# 2021 GMR Grand Prix

The 2021 GMR Grand Prix was an IndyCar motor race held on May 15, 2021, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. It was the 5th round of the 2021 IndyCar Series.
The 85-lap race was won by Ed Carpenter Racing's Rinus Veekay, clinching his first win of his Indycar career. IndyCar rookie Romain Grosjean won pole and finished second, his best ever finish in Indycar. Alex Palou finished 3rd for Chip Ganassi Racing.

## Background

The event was held over three days on May 13–15, 2021 at the road course of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. This was the first time the venue featured in the 2021 season, later that year, Indycar would return for the Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix in August, and the eighth edition of this race, having debuted in May 2014
The race was the 5th race of the 16-race calendar, held two weeks after the XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway and two week prior to the 105th Indianapolis 500.

### Entrants

| Key | Meaning |
| R | Rookie |
| W | Past winner |
| No. | Driver | Team | Engine |
| 2 | Josef Newgarden W | Team Penske | Chevrolet |
| 3 | Scott McLaughlin R | Team Penske | Chevrolet |
| 4 | Dalton Kellett | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet |
| 5 | Patricio O'Ward | Arrow McLaren SP | Chevrolet |
| 7 | Felix Rosenqvist | Arrow McLaren SP | Chevrolet |
| 8 | Marcus Ericsson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda |
| 9 | Scott Dixon W | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda |
| 10 | Álex Palou | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda |
| 11 | Charlie Kimball | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet |
| 12 | Will Power W | Team Penske | Chevrolet |
| 14 | Sébastien Bourdais | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet |
| 15 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda |
| 18 | Ed Jones | Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan | Honda |
| 20 | Conor Daly | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet |
| 21 | Rinus VeeKay | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet |
| 22 | Simon Pagenaud W | Team Penske | Chevrolet |
| 26 | Colton Herta | Andretti Autosport w/ Curb-Agajanian | Honda |
| 27 | Alexander Rossi | Andretti Autosport | Honda |
| 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport | Honda |
| 29 | James Hinchcliffe | Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport | Honda |
| 30 | Takuma Sato | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson R | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda |
| 51 | Romain Grosjean R | Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing | Honda |
| 60 | Jack Harvey | Meyer Shank Racing | Honda |
| 86 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Arrow McLaren SP | Chevrolet |

## Practice
### Practice 1

Practice 1 took place at 9:30 AM ET on May 14, 2021.

### Practice 2

Practice 2 took place at 1:00 PM ET on May 14, 2021.

## Qualifying

Qualifying took place at 4:30 PM ET on May 14, 2021.

### Qualifying classification

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Engine | Time | Time | Time | Time | Final grid |
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Engine | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Final grid |
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Engine | Group 1 | Group 2 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Final grid |
| 1 | 51 | Romain Grosjean R | Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing | Honda | N/A | 01:09.8556 | 01:09.5476 | 01:09.4396 | 1 |
| 2 | 2 | Josef Newgarden W | Team Penske | Chevrolet | N/A | 01:09.6101 | 01:09.7837 | 01:09.5665 | 2 |
| 3 | 60 | Jack Harvey | Meyer Shank Racing | Honda | 01:09.7589 | N/A | 01:09.5189 | 01:09.6528 | 3 |
| 4 | 10 | Álex Palou | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | N/A | 01:09.6589 | 01:09.4743 | 01:09.7118 | 4 |
| 5 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin R | Team Penske | Chevrolet | N/A | 01:09.7537 | 01:09.7727 | 01:09.7140 | 5 |
| 6 | 20 | Conor Daly | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | N/A | 01:09.7646 | 01:09.5627 | 01:09.8662 | 6 |
| 7 | 21 | Rinus VeeKay | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | 01:09.4890 | N/A | 01:09.8185 | N/A | 7 |
| 8 | 26 | Colton Herta | Andretti Autosport w/ Curb-Agajanian | Honda | 01:09.5867 | N/A | 01:09.8222 | N/A | 8 |
| 9 | 18 | Ed Jones | Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan | Honda | 01:09.7152 | N/A | 01:09.8548 | N/A | 9 |
| 10 | 22 | Simon Pagenaud W | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 01:09.8061 | N/A | 01:09.8722 | N/A | 10 |
| 11 | 15 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 01:09.7918 | N/A | 01:09.9060 | N/A | 11 |
| 12 | 12 | Will Power W | Team Penske | Chevrolet | N/A | 01:09.8963 | No Time | N/A | 12 |
| 13 | 7 | Felix Rosenqvist | Arrow McLaren SP | Chevrolet | 01:09.8243 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 13 |
| 14 | 27 | Alexander Rossi | Andretti Autosport | Honda | N/A | 01:09.9012 | N/A | N/A | 14 |
| 15 | 8 | Marcus Ericsson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 01:09.8382 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 15 |
| 16 | 9 | Scott Dixon W | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | N/A | 01:09.9512 | N/A | N/A | 16 |
| 17 | 30 | Takuma Sato | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 01:09.8665 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 17 |
| 18 | 5 | Patricio O'Ward | Arrow McLaren SP | Chevrolet | N/A | 01:10.0726 | N/A | N/A | 18 |
| 19 | 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 01:09.8759 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 19 |
| 20 | 14 | Sébastien Bourdais | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet | N/A | 01:10.1830 | N/A | N/A | 20 |
| 21 | 11 | Charlie Kimball | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet | 01:10.6810 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 21 |
| 22 | 29 | James Hinchcliffe | Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport | Honda | N/A | 01:10.6174 | N/A | N/A | 22 |
| 23 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson R | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 01:11.0455 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 23 |
| 24 | 4 | Dalton Kellett | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet | N/A | 01:10.9312 | N/A | N/A | 24 |
| 25 | 86 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Arrow McLaren SP | Chevrolet | N/A | 01:11.1370 | N/A | N/A | 25 |
| Source: ||||||||||

