Getty Images Last season on road and street course, IndyCar teams were forced to use only one set of tires in each of the three “knockout” qualifying segments. But this year, the teams have been allowed more leeway in creating strategies.
Each team gets six sets of primary Firestone Firehawks and three sets of alternates for the race weekend, and they must use one set each of sticker primaries and alternates during the race itself. However, with IndyCar now allowing them to use the tires during qualifying as they see fit, that could lead to more chances being taken – and, potentially, a jumbled grid for Sunday’s Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (Noon ET, NBC Sports Network).
“By being able to choose at some tracks, ‘Do I use all my new tires in qualifying in an effort to guarantee myself a better position or do I think I’m better off saving new tires for the race?’ is what we’ve opened up by allowing the strategy to become more involved,” INDYCAR vice president of technology Will Phillips told the series’ official website.
Firestone is rolling out a primary tire for St. Pete that’s largely similar to last year’s, while the alternate features a compound with softer tread and more grip than last year in an attempt to create a bigger gap between performance of the two type of tires.
Qualifying begins at 2:05 p.m. ET today, with NBC Sports Network picking up coverage from St. Pete at 2:30 p.m. ET.
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Reuters
What comes to mind first when you think of the Monaco Grand Prix? Money, perhaps? You can’t really blamed for that thought. Formula One’s stature as a billion-dollar enterprise enables it to fit in perfectly with the sophisticated surroundings of Monte Carlo. Or maybe it’s the massive amount of star power that comes in for…
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Reuters
Ever since its creation in 1929 on the streets of Monte Carlo, the Monaco Grand Prix has rewarded the best of the best. The list of people that have won it multiple times is a veritable galaxy of Formula One stars, past and present: Ayrton Senna, six wins; Graham Hill and Michael Schumacher, five each;…
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Nico Rosberg completed a sweep of Thursday’s two practice sessions for the Monaco Grand Prix. With a little more than an hour remaining in the second 90-minute free practice session, Rosberg dropped in the weekend’s first 1:14 lap with a lap of 1:14.759 around the streets of Monte Carlo. Lewis Hamilton made it a Mercedes…
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AP
Watch coverage of the Monaco Grand Prix throughout the weekend on NBC (Sunday, 7:30 a.m. ET), NBC Sports Network and live streamed on NBC Sports Live Extra. As Thursday’s second free practice session gets going, we look at the compounds Pirelli has brought to Monaco – the two softest compounds of soft (prime) and supersoft…
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F1 flashback: Senna, Trulli Monaco win anniversaries celebrated today
May 23, 2013, 7:00 AM EDT
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Watch coverage of the Monaco Grand Prix throughout the weekend on NBC (Sunday, 7:30 a.m. ET), NBC Sports Network and live streamed on NBC Sports Live Extra. Two historic Monaco Grands Prix occurred on May 23. In 1993, Ayrton Senna took his record sixth and last Monaco victory, while in 2004, Jarno Trulli ended Michael…
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Nico Rosberg has finished quickest in the first practice session for this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, finishing ahead of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and the Lotus of Romain Grosjean. Mercedes are expected to excel around the tight and twisting streets of Monaco, with the W04 car having good one-lap pace. Although this result may come as…
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AP
Dale Jarrett (pictured), Maurice Petty, Tim Flock, Jack Ingram and Fireball Roberts will soon be known as NASCAR Hall of Famers. The five NASCAR legends were voted into the Hall today and will officially be inducted as the Class of 2014 in ceremonies at the Charlotte, N.C.-based Hall next January. The honors for Jarrett and…
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Qualifying for the second race of all IZOD IndyCar Series doubleheaders this season — which includes the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit (the next race on the schedule following this weekend’s Indianapolis 500), Honda Indy Toronto and Shell/Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston — will be split into two groups. Cars will run in one of two…
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Don’t overlook E.J. Viso as a part of Andretti’s all-star arsenal at Indy
May 22, 2013, 5:00 PM EDT
Reuters
