2013 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Last updated
Flag of the United States.svg 2013 St. Petersburg
Race details
1st round of the 2013 IndyCar Series season
St. Petersburg street & airport racing circuit.svg
DateMarch 24, 2013
Official name Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
Location Streets of St. Petersburg
CourseTemporary street circuit
1.800 mi / 2.897 km
Distance110 laps
198.000 mi / 318.670 km
Weather75 °F (24 °C), Overcast
Pole position
Driver Will Power  (Team Penske)
Time1:01.2070
Fastest lap
Driver Will Power  (Team Penske)
Time62.7279 (on lap 3 of 110)
Podium
First James Hinchcliffe  (Andretti Autosport)
Second Hélio Castroneves  (Team Penske)
Third Marco Andretti  (Andretti Autosport)

The 2013 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was the first race of the 2013 IndyCar Series season, with the race taking place on March 24 in St. Petersburg, Florida, on the city's temporary street course. The race was won by James Hinchcliffe, his first ever victory in the IndyCar Series, coming at his 33rd attempt. [1]

Contents

Report

Background

Ryan Hunter-Reay entered this race as the defending series champion, having clinched the title in dramatic fashion in the last race of the previous year, after title rival Will Power spun out early in the race while battling for track position with each other.

The relative lack of rookies for the 2013 season meant that Tristan Vautier and A. J. Allmendinger were the only newcomers onto the grid from last season for this race, with Allmendinger not officially being considered a true rookie by the IndyCar officials due to his previous drives in Champ Car, leaving Vautier the only full-time driver eligible for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award.

Qualifying

Will Power once again proved his one-lap dominance on this circuit, taking his 4th consecutive St. Petersburg pole, going nearly 2 tenths of a second faster than his record pole attempt last year, and going fastest in each of the three Qualifying Rounds. Second to him was Japanese driver Takuma Sato, while Simona de Silvestro and James Hinchcliffe took the Second Row, and last year's race winner Hélio Castroneves and impressive rookie Tristan Vautier just behind them. Five different teams had drivers in the Firestone Fast Six, Team Penske being the only team with more than one representative, with both Power and Castroneves. [2]

Further back, defending champ Ryan Hunter-Reay qualified 8th, missing out on qualifying for the Fast Six by less than a tenth of a second, while Chip Ganassi's Scott Dixon failed to progress from the first part of qualifying after his fast lap was disrupted by a piece of track signage left on the circuit from a previous incident.

Race

Will Power stormed away from the field at the green flag, pulling out a lead over Takuma Sato of a few car lengths before he even reached the first corner, a clean getaway was enjoyed by all drivers on the grid on what is often a tricky and incident filled first corner. Power went on to control the first part of the race, pulling out over a 12-second advantage when the yellows came out on Lap 20 after Dario Franchitti slid into the wall just out of the pits on cold tyres, putting him out the race and capping a thoroughly frustrating weekend for the 4-time IndyCar champion.

This incident proved to be costly for Power, as upon the restart, Hélio Castroneves overtook him for the lead at the first corner. Meanwhile, a bunch-up in the midfield caused Ana Beatriz to turn Charlie Kimball's machine around near the back of the field, blocking the track for E. J. Viso, James Jakes and Sebastian Bourdais, Beatriz coming to a stop at the next corner as she'd stalled her car. J. R. Hildebrand also made contact with the wall at Turn 10, having been punted by Sebastián Saavedra, while Simon Pagenaud pulled into the pits to retire with a mechanical issue. Power lost another place to James Hinchcliffe upon the restart after this.

Ryan Hunter-Reay's race came to stuttering end in the pit lane with throttle issues, while Beatriz and Josef Newgarden also suffered similar mechanical woes which forced them out the race, before Saavedra crashed out at Turn 10, bringing out the yellow's once again. It was behind the safety car that a bizarre crash happened, as Power, who was slowing down and speeding up his car to warm his tyres, was clattered into the back of by Hildebrand, who seemingly wasn't looking at the track when Power suddenly slowed until it was too late. Hildebrand's car rode over the top of Power's, coming to a halt in the wall, the suspension broken beyond repair and putting him out of the grand prix. Power's car was less severely damaged, but it also ruined his race, he was running 3rd at the time, and ended up finishing 16th after having to come into the pits to sort out a puncture caused by Hildebrand's car.

Hinchcliffe overtook Castroneves at the restart on Lap 85, after Castroneves made a mistake out of the first corner, which allowed the Canadian to settle into a lead that he never relinquished afterward. Following behind the two leaders was Simona de Silvestro, who had been putting in a very strong performance all weekend, and Scott Dixon, who had driven all way up from 20th to 4th at the restart. Castroneves pressured Hinchcliffe for the entirety of the 25 laps after the restart, but Hinch held on to take the top spot of the podium, Castroneves followed him home 2nd, while de Silvestro had 3rd cruelly snatched from her when she ran wide at the last corner of the penultimate lap, allowing Marco Andretti through to come home 3rd, leading home a tight pack, with just over 6 seconds separating him and Bourdais in 11th place.

