It’s time to go racing around the tight and twisty streets of the Motor City for the Detroit GP! Alex Palou starts on pole, his third in a row following the Indy500 and IMS road course races. However, Andretti isn’t far behind, and with a stellar record around these city streets, Power and Kirkwood are sure to give the reigning champion a challenge.
It’s 100 laps to the checkered flag, and on a track that doesn’t allow mistakes, who will come out on top?
It’s go go go at the Detroit GP
The top 4 drivers on the grid took to the street on the softer alternate tires, looking for a quick getaway at the start. Furthermore, chaos began before the green flag waved as Alexander Rossi made contact with the wall. The damage was minimal, and Rossi stayed out of the pits on his way to the race start.
As the green flag waves, Palou holds the lead with Power close behind, and the grid makes it neatly through the first couple of turns. It’s a clean lap 1 at the Detroit GP.
The top 5 after 5 laps completed are Palou, McLaughlin, Power, Dixon, and Lundgaard.
Dropping like a stone
In the opening laps at the Detroit GP, Josef Newgarden’s race continues to go from bad to worse. Already questionable before the start of the race, Newgarden fell quickly to last. The 2-time Indy500 winner suffered a huge crash at the 110th running of the race and is still dealing with the effects of the injury.
The first full-course caution comes courtesy of ECR’s Christian Rasmussen. He takes a hard hit to his front right and snaps the suspension, but quickly makes his way out of the car. FCY on lap 11 of 100 at the Detroit GP.
Palou leads from McLaughlin and Power, and the pit lane opens under caution.
Going again in the Motor City
The run back to green begins on lap 15, following the crash from Rasmussen. Will Power nabs P2 from Scott McLaughlin off a stunning pass up the inside on the restart.
Palou holds the lead, but the Andretti of Power keeps just over half a second behind, before coming alive and taking the lead on lap 17. The No.26 quickly pulls a 1.15-second gap, having had enough of sitting behind the reigning series champion.
Power now leads from Palou and McLaughlin.
25 down, 75 to go
A bit of contact with the wall from Marcus Armstrong courtesy of Louis Foster finds the move under review on lap 25. However, no action was given for the move, and Foster holds P9. Christian Lundgaard also lines up Scott Dixon for 4th, and sticks the move for position.
Palou continues to reel in Power, having closed the gap to 5-tenths. Neither driver has pitted by lap 28 of 100, both making the most of their alternate tires.
Marcus Ericsson dives into the pit lane on lap 29 after a multi-lap battle between himself and Foster for 8th position on track. It’s a very early pit for the Swede.
Lap 32 sees Power lead from McLaughlin and Lundgaard, as the Aussie and Dane make the most of the corners on the Detroit city streets, and make their way to P2 and P3. Alex Palou now sits in fourth.
Elbows out in Detroit
With absolutely shredded tires, Power drops out of the lead, and Lundgaard makes the move for P1. Power and Kirkwood pit for new tires and make their way back out to the track. Importantly, Palou makes it out of the pits ahead of Will Power, on a fresh set of alternate tires. It’s an elbows-out series of position changes in the Motor City.
Lundgaard now leads, with Armstrong and O’Ward not far behind on lap 38.
Graham Rahal spins out after being clipped by Kyffin Simpson, and brings out the second FCY of the Detroit GP on lap 40 of 100.
Marcus Armstrong picks up a penalty due to emergency service in a closed pit lane and moves to the back of the field, a tough call for the Kiwi. Kyffin Simpson quickly picks up a penalty of his own for avoidable contact following the incident with Rahal.
Half way there
Alex Palou regains the lead of the race from Kirkwood and McLaughlin just under the halway point of the race.
Rinus VeeKay makes his way past Santino Ferrucci at Turn 3, narrowly making his way up the inside. The midway point of the race sees the top 5 comprised of Palou, Kirkwood, McLaughlin, Lundgaard, and Power.
Palou continues to put on a masterclass at the Detroit GP, as he leads Kyle Kirkwood by almost 4 seconds on lap 55.
The entire grid, bar Ericsson and Hauger, now sit on the alternate tires, with the final pit window approaching on lap 65.
Coming to a close
As the final pit window opens on lap 65, Alex Palou and David Malukas are the first to pull the trigger. Palou is putting on a pair of scuffed hard tires, perfectly hitting his mark.
Kyle Kirkwood is caught in the danger zone of strategy as multiple cars collide on lap 66. The third FCY is due to the collision between Rinus VeeKay and Santiono Ferrucci, with both drivers able to get going once again.
The pits open under caution with 30 laps remaining in Detroit.
Alexander Rossi is the next driver to pick up a penalty, as he makes his way into a closed pit lane under caution on lap 65. He picks up a drive-through penalty. Additionally, bad luck befalls the No. 9 CGR of Scott Dixon as he exits the car on lap 71. Another issue with the hybrid engine see’s an early end Dixon’s race’s Dixon’s race come to an early end.
Green lap running resumes on lap 72, but quickly turns into the fourth FCY of the Detroit GP, this time caused by Mick Schumacher and David Malukas. The two drivers go from podium positions to the barriers.
23 laps to the end, and the green flag is waved again with Plaou leading Rossi and Kirkwood. However, Rossi serves his drive-through penalty, and Kyle Kirkwood takes P2 on lap 78.
A race to the finish
A huge hit between McLaughlin and Power sends Power airborne against the barriers at Turn 2. Both drivers manage to keep it on track. However, Power limps his No.26 Andretti back into the pits and retires from the race. He becomes the 4th drivers to not complete the Detroit GP.
Kyle Kirkwood has closed the gap to Palou with 20 laps to go, but Santino Ferrucci brings out FCY number 5 on the streets of the Motor City, and the grid slows to a crawl once again.
Palou still holds the lead, but Kirkwood and Rahal aren’t far behind. It’s 16 laps to the checkered flag in Detroit. And the green flag waves once again on lap 84.
A massive lock-up at Turn 1 sees Kyle Kirkwood close the gap to Palou, sitting just under 1 second behind the Spaniard with 12 laps left in Detroit. McLaughlin limps back to the pits and retires, with fatal damage to his rear tires.
The 6th FCY comes with 9 to go, as contact between Rossi and Romain Grosjean sees the Swiss driver off into the run-off area. Grosjean manages to make it back on track and back to the pits under his own power, as the rest of the field crawls by. Rossi picks up another penalty, this time a stop-and-hold.
Palou leads Kirkwood and Rahal on a clean green-flag restart with 6 to go.
It’s the Palou show in Detroit
In a tense shoot-out to the finish, Alex Palou wins the Detroit Grand Prix. Kyle Kirkwood takes a close second, with Graham Rahal defending from Pato O’Ward to take his third podium of the season.