At Andretti Autosport, Ryan Hunter-Reay’s the defending IZOD IndyCar Series champion. James Hinchcliffe has won two of the first four races this year. Marco Andretti has the legendary surname and is off to the best start of his IndyCar career. Carlos Munoz has stolen some headlines in his rookie Indianapolis 500 appearance with a front…
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Reuters
Friday’s Freedom 100 for the Firestone Indy Lights (Noon ET, NBC Sports Network) will feature only 11 cars on the starting grid, but there’s still racing’s ultimate form of bragging rights on the line: Victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Headlining the Freedom 100 field is Andretti Autosport’s Carlos Munoz (pictured), who is also on…
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Indianapolis 500 pole sitter Ed Carpenter and his team hosted reigning NHRA Top Fuel champion Antron Brown in his garage today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where Brown got to climb into the cockpit of Carpenter’s No. 20 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka Chevrolet. “It’s just good times to come hang out and support Ed for…
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AP
Four laps. Ten miles. Seems simple enough. But, of course, there’s no such thing as “simple” at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It’s been said more than once that qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 is decidedly more nerve-wracking than the race itself. It’s an all-out quest for speed and precision that requires the highest levels of…
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49ers coach – and IndyCar team co-owner – Jim Harbaugh to drive Indy 500 pace car
May 22, 2013, 1:30 PM EDT
AP
San Francisco 49ers head coach and Panther Racing co-owner Jim Harbaugh will drive the 2014 Chevy Corvette Stingray pace car and lead the field of 33 to the green flag at Sunday’s Indianapolis 500. Harbaugh, who led the 49ers to last year’s NFC Championship and an appearance in Super Bowl XLVII, is a founding partner…
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Pagenaud: More comfortable and confident for second Indy 500 start
May 22, 2013, 1:00 PM EDT
Reuters
Rookies get all the attention at Indianapolis. And then they become sophomores, where they’re now wiser fools and more grown up. Simon Pagenaud’s among the crop of second-year drivers at Indy, and the Frenchman’s undoubtedly more comfortable this go-around in the No. 77 HP Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports Honda. For one thing, this race last year…
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What’s it cost to compete in Formula One? An IndyCar comparison
May 22, 2013, 12:30 PM EDT
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Christian Sylt and Caroline Reid cover the business of Formula One. More of their work can be found at FormulaMoney.com. The cars lining up to compete in this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix and Indy 500 may appear the same. However, with even the smallest Formula One teams running on budgets around five times those of…
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Then as now, brushing the barriers is key to being quick in Monaco
May 22, 2013, 12:18 PM EDT
At 2.075 miles long the Monte-Carlo circuit in Monaco is by far the shortest track on the Formula One calendar. But much of its length is bordered on both sides by unyielding barriers. F1 drivers notice a stark difference between it and modern circuits built to the FIA’s exacting standards, with flat curbs and vast…
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Adrian Sutil says Force India’s 2013 car is the best he’s had during his F1 career. “I think so, yes,” said Sutil when asked if the VJM06 was better than the other F1 cars he has driven. “Wherever we have gone so far the car has looked competitive – and that includes some very different…
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Michael Schumacher said thank you to thousands of his fans with a demonstration lap in a Mercedes Formula One car at the Nurburgring Nordschleife. Schumacher toured the track on Sunday ahead of its annual 24-hour race. The 15.769-mile circuit, one of the longest ever used for a Formula One race, held Germany’s round of the…
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Felipe Massa has the unfortunate distinction of being the only driver to have started the Monaco Grand Prix for pole position in the last nine years without winning it. But that doesn’t sour his view of the uniquely challenging Monte-Carlo street circuit. “Monaco is a very special track, completely different to all the other venues…
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Reuters
NBC Sports Network analyst Townsend Bell races Sunday in the Indianapolis 500 in the No. 60 Sunoco / “Turbo” the Movie Panther Racing Chevrolet. NBC Sports Network Formula One pit reporter Will Buxton rode along with Bell in an IndyCar two-seater prior to Buxton’s coverage of qualifying from pit road over the weekend. Suffice to…
