【2021 End Of Season Review】Alex Palou Wins Championship in His Second Season, Honda Wins Fourth Straight Manufacturers Title

The 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES was contested over 16 rounds. With three victories, Alex Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing) won the Drivers’ Championship. Honda won its tenth manufacturers’ title, and won the Indy 500.

Defending Champion Scott Dixon Takes Early Lead

The season kicked off on April 18 at the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at the Barber Motorsports Park. In contrast to the 2020 season in which most races were held without spectators, the opening round was witnessed by 20 thousand visitors. Alex Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing), in his second Indy season, started from third on the grid, and took the lead after a timely pit stop. Driving with a maturity unseen in a 24 year old, Palou went on to win his first Indy race, also his first after joining Honda.Teammate and defending champion Scott Dixon was third, placing two Honda drivers on the opening round podium.

Colton Herta (Andretti Autosport) won the following round from pole position, the 21-year-old winning his fourth race in his third season. Rounds 3 and 4 were held as a doubleheader in Texas. Dixon won Round 3, so far 3 for 3 for Honda. In Round 5, held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, former Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean (Dale Coyne Racing with RWR) took pole position on his third Indy race. He finished the race in second place. Palou was third, on the podium for the first time since the opening round. In the points standings, Dixon led, Palou was 13 points behind in second. Chip Ganassi Racing drivers led the points going into the biggest event of the season, the Indy 500.

2020 champion Scott Dixon wins Round 3 and leads the championship

Helio Castroneves’ Record-tying Fourth Indy 500 Win

The 105th Indianapolis 500 (Indy 500) kicked off with four days of practice sessions from May 18, followed by two Qualifying days. Seven of the Fast 9 in Qualifying Day 2 were Hondas. Dixon took pole, and was fastest in Carb day, the last day of practice.

On the 30th, the green flag signalled the start of the race, held in front of 135 thousand spectators. Dixon was soon out of contention with mechanical issues early in the race. 2020 winner Takuma Sato (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) started 15th, but moved up to striking distance concentrating on fuel efficiency to minimize pit stops. Further behind, Palou and Helio Castroneves (Meyer Shank Racing) were fighting for position. With seven laps remaining, Sato pits, leaving Palou and Castroneves to fight for the win. With two laps to go, Castroneves pulls ahead and wins the Indy 500 for a record-tying fourth time, his last Indy 500 win twelve years ago. Palou was second, but overtook Dixon in the points standings.

Helio Castroneves entertained the crowd with a Spiderman performance

Palou Leads Mid-season, Title Up for Grabs in Closing Stages

Marcus Ericsson (Chip Ganassi Racing) won his first race in Round 7. Palou finished third the following round, and won Round 9. He was also on the podium in Round 10. Marcus Ericsson won his second race in Round 11, a race in which Honda dominated the top seven. Round 12 was held once again at the Indianapolis road circuit, where Grosjean scored another second place. Palou had continued to finish consistently within the points, but in Round 13 the Chevrolets fought back, and Takuma Sato’s sixth place was Honda’s best. With Pato O’Ward (Chevrolet) taking the championship lead, there were only three rounds on the West coast remaining.

Marcus Ericsson wins two rounds mid-season

New Champion is Born

In Round 14, Palou took pole but lost ground soon after the start coming into contact with another car. A change of strategy paid off, however, moving him back to points-leader. Herta won the following two rounds, in which Palou finished second and fourth. His consistency gave the 24-year-old the Indycar Series title in only his second season.

Alex Palou takes championship with three race victories

Honda won ten of the 16 rounds to win its fourth consecutive manufacturers’ title, its tenth overall. Palou and Herta had won three races each. Takuma Sato finished within the top 10 eight times, his best result was fourth in Round 7. Sato finished the season 11th overall.

Race Report

Standings

Pos.	Driver	Num.	Team	Constr.	Pts
1	Alex PALOU	10	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	549
2	Josef NEWGARDEN	2	Team Penske	Chevrolet	511
3	Pato O'WARD	5	Arrow McLaren SP	Chevrolet	487
4	Scott DIXON	9	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	481
5	Colton HERTA	26	Andretti Autosport w/ Curb-Agajanian	Honda	455
6	Marcus ERICSSON	8	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	435
7	Graham RAHAL	15	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	389
8	Simon PAGENAUD	22	Team Penske	Chevrolet	383
9	Will POWER	12	Team Penske	Chevrolet	357
10	Alexander ROSSI	27	Andretti Autosport	Honda	332
11	Takuma SATO	30	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	324
12	Rinus VEEKAY	21	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	308
13	Jack HARVEY	60	Meyer Shank Racing	Honda	308
14	Scott MCLAUGHLIN	3	Team Penske	Chevrolet	305
15	Romain GROSJEAN	51	Dale Coyne Racing with RWR	Honda	272
16	Sebastien BOURDAIS	14	A.J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet	258
17	Ryan HUNTER-REAY	28	Andretti Autosport	Honda	256
18	Conor DALY	20	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	235
19	Ed JONES	18	Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan	Honda	233
20	James HINCHCLIFFE	29	Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport	Honda	220
21	Felix ROSENQVIST	7	Arrow McLaren SP	Chevrolet	205
22	Hélio CASTRONEVES	6	Meyer Shank Racing	Honda	158
23	Dalton KELLETT	4	A.J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet	148
24	Santino FERRUCCI	45	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	146
25	Max CHILTON	59	Carlin	Chevrolet	134
26	Jimmie JOHNSON	48	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	108
27	Ed CARPENTER	20	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	107
28	Tony KANAAN	48	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	96
29	Oliver ASKEW	45	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	61
30	Sage KARAM	24	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Chevrolet	53
31	Juan Pablo MONTOYA	86	Arrow McLaren SP	Chevrolet	53
32	Pietro FITTIPALDI	51	Dale Coyne Racing with RWR	Honda	34
33	JR HILDEBRAND	1	A.J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet	30
34	Cody WARE	52	Dale Coyne Racing with RWR	Honda	26
35	Marco ANDRETTI	98	Andretti Herta Autosport w/ Marco Andretti & Curb-Agajanian	Honda	22
36	Charlie KIMBALL	11	A.J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet	20
37	Christian LUNDGAARD	45	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	19
38	Callum ILOTT	77	JUNCOS HOLLINGER RACING	Chevrolet	18
39	Ryan NORMAN	52	Dale Coyne Racing with RWR	Honda	10
40	Simona DE SILVESTRO	16	Paretta Autosport	Chevrolet	10
41	Stefan WILSON	25	Andretti Autosport	Honda	10
42	Kevin MAGNUSSEN	7	Arrow McLaren SP	Chevrolet	7
43	RC ENERSON	75	Top Gun Racing	Chevrolet	5