Despite a few great races this year, Rossi had not won since 2019.
Alexander Rossi, at one point, looked like he would become a perennial IndyCar contender. After winning the Indianapolis 500 as a rookie in 2016, Rossi became a race winner again in late 2017 and turned that momentum into championship finishes of second and third in 2018 and 2019. Then, suddenly, that race-by-race pace faded in 2020. It was nowhere to be found in 2021, either, but he had shown signs of life throughout this season, particularly since agreeing to leave Andretti Autosport for Arrow McLaren SP at the end of the season. Today, he finally turned that into another race win.
Before Rossi led, his teammate Colton Herta seemed to be in complete control. Herta took the lead from pole sitter Felix Rosenqvist early and looked like he was going to pull away for yet another win at the Indianapolis road course despite visible bodywork damage, but Herta’s car failed suddenly from the lead. After striking a kerb hard, his transmission could not find a gear and he was forced to coast to the pit lane to retire from the event. Rossi inherited the lead from his teammate there and never looked back.
Behind Rossi, Rahal Letterman Lanigan rookie and 2021 Indy road course standout Christian Lundgaard starred in a runner-up finish that briefly looked like it could be much more. Lundgaard cut Rossi’s lead down to just two and a half seconds during the day’s final cycle of stops, but he could not catch up further and would have to settle for a career high second ahead of the Penske Racing contingent in third, fourth, and fifth.
Will Power led that group, recovering from some early contact with an alternate strategy to move into third and hold off his teammates while saving fuel. Josef Newgarden was next of six likely contenders in fifth, beating out a group that generally had mediocre days at the track. Ganassi teammates Scott Dixon (8th) and Marcus Ericsson (11th) stood out with their recovery drives from 20th and 25th on the grid respectively, but Alex Palou (10th) and Pato O’Ward (12th after recovering from a lap 1 spin to re-join the top ten at one point) disappointed after impressive runs in qualifying.
That leaves Power as the championship leader for the third time this season, passing Ericsson to lead by eight points. Josef Newgarden, who raced this weekend after a concussion at Iowa left him at risk of missing the event, is 31 points back. Scott Dixon, Pato O’Ward, and Alex Palou all remain within 51 points of the championship leader with just four races left.
Keyword: Alexander Rossi Wins at Indianapolis, Breaks Years-Long Winless Drought