The 2016 Grand Prix of Indianapolis, officially known as the 2016 Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis for sponsorship reasons, was the fifth round of the 2016 IndyCar Series season. The race took place over 82 laps on the infield road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The race also served as part of the festivities surrounding the 2016 Indianapolis 500. The car count for the race slightly increased from other races during the season due to some entries participating in the Indianapolis 500 electing to also run in the Grand Prix.
Race Recap
For the second race in a row, Simon Pagenaud qualified in pole position, this time with a time of 1:08.6868. Chip Ganassi Racing driver Charlie Kimball surprised with a qualifying run good enough to place him second. Graham Rahal and Josef Newgarden, who had qualified third and fifth respectively, had their times disallowed and were moved to the back of the starting grid for failing to meet minimum car weight regulations in post-qualifying inspection.
The race was run in cold temperatures and overcast skies. At the start, Simon Pagenaud held the lead, while James Hinchcliffe moved into second. As the field moved into the first turn, Tony Kanaan and Sébastien Bourdais made contact, bringing out a full course caution and bringing an end to Kanaan's day before he could complete a lap. The race restarted after four caution laps with much cleaner results. On lap six, Will Power lost control of his car entering turn seven while trying to defend from Alexander Rossi. No caution resulted from the spin and Power would finish a lowly 19th. The first round of pit stops came around lap 20. Graham Rahal would lead briefly due to extending fuel farther than anyone else, but would fall back following his own pit stop. The lead was briefly handed to Charlie Kimball, who had beat Pagenaud out of the pits. Pagenaud would not take long to find a way by, however, and was quickly back in the lead.
On lap 37, the second caution of the day came out when Sébastien Bourdais rolled to a halt on track. Most of the leaders pitted under the caution, but Hélio Castroneves and Conor Daly, who had made their first stops early and went off sequence from the leaders, stayed out, handing Castroneves the lead. On the restart, Daly was able to get by Castroneves and take the lead, which he held for 14 laps before coming in for his final pit stop. After Castroneves pitted two laps later, Simon Pagenaud resumed the lead and was able to gain enough of an advantage to not lose it again after his pit stop. Pagenaud took victory by roughly 4.5 seconds over his teammate Castroneves, giving Pagenaud his third consecutive victory and a comfortable lead in the point standings. James Hinchcliffe took the final step of the podium, coming across about half a second after Castroneves. Graham Rahal, despite starting at the back of the field, finished fourth. Despite fading in the last laps of the race, Conor Daly still placed a respectable sixth, making him the highest finishing rookie in the race.
Report Key Meaning R Rookie W Past winner
Qualifying Pos No. Name Grp. Round 1 Round 2 Firestone Fast 6122 Simon Pagenaud W21:08.67481:08.76961:08.6868283 Charlie Kimball11:09.24511:09.06071:08.981635 James Hinchcliffe21:09.02441:09.00861:09.2260441 Jack Hawksworth11:09.16011:09.06111:09.5141510 Tony Kanaan21:09.08451:09.251162 Juan Pablo Montoya11:09.32601:09.264579 Scott Dixon11:09.20041:09.4010811 Sébastien Bourdais11:09.24631:09.443697 Mikhail Aleshin11:09.25371:09.67711012 Will Power W21:08.67461:09.9297118 Max Chilton R11:09.32891298 Alexander Rossi R21:09.1475133 Hélio Castroneves11:09.49471461 Matthew Brabham R21:09.29441528 Ryan Hunter-Reay11:09.5276166 J. R. Hildebrand21:09.43771726 Carlos Muñoz11:09.64571816 Spencer Pigot R21:09.45911927 Marco Andretti11:09.74782014 Takuma Sato21:09.46592135 Alex Tagliani11:10.41092218 Conor Daly R21:09.47952319 Gabby Chaves21:09.77202415 Graham Rahal2Times Disallowed2521 Josef Newgarden2Times DisallowedOFFICIAL BOX SCORE
Source for individual rounds:
Race results Driver Team Engine Laps Status PitStops Grid LapsLed 122 Simon Pagenaud WTeam PenskeChevrolet821:50:18.582331575423 Hélio CastronevesTeam PenskeChevrolet82 +4.474831374135 James HinchcliffeSchmidt Peterson MotorsportsHonda82 +5.08073335415 Graham RahalRahal Letterman Lanigan RacingHonda82 +7.0715424233583 Charlie KimballChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet82 +7.423432231618 Conor Daly RDale Coyne RacingHonda82 +12.1838322142979 Scott DixonChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet82 +12.9226372682 Juan Pablo MontoyaTeam PenskeChevrolet82 +13.69124624928 Ryan Hunter-ReayAndretti AutosportHonda82 +15.1933315221098 Alexander Rossi RAndretti Herta AutosportHonda82 +16.3134312201116 Spencer Pigot RRahal Letterman Lanigan RacingHonda82 +20.5172318191226 Carlos MuñozAndretti AutosportHonda82 +29.636931718137 Mikhail AleshinSchmidt Peterson MotorsportsHonda82 +43.30933917148 Max Chilton RChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet82 +43.3785311161527 Marco AndrettiAndretti AutosportHonda82 +44.6339319151661 Matthew Brabham RPirtek Team MurrayChevrolet82 +45.5107314141719 Gabby ChavesDale Coyne RacingHonda82 +47.0326423131814 Takuma SatoA. J. Foyt EnterprisesHonda82 +56.3389520121912 Will Power WTeam PenskeChevrolet82 +57.4410410112041 Jack HawksworthA. J. Foyt EnterprisesHonda82 +1:03.722934102121 Josef NewgardenEd Carpenter RacingChevrolet82 +1:08.62345259226 J. R. HildebrandEd Carpenter RacingChevrolet81 +1 Lap41682335 Alex TaglianiA. J. Foyt EnterprisesHonda81 +1 Lap52172411 Sébastien BourdaisKVSH RacingChevrolet20Mechanical1862510 Tony KanaanChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet0Contact055OFFICIAL BOX SCORE
Notes All cars ran Dallara chassis with aerokits supplied by their respective engine manufacturer.
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.
Source for time gaps:
Championship standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Simon Pagenaud 242 2 Scott Dixon 166 3 Juan Pablo Montoya 160 4 Hélio Castroneves 159 1 5 Graham Rahal 133
Note: Only the top five positions are included.
References
External links Official Pit Stop Data Official Race Broadcast