Not for the first time in recent memory, an IndyCar driver has thrown some shade the way of Formula 1. The latest one to do so is Graham Rahal.
The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver finished 2nd to Scott Dixon at the Gallagher GP on the Indy road course last weekend. The veteran US driver had taken pole and led a lot of laps before an alternate strategy from the Kiwi saw him claim the lead following the final round of stops.
Dixon had a 6 second lead that Rahal managed to reduce to under a second in the closing laps. However, the New Zealander fended off Rahal.
The RLL driver explained from his point of view that he knew Dixon wouldn’t throw it away with a mistake, and he couldn’t get close enough to make a move.
“Dixon is not going to just make a mistake. I knew it was going to have to be a flawless run.
“Frankly, I almost had it, meaning like I needed about one more car length to be closer out of 13 to be able to get by. But I pulled off of overtake because I wasn’t really gaining. I was kind of just holding steady.”
A caution on the opening lap saw Dixon head for the pits early as he was turned around by Romain Grosjean. The Andretti Autosport star was unable to avoid Dixon as they had to try and navigate away around Marcus Armstrong.
The alternate strategy worked for the 6-time series champion as he got to the front and won. It was another fuel saving masterclass from Dixon that allowed him to work his way to P1, combined with great pace.
Due to the fuel number he had to hit for most of the race, Dixon had to avoid using push-to-pass. It turned out to be beneficial as he could use it in the closing stages to fend off Rahal.
Speaking about it post-race in a media session, Rahal says the push-to-pass system is much fairer and better than the ‘crap’ drag reduction system in F1 as both could use it when they were in the heat of battle. In IndyCar, the drivers usually get 150-200 seconds worth of push-to-pass on road and street courses.
“Because of his race pattern being so much more fuel saving, he had a lot more overtake at one stage. We were catching him at the end. He was starting to use overtake. At one point he had 60 seconds more than me. I think at the end we ended up equal. He was using it to stay ahead of me.
“That’s what I kind of love about our version of overtake frankly. It’s a mano-a-mano battle. You use it offensively, defensively. Not of this DRS crap that makes it easy.
“For me, I thought Dixon used it right today. I tried to do the best I could to challenge him. I just ran out of steam. I mean, leading up to the last lap, I went through the snake, turn seven, eight, nine, ten, I had zero grip. I lost about half a second, 3, 4/10ths. That was it.”
Photo credit: Penske Entertainment | James Black
