St Pete: Herta untouchable, Pagenaud on the podium

Colton Herta won the 2nd round of the season, in the streets of St Petersburg, ahead of the Penske of Josef Newgarden and simon pagenaud.

The poleman, imperial during the 100 laps, signs his fifth success in the series. 

It's time to celebrate.@ColtonHerta takes @FollowAndretti to victory circle at @GPSTPETE and keeps the show going.#INDYCAR // #FirestoneGP pic.twitter.com/xoj0q6qh3A

—NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) April 25, 2021

The end of the race was however marked by two neutralizations (74th and 79th lap), but Josef Newgarden, who had retired on the first lap last week at Barber and dragged Herta into his fall, did not manage to push him to the error, and finished more than two seconds behind the Californian. 

Not celebrating either in Alabama, where he had settled for 12th place, Simon Pagenaud scored his first podium since his victory in Iowa last July. The Frenchman started from 4th row, and six seconds separated him from Herta at the finish.

In a race where starting position was crucial, Josef Newgarden also moved up one place from his starting position, at the expense of Jack Harvey (Meyer Shank), ultimately fourth.

Party 5th, Sébastien Bourdais He initially had a scare, a problem keeping him in his ptibox during the warm-up laps, but he was still able to find his place on the grid just before starting.

Le Manceau finally finished in 10th position. He notably lost a few places following the first round of refueling, then during the last 20 laps.

Reverse trajectory for Romain Grosjean (Dale Coyne Racing), who finished in 13th place after starting from 18th. An encouraging performance for its first street race in IndyCar.

In the fight with Will Power (Penske), the Frenchman hit the wall twice on the 24th lap, but without damaging his No. 51.

After his first two races in the American series, Grosjean will return to Europe, although he does not race on ovals, and the next stage of the championship will be held at Texas Motor Speedway next weekend.

Discover the full report of the St Petersburg event, in issue 2309 of AUTOhebdo, available tomorrow evening in digital version and this Wednesday on newsstands.