Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg 2013
| Racing data | ||
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| 1st of 19 races of the IndyCar Series 2013 | ||
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| Surname: | Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg | |
| Date: | March 24, 2013 | |
| Place: |
 Saint Petersburg , Florida , United States
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| Course: | Streets of St. Petersburg | |
| Length: | 318.65 km in 110 laps of 2.897 km
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| Weather: | cloudy | |
| Pole position | ||
| Driver: |
 Will power
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 Team Penske
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| Time: | 1: 01.2070 min | |
| Fastest lap | ||
| Driver: |
Will power
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Team Penske
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| Time: | 1: 02.7279 min (lap 3) | |
| Podium | ||
| First: |
 James Hinchcliffe
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Andretti Autosport
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| Second: |
 Helio Castroneves
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Team Penske
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| Third: |
Marco Andretti
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Andretti Autosport
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The 2013 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg took place on March 24th in the Streets of St. Petersburg in Saint Petersburg , Florida , United States and was the first race of the 2013 IndyCar Series .
Reports
background
The race distance has been extended by ten laps compared to the previous year. This meant that a two-stop strategy with saving fuel was no longer feasible.
At the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the drivers were allowed a total of 150 seconds to use the push-to-pass button. The overtaking aid could be activated ten times during the race.
After Lotus withdrew as an engine supplier, there was a duel between Chevrolet and Honda in the 2013 IndyCar Series .
Tristan Vautier made his debut at this Grand Prix for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in the IndyCar Series. Ana Beatriz ( Dale Coyne Racing ) and Sébastien Bourdais ( Dragon Racing ) returned to the cockpit. James Jakes ( Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing ), Graham Rahal (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing), Sebastián Saavedra (Dragon Racing), Takuma Satō ( AJ Foyt Enterprises ), Simona de Silvestro ( KV Racing Technology ) and EJ Viso (Team Venezuela / Andretti Autosport / HVM ) competed for their new teams for the first time.
With Hélio Castroneves (three times), Rahal, Will Power and Dario Franchitti (once each) four former winners competed in this Grand Prix.
training
In the first practice session of the season, defending champion Ryan Hunter-Reay set the fastest time in front of his teammate James Hinchcliffe and Power. In the second training session, which also took place on Friday, Power set Hunter-Reay and de Silvestro's best time of the day. In both Friday training sessions there were eight Chevrolet and two Honda drivers in the top 10.
In the third training session, Satō was the first time a Honda driver was at the top of the time classification. Power followed in second place, followed by Hinchcliffe.
Qualifying
The first part of the time training was held in two groups. The six fastest drivers in each group came into the second segment. The remaining starting positions were determined from the result of the first qualifying segment, with the drivers in the first group being assigned the odd positions from 13 and the drivers in the second group the even positions from 14. In the second group there was no time to improve at the end, as Jakes had thrown a Honda sponsor banner onto the track at Turn 10. In the first group Castroneves drove the fastest lap, in the second group Power was the fastest driver.
In the second segment of the qualification, the six fastest drivers qualified for the final section. Power achieved the fastest lap time. In addition to him, Satō, de Silvestro, Castroneves, Hinchcliffe and Vautier made it into the third part of qualifying, the so-called Firestone Fast Six .
Power finally set the fastest time and achieved pole position in front of Satō and de Silvestro. It was Power's fourth consecutive pole position in Saint Petersburg and the 30th IndyCar pole of his career.
Final training
Hunter-Reay drove the fastest lap in the final training session. Charlie Kimball came in second ahead of Scott Dixon .
run
At the start, Power kept the lead in front of Satō, Hinchcliffe, Castroneves and de Silvestro. Power stood out from the rest of the field in the early stages. The first pit stops began on lap 14. First the pilots pitted from the rear field. Franchitti made his stop on the 19th lap. With the cold tires he made a mistake and came across rubber wear. As a result, he lost control of his vehicle, slipped into the wall and was eliminated. This accident triggered a yellow phase in which the remaining pilots pitted. Power kept the lead. Castroneves was in second place.
At the restart, Castroneves overtook a team-mate Power and took the lead. Hinchcliffe and Satō swapped places behind them. In the back of the field there was a brief blockade as several drivers clashed in the eighth corner. However, all pilots drove on. JR Hildebrand , who was involved in the blockade, was finally spun in the tenth corner of Saavedra, which triggered a second yellow phase. In this, Simon Pagenaud gave up with exhaust problems.
At the restart, Hinchcliffe passed Power to take second place. Behind the top trio, Satō, who had tire pressure problems, lost two positions in quick succession to de Silvestro and Vautier. Castroneves failed to break away at the top. The first four drivers were close together, Vautier drove for himself between the leading quartet and Satō, who led a group of seven vehicles.
In the 45th lap there was another yellow phase, as debris was in the 14th corner. Most of the pilots stopped again in the yellow phase. Oriol Servià stayed outside, among other things, taking the lead from Castroneves and Power, who had passed Hinchcliffe at the pits. In the yellow phase Josef Newgarden stopped with clutch problems and retired, which meant that the yellow phase dragged on longer. Shortly after the restart, Beatriz also retired with technical problems.
At the restart, Hinchcliffe overtook Power again and Vautier passed de Silvestro. On the 62nd lap Servià pitted. There was a technical problem and I was unable to shift into gear. A little later, Hunter-Reay stood longer in the pits with a similar problem. Both drivers went back on the track several laps behind. Servià finished the race, Hunter-Reay finally gave up. On the 70th lap, Vautier, who was consistently in the top 6, retired with technical problems in the pits. A few laps later, Saavedra hit the tire wall at corner ten, which ended his race. This accident triggered a yellow phase. The drivers made their last refueling stops in this. During the yellow phase, Hildebrand drove over the Power's car. Power's right mirror and right rear tire were damaged. The race was over for Hildebrand, Power came to the pits several times for repairs, but stayed in the lead lap.