Hinchcliffe dedicated his victory to the memory of Dan Wheldon, who had signed a deal to drive the Go Daddy car he was in on the morning of his death in the crash at Las Vegas. [1]

Classification

Qualifying

PosNoNameGrp.Round 1Round 2Round 3
112 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Will Power 21.01.40411.01.30341.01.2070
214 Flag of Japan.svg Takuma Sato 21.01.44851.01.39891.01.5776
378 Flag of Switzerland.svg Simona de Silvestro 21.01.86991.01.40171.01.7670
427 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg James Hinchcliffe 11.01.77901.01.63431.01.8229
53 Flag of Brazil.svg Hélio Castroneves 11.01.40411.01.40441.01.5127
655 Flag of France.svg Tristan Vautier (R)21.02.01381.01.66311.02.0645
725 Flag of the United States.svg Marco Andretti 21.02.15601.01.6883
81 Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Hunter-Reay 11.01.89271.01.7339
96 Flag of Colombia.svg Sebastián Saavedra 11.01.75301.01.7944
1010 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dario Franchitti 21.01.91721.01.8150
1111 Flag of Brazil.svg Tony Kanaan 21.01.77601.01.9139
1222 Flag of Spain.svg Oriol Servià 11.01.94941.02.1483
1319 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Justin Wilson 11.02.1777
1483 Flag of the United States.svg Charlie Kimball 21.02.1198
1515 Flag of the United States.svg Graham Rahal 11.02.2709
1667 Flag of the United States.svg Josef Newgarden 21.02.1592
1798 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Alex Tagliani 11.02.3328
1816 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg James Jakes 21.02.1658
1977 Flag of France.svg Simon Pagenaud 11.02.4736
209 Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott Dixon 21.02.1715
217 Flag of France.svg Sebastian Bourdais 11.02.6537
225 Flag of Venezuela.svg E. J. Viso 21.02.1986
2320 Flag of the United States.svg Ed Carpenter 11.02.6634
244 Flag of the United States.svg J. R. Hildebrand 21.02.3179
2518 Flag of Brazil.svg Ana Beatriz 21.03.2551

Starting grid

RowInsideOutside
112 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Will Power 14 Flag of Japan.svg Takuma Sato
278 Flag of Switzerland.svg Simona de Silvestro 27 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg James Hinchcliffe
33 Flag of Brazil.svg Hélio Castroneves 55 Flag of France.svg Tristan Vautier (R)
425 Flag of the United States.svg Marco Andretti 1 Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Hunter-Reay
56 Flag of Colombia.svg Sebastián Saavedra 10 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dario Franchitti
611 Flag of Brazil.svg Tony Kanaan 22 Flag of Spain.svg Oriol Servià
719 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Justin Wilson 83 Flag of the United States.svg Charlie Kimball
815 Flag of the United States.svg Graham Rahal 67 Flag of the United States.svg Josef Newgarden
998 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Alex Tagliani 16 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg James Jakes
1077 Flag of France.svg Simon Pagenaud 9 Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott Dixon
117 Flag of France.svg Sebastian Bourdais 5 Flag of Venezuela.svg E. J. Viso
1220 Flag of the United States.svg Ed Carpenter 4 Flag of the United States.svg J. R. Hildebrand
1318 Flag of Brazil.svg Ana Beatriz

Race results

PosNo.DriverTeamEngineLapsTime/RetiredPit StopsGridLaps LedPoints 1
127 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg James Hinchcliffe Andretti Autosport Chevrolet 1102:22:12:5502342651
23 Flag of Brazil.svg Hélio Castroneves Team Penske Chevrolet 110+ 1.0982354243
325 Flag of the United States.svg Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Chevrolet 110+ 16.36643735
411 Flag of Brazil.svg Tony Kanaan KV Racing Technology Chevrolet 110+ 19.608331132
59 Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 110+ 20.762732030
678 Flag of Switzerland.svg Simona de Silvestro KV Racing Technology Chevrolet 110+ 20.78903328
75 Flag of Venezuela.svg E. J. Viso Andretti Autosport Chevrolet 110+ 20.822932226
814 Flag of Japan.svg Takuma Sato A. J. Foyt Enterprises Honda 110+ 21.18785224
919 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Justin Wilson Dale Coyne Racing Honda 110+ 21.683231322
1098 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Alex Tagliani Barracuda Racing Honda 110+ 22.556931720
117 Flag of France.svg Sebastian Bourdais Dragon Racing Chevrolet 110+ 22.735442119
1283 Flag of the United States.svg Charlie Kimball Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 110+ 24.542961418
1315 Flag of the United States.svg Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 110+ 37.532461517
1420 Flag of the United States.svg Ed Carpenter Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 110+ 45.205472316
1516 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg James Jakes Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 110+ 45.779361815
1612 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Will Power Team Penske Chevrolet 107+ 3 laps612616
1722 Flag of Spain.svg Oriol Servià Panther Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet 104+ 6 laps5121614
181 Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Chevrolet 79Mechanical4812
194 Flag of the United States.svg J. R. Hildebrand Panther Racing Chevrolet 78Contact42411
206 Flag of Colombia.svg Sebastián Saavedra Dragon Racing Chevrolet 72Contact3910
2155 Flag of France.svg Tristan Vautier Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda 69Mechanical269
2218 Flag of Brazil.svg Ana Beatriz Dale Coyne Racing Honda 55Mechanical5258
2367 Flag of the United States.svg Josef Newgarden Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda 50Mechanical2167
2477 Flag of France.svg Simon Pagenaud Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports Honda 26Mechanical1196
2510 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dario Franchitti Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 18Contact1105
Notes

1 Points include 1 point for leading at least 1 lap during a race, an additional 2 points for leading the most race laps, and 1 point for Pole Position.

Championship standings after the race