Barber IndyCar: Rahal leads Grosjean in warm-up
Graham Rahal led the final session at Barber Motorsports Park before the opening round of the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series season, ahead of debutant Romain Grosjean.
Rahal and Rahal Letterman Lanigan-Honda teammate Takuma Sato will line up a disastrous 18th and 19th on the grid for this afternoon’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, but Rahal’s best time of 66.7319sec – set on the Firestone primaries – suggests he will have the necessary pace if caution flags and canny strategy can vault him to the front of the field.
Grosjean of Dale Coyne Racing with RWR-Honda was second fastest but set his time on Firestone’s alternate compound, as he was among the many drivers to check out tire degradation on the softer rubber. The rookie will roll off from seventh this afternoon.
His compatriot Sebastien Bourdais of AJ Foyt Racing-Chevrolet was underwhelming in qualifying given the team’s speed in testing, and he starts from 16th but he was third fastest this morning, ahead of Alex Palou who was again fastest Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda driver.
Conor Daly’s fine weekend continued with fifth place, but in this session Ed Carpenter Racing-Chevy teammate Rinus VeeKay was able to join him in the Top 10.
Ryan Hunter-Reay was another driver who struggled in qualifying, and will start down in 17th, but he set a strong lap on alternate compound tires, although the dropoff in pace afterward looked high.
Grid line-up and drivers’ chosen tire compound for the start of the race are in the second table below.
The field will take the green flag at 2.40pm local (Central) time.
| P | No | Name | FTime | Diff | FL | Laps | FSpeed | Engine | Tire | Team |
| 1 | 15 | Graham Rahal | 1:06.7319 |
| 19 | 23 | 124.079 | Honda | P | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing |
| 2 | 51 | Romain Grosjean | 1:06.8616 | 0.1297 | 20 | 24 | 123.838 | Honda | A | Dale Coyne Racing w/Rick Ware Racing |
| 3 | 14 | Sebastien Bourdais | 1:06.8642 | 0.1323 | 18 | 21 | 123.833 | Chevy | A | AJ Foyt Enterprises |
| 4 | 10 | Alex Palou | 1:06.8654 | 0.1335 | 9 | 22 | 123.831 | Honda | P | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 5 | 20 | Conor Daly | 1:06.9186 | 0.1867 | 9 | 24 | 123.732 | Chevy | A | Ed Carpenter Racing |
| 6 | 9 | Scott Dixon | 1:06.9209 | 0.1890 | 9 | 20 | 123.728 | Honda | P | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 7 | 26 | Colton Herta | 1:06.9371 | 0.2052 | 17 | 20 | 123.698 | Honda | A | Andretti Autosport |
| 8 | 21 | Rinus VeeKay | 1:06.9632 | 0.2313 | 21 | 25 | 123.650 | Chevy | A | Ed Carpenter Racing |
| 9 | 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | 1:06.9635 | 0.2316 | 15 | 21 | 123.649 | Honda | A | Andretti Autosport |
| 10 | 5 | Pato O'Ward | 1:06.9904 | 0.2585 | 19 | 24 | 123.600 | Chevy | P | Arrow McLaren SP |
| 11 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | 1:07.0166 | 0.2847 | 10 | 24 | 123.551 | Chevy | P | Team Penske |
| 12 | 27 | Alexander Rossi | 1:07.0883 | 0.3564 | 12 | 18 | 123.419 | Honda | A | Andretti Autosport |
| 13 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin | 1:07.2831 | 0.5512 | 20 | 24 | 123.062 | Chevy | P | Team Penske |
| 14 | 7 | Felix Rosenqvist | 1:07.3407 | 0.6088 | 11 | 24 | 122.957 | Chevy | P | Arrow McLaren SP |
| 15 | 4 | Dalton Kellett | 1:07.3720 | 0.6401 | 14 | 21 | 122.900 | Chevy | A | AJ Foyt Enterprises |
| 16 | 12 | Will Power | 1:07.3940 | 0.6621 | 21 | 24 | 122.860 | Chevy | P | Team Penske |
| 17 | 22 | Simon Pagenaud | 1:07.4503 | 0.7184 | 19 | 22 | 122.757 | Chevy | P | Team Penske |
| 18 | 60 | Jack Harvey | 1:07.5262 | 0.7943 | 16 | 20 | 122.619 | Honda | P | Meyer Shank Racing |
| 19 | 30 | Takuma Sato | 1:07.5286 | 0.7967 | 18 | 21 | 122.615 | Honda | P | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing |
| 20 | 8 | Marcus Ericsson | 1:07.6734 | 0.9415 | 15 | 22 | 122.352 | Honda | P | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 21 | 29 | James Hinchcliffe | 1:07.7042 | 0.9723 | 12 | 20 | 122.297 | Honda | P | Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport |
| 22 | 59 | Max Chilton | 1:07.9217 | 1.1898 | 10 | 23 | 121.905 | Chevy | P | Carlin |
| 23 | 18 | Ed Jones | 1:07.9406 | 1.2087 | 12 | 23 | 121.871 | Honda | P | Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan |
| 24 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | 1:08.1597 | 1.4278 | 14 | 24 | 121.479 | Honda | P | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| P | No. | Driver | Team-Engine | Starting tire |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Pato O'Ward | Arrow McLaren SP-Chevrolet | Alternate |
| 2 | 27 | Alexander Rossi | Andretti Autosport-Honda | Alternate |
| 3 | 10 | Alex Palou | Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda | Alternate |
| 4 | 12 | Will Power | Team Penske-Chevrolet | Alternate |
| 5 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda | Alternate |
| 6 | 8 | Marcus Ericsson | Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda | Alternate |
| 7 | 51 | Romain Grosjean (R) | Dale Coyne Racing with RWR-Honda | Alternate |
| 8 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske-Chevrolet | Primary |
| 9 | 26 | Colton Herta | Andretti Autosport-Honda | Primary |
| 10 | 20 | Conor Daly | Ed Carpenter Racing-Chevrolet | Alternate |
| 11 | 60 | Jack Harvey | Meyer Shank Racing-Honda | Alternate |
| 12 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin (R) | Team Penske-Chevrolet | Alternate |
| 13 | 18 | Ed Jones | Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan-Honda | Alternate |
| 14 | 21 | Rinus VeeKay | Ed Carpenter Racing-Chevrolet | Alternate |
| 15 | 22 | Simon Pagenaud | Team Penske-Chevrolet | Alternate |
| 16 | 14 | Sebastien Bourdais | A.J. Foyt Enterprises-Chevrolet | Alternate |
| 17 | 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport-Honda | Alternate |
| 18 | 15 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing-Honda | Alternate |
| 19 | 30 | Takuma Sato | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing-Honda | Alternate |
| 20 | 59 | Max Chilton | Carlin-Chevrolet | Primary |
| 21 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson (R) | Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda | Primary |
| 22 | 7 | Felix Rosenqvist | Arrow McLaren SP-Chevrolet | Alternate |
| 23 | 4 | Dalton Kellett | A.J. Foyt Enterprises-Chevrolet | Alternate |
| 24 | 29 | James Hinchcliffe | Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport-Honda | Alternate |
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