After clinching victory from pole position in Laguna Seca’s return to the calendar in 2019, many wondered if Colton herta he was going to continue the great run of results at this track from his father Bryan Herta, who achieved two victories, three pole positions and five consecutive first lines at this track between 1995 and 1999, in addition to other great performances with less than optimal cars. Today, the Andretti Autosport driver gave a good indication in this regard with an undeniable pole position for the Monterey Grand Prix, the third of the season and the seventh of his young career.
After leading the first qualifying group with the only time under 1:11 (and fourth best of the night), and sweeping the Fast 12 with a 1: 10.584 with which he left everyone else behind of two tenths, Herta imposed her law in the final round, getting pole with a 1: 10.799. In a Fast 6 in which all the participants roll with used tires, his final time was better than any other rider with a new tire in the previous two sessions. In short, an absolute show of superiority that makes him the clear favorite to victory for tomorrow.
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In the context of the title fight, Álex Palou narrowly won this crucial previous battle by taking fourth place on grill. The overall leader from Ganassi came close to falling into his first qualifying group, in which he avoided starting 14th tomorrow by just 30 thousandths. Without finishing very clean laps, his performance improved on his last attempt at Fast 12, but in the final round he lost one more position. Fortunately for the Spanish, his four direct rivals in the fight for the championship will be behind him.
Duck O’Ward accompanied him in the final round with a similarly shaky performance, but the Mexican ended up losing control of the car on his final lap from Fast 6 to attacking the Corkscrew too hard, sliding down the slope. Although he did not collide with anything or anyone, the yellow flag he caused made him lose one place, and he will start sixth tomorrow. Behind him will be the other two Ganassi contenders, Marcus Ericsson and Scott Dixon. After biting the dust for the second consecutive race to the first exchange, the cross of the coin went to Josef Newgarden, who will have to start in 17th position. Last week, in Portland, he managed to climb to fifth place from 18th on the grid.
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Initially, the first line had been completed by Will power, but the Australian, very fast today, did not respect O’Ward’s yellow flag on his best lap, which was eliminated. This benefited Alexander Rossi, who completed a grid double for Andretti Autosport with his second consecutive front-line appearance. In Fast 6 there was also an excellent Oliver Askew, who improved his good work in the Portland classification (9th) with a great fifth position, having also led his group in the first round.
Max Chilton also surprised with his second consecutive Fast 12, also achieving his first grid top 10 of the year (sixth since arriving at Carlin in 2018) behind Simon Pagenaud. In the section of negative surprises, in addition to Newgarden, there was a Graham Rahal who lost any option of a good position on the grid with an exit from the track when the flat bottom climbed to the piano at Turn 5. In turn, Scott McLaughlin went from leading the last free practice to qualifying 16th for a slight exit from the track at the penultimate corner, which is in turn the first after the timing line (located before the pit entrance).
With the positions on the grid as they are, the accounts would not give Palou to be proclaimed champion here, although the duel for the championship would become an affair of two between him and O’Ward in which scratching points will be essential. The race will be the longest by distance in the history of Laguna Seca, with 95 laps (five more than in 2019), so the strategy will be essential in an event that will easily exceed two hours in duration. From the top it will be easier to avoid any problem in the first corner … but of course, it seemed that way last week.