Honda Indy Toronto: Christian Lundgaard wins

Christian Lundgaard has won the Honda Indy Toronto.

It is Lundgaard’s first win of the IndyCar season.

The Dane started the race on pole but eventually won after a failed strategic bet by Scott McLaughlin and Scott Dixon.

Alex Palou, leader of the IndyCar series standings, was second despite starting 15th on the grid and a damaged front wing.

Colton Herta took third for his first podium of the season.

Toronto’s Devlin DeFrancesco, the only Canadian driver in IndyCar this season, retired after 10 laps due to a mechanical failure.

Palou had won three of the last four races on the North American open-wheel circuit schedule, but started 15th on the grid after an early qualifying stoppage. His podium finish on Sunday cemented his lead in the season standings ahead of Dixon, his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate.

Dixon, the defending Honda Indy Toronto champion, started seventh on the grid and even led several laps, but finished fourth after his team misjudged when to pit.

IndyCar officials decided to start the race an hour early with rain predicted for the early evening. Wet conditions had helped Christian Lundgaard in Saturday’s qualifying, putting his rally car skills to work on the wet, slippery street course to take pole.

Lundgaard’s father, Henrik, won the 2000 European Rally Car Championship.

Hot, muggy conditions dried out the track on Sunday, likely to Lundgaard’s detriment as he said on Saturday he didn’t think he would have the fastest car in the race.

That prediction came true as McLaughlin and Lundgaard swapped the lead twice between the 29th and 38th laps.

Romain Grosjean hit a wall on lap 42, forcing the race to be stopped when his car was pulled off the track. Helio Castroneves immediately hit a wall on the restart, extending the yellow flag.

McLaughlin retook the lead again on the 50th lap after Lundgaard pitted on the yellow Castroneves, while Dixon also moved up to second.

Both McLaughlin and Dixon gambled on softer tires for the last 30 laps, betting that there would be no more yellow and they could stay out of the pit.

McLaughlin did have to pit on the 61st lap, putting Dixon into the lead just as Lundgaard passed Palou to get back into second. As Lundgaard made that move, Dixon turned into his pit with 22 laps to go.

That put Lundgaard at the head of the peloton, followed by the damaged car of Palou and Colton Herta.

Lundgaard played defensively the rest of the way and kept his lead as Palou and Herta kept a close eye on their petrol tanks.

Palou’s visibly twitching wing also played a role, as he was unable to accelerate on the straights, forcing the rest of the pack to rally behind him and putting more distance between Lundgaard and everyone else.

McLaughlin, who started the race second, finished sixth.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on July 16, 2023.