#### Notes

* Bold text indicates fastest time set in session.

## Warmup

Warmup took place at 10:45 AM ET on May 15, 2021.
Top Warmup Speeds :
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Engine | Lap Time |
| 1 | 21 | Rinus VeeKay | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | 01:10.5598 |
| 2 | 10 | Álex Palou | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 01:10.5924 |
| 3 | 9 | Scott Dixon W | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 01:10.6617 |
| Source: ||||||

## Race

The race started at 2:30 PM ET on May 15, 2021.

### Race classification

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Engine | Laps | Time/Retired | Pit Stops | Grid | Laps Led | Pts. |
| 1 | 21 | Rinus VeeKay | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | 85 | 1:47:08.5773 | 3 | 7 | 33 | 51 |
| 2 | 51 | Romain Grosjean R | Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing | Honda | 85 | +4.9510 | 3 | 1 | 44 | 44 |
| 3 | 10 | Álex Palou | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 85 | +15.0726 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 36 |
| 4 | 2 | Josef Newgarden W | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 85 | +18.4472 | 3 | 2 | | 32 |
| 5 | 15 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 85 | +26.9813 | 4 | 11 | | 30 |
| 6 | 22 | Simon Pagenaud W | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 85 | +27.8704 | 3 | 10 | | 28 |
| 7 | 27 | Alexander Rossi | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 85 | +33.2703 | 3 | 14 | | 26 |
| 8 | 8 | Scott McLaughlin R | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 85 | +36.1862 | 3 | 5 | | 24 |
| 9 | 9 | Scott Dixon W | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 85 | +36.8362 | 4 | 16 | 3 | 23 |
| 10 | 8 | Marcus Ericsson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 85 | +37.1971 | 3 | 15 | | 20 |
| 11 | 12 | Will Power W | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 85 | +39.8020 | 3 | 12 | | 19 |
| 12 | 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 85 | +40.3892 | 3 | 19 | 4 | 19 |
| 13 | 26 | Colton Herta | Andretti Autosport w/ Curb-Agajanian | Honda | 85 | +43.1147 | 3 | 8 | | 17 |
| 14 | 18 | Ed Jones | Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan | Honda | 85 | +43.8110 | 3 | 9 | | 16 |
| 15 | 5 | Patricio O'Ward | Arrow McLaren SP | Chevrolet | 85 | +44.5448 | 4 | 18 | | 15 |
| 16 | 30 | Takuma Sato | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 85 | +44.9971 | 3 | 17 | | 14 |
| 17 | 7 | Felix Rosenqvist | Arrow McLaren SP | Chevrolet | 85 | +45.4208 | 3 | 13 | | 13 |
| 18 | 29 | James Hinchcliffe | Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport | Honda | 85 | +1:05.1989 | 3 | 22 | | 12 |
| 19 | 14 | Sébastien Bourdais | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet | 84 | +1 Lap | 3 | 20 | | 11 |
| 20 | 4 | Dalton Kellett | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet | 84 | +1 Lap | 3 | 24 | | 10 |
| 21 | 86 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Arrow McLaren SP | Chevrolet | 84 | +1 Lap | 3 | 25 | | 9 |
| 22 | 11 | Charlie Kimball | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet | 84 | +1 Lap | 3 | 21 | | 8 |
| 23 | 60 | Jack Harvey | Meyer Shank Racing | Honda | 84 | +1 Lap | 4 | 3 | | 7 |
| 24 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson R | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 84 | +1 Lap | 3 | 23 | | 6 |
| 25 | 20 | Conor Daly | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | 50 | Contact | 3 | 6 | | 5 |
| Fastest lap: Rinus VeeKay (Ed Carpenter Racing) – 01:10.8767 (lap 14) |||||||||||
| Source: |||||||||||

## Championship standings after the race

| Pos. | Driver | Points |
| 1 | Scott Dixon | 176 |
| 2 | Alex Palou | 163 |
| 3 | Josef Newgarden | 148 |
| 4 | Pato O'Ward | 146 |
| 5 | Graham Rahal | 137 |
| Source: |||
| Pos. | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | Honda | 408 |
| 2 | Chevrolet | 405 |
| Source: |||
* Note: Only the top five positions are included.