce battle between O’Ward and Herta for the Indycar championship, both end up in F1 on teams that are equal. They fight each other all year for points.
The bottom line is I would hate for either of them to leave Indycar, but to get to F1, they just have a couple years if they want to make the move.
Cplton Herta led this morning’s final warm up for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, edging Josef Newgarden by 0.27 seconds. Herta’s quick lap of 1:00.328 came late in the session.
Two red flags interrupted action. The first was for Jimmie Johnson who spun and stopped on track. the second came with just about three minutes remaining. Cars returned to the track for one timed lap.
Romain Grosjean had some adventures in turn 1. He tried to pass a car on the inside, locked his brakes, and went into the run off area. The car he tried to pass narrowly avoided a collision and continued.
Later Grosjean and Helio Castroneves went side by side into the first turn. The cars made contact but continued without any issues.
The top 12
Some notes from wandering around the track this morning and some quotes from driver interviews.
The Grand Prix is back to full concessions and vendor booths. In 2021 food and vendors were fewer than normal. Sadly, Wild Bill’s Root Beer stand is still missing. The crowd came late,but is now a healthy Friday attendance. The late arrivals have may been because of the late start for the first Indycar practice.
Some photos from the paddock:
Colton Herta took his place permanently in St. Petersburg racing history as he placed his plaque on the winner’s monument just behind Dan Wheldon Way. Of the now twelve names on the stone column, six are no longer racing in the series.
Herta’s nameplate completes the front side of the winner’s stone.
I’ll be back later with some driver quotes from this morning and a practice wrapup.
Indy lights just completed their qualifying session. Hunter McElreay won the pole.
Colton Herta had the fastest time yesterday in the first day of testing at Sebring for the NTT Indycar Series. Seventeen drivers ran laps in preparation for the February 27 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by RP Funding.
Chip Ganassi Racing used Monday as an evaluation Day for IMSA driver Kevin Magnussen. All four Ganassi drivers- Scott Dixon, Alex Palou, Marcus Ericsson, and Jimmie Johnson- will test today.
A. J. Foyt Racing used Monday as a rookie test day. Dalton Kellettt will be on track today along with teammates Kyle Kirkwood and Tatiana Calderon. Kirkwood was 12th fastest Monday.
Ed Carpenter Racing and Meyer Shank Racing will test today.
The top times:
I enjoyed seeing some of the new liveries in my brief time at Sebring yesterday. The AMSP cars look fantastic. The light blue with the orange recalls the iconic Gulf liveries of Mclarens of the past.
Photo above: Colton Herta
Two of the top contenders for the 2022 NTT Indycar Series championship this year say they are focused on Indycar this season while hoping for a future opportunity to drive in Formula 1 someday.
Pato O’Ward finished third in the standings in 2021. The Arrow McLaren SP driver looks to improve that position this season. He did get to test a McLaren F1 car in Abu Dabi in December and still hopes one day to drive in that series. But not this year.
“I mean, right now I have one focus, and
that one focus is in INDYCAR. I want to give these guys
their first championship. I’d love to give them their first 500. This is what my focus is right now,” O’Ward said during Indycar Content Day yesterday.
“Who knows if F1 will be an option or won’t be an option.
Obviously if it comes about, I will 100 percent take it and
every single driver in my position would do it because it’s
Formula 1. That’s what I grew up watching and that’s what
I grew up dreaming of. That same dream that you have as
a kid will never go away.
Right now, like I said, I have a challenge here, and I want
people to enjoy. I want people to enjoy me in INDYCAR. I
want them to know what INDYCAR has to offer, I want
them to enjoy me in INDYCAR, the racing.”
O’Ward said to move up in the standings, the team needs to find consistency.
” I mean, in short, I just don’t think we’ve
had a very consistent car. Where we’ve been strong,
we’ve been very strong, but where we haven’t been strong,
we’ve been very weak, and that’s where we’ve lost a lot of
points. I feel like there’s no sugar coating it. It’s just not
good enough.
I have to try and maximize what I can control, and I know
the engineers are going to do their part. We’re not up to
where Penske, Andretti and Ganassi are. We sure as hell
are trying to and working hard for that, but they are
Penske, Ganassi and Andretti for a reason.
Yeah, I think we’re definitely on the way.”
Unlike O’Ward, Colton Herta sees F1 as another racing series he wants to try. He realizes he has a limited time frame to get an F1 ride, but thinks his age is in his favor.
“The time is right for me if I got the opportunity. I’d have to
have a good think about it, but I most likely would do it
because I want to run in Formula 1 at some point.
That’s not to say I think people forget that I’m 21 years old
and I can’t come back in five years and still run 15 years in
INDYCAR and be 40.
Yeah, I definitely want to give it a crack if I get the
opportunity. But definitely not disappointed at all in
INDYCAR. I like this series more than any series in the
world, and I enjoy racing in a it a lot. But yeah, there’s just
a lot of stuff that I’d like to try in my racing career outside of
INDYCAR, also.”
As far as pressure to win the championship this season, Herta isn’t feeling any. He has confidence in his Andretti Autosport team.
“No, because I’m 21, so I think I have
plenty of time. But I do want to win it earlier rather than later.
I don’t feel the pressure from that aspect. I don’t feel like I
need to get it done this year.
But that’s not to say I don’t want to get it done this year.
That’s kind of like my goal.”
Herta said he learned a valuable lesson about collecting points after crashing out of the Nashville race while running second.
“… it was a good learning experience, and it’s
probably in the grand scheme of things, it’s probably good
that it happened, because you just kind of learn from
repetition. That’s probably the best way to learn I feel.
That’s something I’ll keep in the back of my head, and I
think it’s something that next time it won’t be a problem.”
Right now I have Herta and O’Ward as the top two to win the title. At this point, I give a slight edge to Herta. Both drivers need to be more consistent than last year. With the uncertainty of how long they remain in Indycar, now is the time to enjoy these two young drivers.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 