At the restart, Castroneves made a mistake and slipped onto the outside lane. That allowed Hinchcliffe to get past him into the lead. De Silvestro kept the third position. Her teammate Tony Kanaan passed Marco Andretti and Dixon and took fourth place. Power initially made up a few positions in midfield, but eventually drove into the run-off zone with problems and crossed the finish line several laps behind.
While Hinchcliffe and Castroneves took the lead, de Silvestro, whose rear tires deteriorated significantly, stopped several drivers. De Silvestro used a used set of Red tire compound in the final phase . However, her teammate Kanaan did not attack her. On the 105th lap, Andretti passed Kanaan and finally put de Silvestro under pressure. On the penultimate lap, de Silvestro came too far out in the last corner, causing Andretti and Kanaan to overtake her. A lap later, de Silvestro had another problem in the last corner and was also overtaken by Dixon.
Hinchcliffe eventually won the race, scoring his first IndyCar win ahead of Castroneves and Andretti. The top 10 were completed by Kanaan, Dixon, de Silvestro, Viso, Satō, Justin Wilson and Alex Tagliani .
It was the first IndyCar win by a Canadian since Paul Tracy's victory in the Champ Car series at the 2007 Grand Prix of Cleveland . Hinchcliffe became the 207th driver to win an IndyCar race.
Hinchcliffe dedicated his first win to Dan Wheldon, who died in 2011 . Wheldon lived in Saint Petersburg and was originally intended for the vehicle that Hinchcliffe now drove.
Registration list
All teams and drivers used the chassis Dallara DW12 with an aero kit from Dallara and tires from Firestone .
Source:
Classifications
Qualifying
Swell:
run
Swell:
Guide sections
| section | Round | driver |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1-26 |
Will power
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| 2 | 27-45 |
Helio Castroneves
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| 3 | 46-61 |
 Oriol Servià
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| 4th | 62-84 |
Helio Castroneves
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| 5 | 85-110 |
James Hinchcliffe
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Swell:
Yellow phases
| No. | Duration | Round | Reason for yellow phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20-25 | 6th | Contact: Dario Franchitti (# 10) in turn 3 |
| 2 | 28-31 | 4th | Contact: JR Hildebrand (# 4) and Sebastián Saavedra (# 6) in turn 10 |
| 3 | 45-53 | 9 | Debris: curve 14 |
| 4th | 74-83 | 10 | Contact: Sebastián Saavedra (# 6) on turn 10 |
Swell:
Score after the race
Driver ranking
The allocation of points is explained here .
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Individual evidence
- ↑ Pete Fink: “St. Pete: From Monaco flair and capricious weather ”. Motorsport-Total.com, March 21, 2013, accessed March 21, 2013 .
- ^ “IndyCar removes push-to-pass delay for 2013 season”. autosport.com, March 19, 2013, accessed March 19, 2013 .
- ↑ Pete Fink: "Indy start: Andretti annoys power". Motorsport-Total.com, March 22, 2013, accessed March 22, 2013 .
- ↑ "St. Petersburg - 1st Free Practice ". Motorsport-Total.com, March 22, 2013, accessed March 22, 2013 .
- ↑ Pete Fink: "Only Power and Hunter-Reay before Simona de Silvestro". Motorsport-Total.com, March 22, 2013, accessed March 22, 2013 .
- ↑ "St. Petersburg - 2nd Free Practice ”. Motorsport-Total.com, March 22, 2013, accessed March 23, 2013 .
- ↑ Mario Fritzsche: "Third training in St. Petersburg: Sato before the favorites". Motorsport-Total.com, March 23, 2013, accessed March 23, 2013 .
- ↑ Mario Fritzsche: "St-Pete-Quali: Power before Sato and de Silvestro". Motorsport-Total.com, March 23, 2013, accessed March 25, 2013 .
- ↑ Dave Lewandowski: “Four in a row for Power; surprises elsewhere ”. indycar.com, March 23, 2013, accessed March 25, 2013 .
- ↑ Pete Fink: "Warmup: Hunter-Reay and eight Hondas". Motorsport-Total.com, March 24, 2013, accessed March 24, 2013 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Pete Fink: "Hinchcliffe wins in the St-Pete chaos - bad luck for de Silvestro". Motorsport-Total.com, March 24, 2013, accessed April 3, 2013 .
- ↑ Mark Glendenning: “St Petersburg IndyCar: James Hinchcliffe claims maiden win”. autosport.com, March 24, 2013, accessed April 3, 2013 .
- ↑ a b Dave Lewandowski: “Hinchcliffe records 1st win in drama-filled opener”. indycar.com, March 24, 2013, accessed April 3, 2013 .
- ↑ Robert Seiwert: "IndyCar - Hinchcliffe wins in St. Petersburg". Favorites die at the start of the season. Motorsport-Magazin.com, March 24, 2013, accessed April 3, 2013 .
- ↑ “Entry List - Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg”. (PDF; 55 kB) indycar.com, March 18, 2013, accessed on March 20, 2013 (English).
- ↑ “Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg at Streets of St. Petersburg - QUALIFYING RESULTS”. (PDF; 66 kB) indycar.com, March 23, 2013, accessed on March 25, 2013 .
- ^ "Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg - Official Starting Line Up". (PDF; 130 kB) indycar.com, March 24, 2013, accessed on March 25, 2013 .
- ↑ a b c “OFFICIAL BOX SCORE - Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg”. (PDF; 63 kB) indycar.com, March 24, 2013, accessed on March 25, 2013 (English).
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