The 2021 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was the second round of the 2021 IndyCar season. The race was held on April 25, 2021, in St. Petersburg, Florida. The race lasted for 100 laps, and was won by Colton Herta.
The race was originally due to take place on 7 March 2021 as the opening round of the championship, but the COVID-19 pandemic was still a concern for event organisers and IndyCar officials as the 2020 race was postponed from March to October. On January 6 2021, the race was rescheduled to 25 April 2021 so the event can accommodate more fans with loosening restrictions but it was capped to 20,000 fans to attend. [1]
| Key | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| Rookie | ||
| Past winner |
| align=center | ! | Driver | Team | Engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 |  Josef Newgarden | Chevrolet | ||
| 3 |  Scott McLaughlin | Chevrolet | ||
| 4 | Chevrolet | |||
| 5 | Chevrolet | |||
| 7 | Chevrolet | |||
| 8 | Honda | |||
| 9 | Honda | |||
| 10 | Honda | |||
| 12 |  Will Power | Chevrolet | ||
| 14 |  Sébastien Bourdais | Chevrolet | ||
| 15 | Graham Rahal | Honda | ||
| 18 | Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan | Honda | ||
| 20 | Chevrolet | |||
| 21 | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | ||
| 22 | Chevrolet | |||
| 26 | Honda | |||
| 27 | Honda | |||
| 28 | Honda | |||
| 29 |  James Hinchcliffe | Honda | ||
| 30 | Honda | |||
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Honda | ||
| 51 | Romain Grosjean | Honda | ||
| 59 | Chevrolet | |||
| 60 | Honda | |||
| SOURCE [2] | ||||
There were 2 red flags during the session, one at the start due to timing and scoring issues, causing the session to be extended by 10 minutes, and another at the end after Sebastien Bourdais spun and stalled his car.[3]
| + Top Practice Speeds | ||||||
| Driver | Team | Engine | Lap Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 1:00.8029 | |
| 2 | 12 | Will Power | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 1:00.8102 | |
| 3 | 26 | Colton Herta | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 1:00.8348 | |
| OFFICIAL REPORT | ||||||
| + Top Practice Speeds | ||||||
| Driver | Team | Engine | Lap Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 1:00.0622 | |
| 2 | 27 | Alexander Rossi | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 1:00.1749 | |
| 3 | 60 |  Jack Harvey | Meyer Shank Racing | Honda | 1:00.2192 | |
| OFFICIAL REPORT | ||||||
The field was split into two groups of twelve drivers, with the top 6 of each group progressing to the Fast 12. The top 6 of the Fast 12 proceeded to the Firestone Fast 6.
| + Top Practice Speeds | ||||||
| Driver | Team | Engine | Lap Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 | Colton Herta | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 01:00.6632 | |
| 2 | 30 |  Takuma Sato | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 01:00.6768 | |
| 3 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 01:00.8092 | |
| Source:[8] | ||||||
| Driver | Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Álex Palou | 67 | ||
| 2 | Will Power | 65 | ||
| 3 | Scott Dixon | 65 | ||
| 4 | Colton Herta | 62 | ||
| 5 | Simon Pagenaud | 54 | ||
| Source:[10] | ||||
| Manufacturer | Points | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Honda | 178 | |||
| 2 | Chevrolet | 148 | |||
| Source: < | -- Calculated from 2021 IndyCar Series#Manufacturer standings --> | ||||
