Iowa – Race 1: McLaughlin wins, Palou abandons

Starting from second place, McLaughlin took control of the event on the 83rd of the 250 laps of the event, after a pit stop under yellow flag. The New Zealander from Team Penske then continued to hold the lead, winning ahead of Pato O'Ward (Arrow McLaren) and Josef Newgarden (Penske). Six-time winner at Iowa Speedway, Newgarden moved up from 22nd place on the grid, during a race that resembled a procession, with the outside line not offering enough grip to the drivers to attempt many things under the green flag .

Shortly after halfway, Álex Palou lost big when he hit the wall at the entrance to the first turn, after a spin at the exit of Turn 4. The Spaniard had already surrendered the task more difficult by stalling during his first pit stop. He now has a 37-point lead in the championship over O'Ward, 43 over Will Power (Penske), who also had a difficult race with contact in the final laps with Pietro Fittipaldi (Rahal Letterman Lanigan) in particular. Scott Dixon (Ganassi) is 4th, 46 points behind his teammate, ahead of McLaughlin who is 59 points behind the leader.

Bad luck hits Herta

Starting from pole position, Colton Herta (Andretti) led the first 82 laps of the race before being overtaken by McLaughlin. In the second relay, the car No. 26 developed a vibration, which forced Herta to pit first. Alas, Palou went off the correct trajectory at the same time, sending the Andretti driver to the back of the peloton. After recovering from a huge slide on the 223rd lap, the 24-year-old driver had to settle for 11th place overall, and is 66 points behind in the championship.

French side, Romain Grosjean (Juncos Hollinger) was unfortunately involved in an accident at the first corner of the race. David Malukas (Meyer Shank) spun, taking Grosjean and his teammate, Agustin Canapino, with him. Christian Lundgaard (Rahal Letterman Lanigan) made the same mistake as Malukas, a few positions behind. Grosjean was ultimately credited with 24th position, 201 laps behind the winner, after having to repair his right-rear suspension.

Suffering since last Saturday from severe neck and shoulder pain, Jack Harvey (Coyne) started the race but gave up in the first laps. The Briton has repeatedly described his pain as “agony”, and he is expected to make way for Conor Daly for the second race of the weekend. This second match will be played this Sunday from 18 p.m. French time.

Iowa – Race

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