Five Takeaways: Grand Prix of Monterey
- Evan Roberts
- Jul 30
- 7 min read
Written by Evan Roberts, Edited by Morgan Holiday
One of Álex Palou’s finest weekends of the year was topped off by yet another win - his eighth this season - in dominant fashion once again at Laguna Seca.
Whilst the race for the lead was fairly straightforward, further down the pack we were treated to an action packed race full of incidents and close racing.
The remaining podium places were taken by Christian Lundgaard in second followed by Andretti Global’s Colton Herta in third.
DIVEBOMB goes through five takeaways from the Grand Prix of Monterey weekend.
Rasmussen’s road course breakthrough signals a turning point
Credit: Joe Skibinski
Laguna Seca was a strong development weekend for Christian Rasmussen. In only his second season, as the Danish driver has come leaps and bounds from last year.
He has been particularly impressive on the ovals - picking up his first IndyCar series podium at St Louis and a number of Top 10 finishes.
Whilst there has been a clear progression on the ovals, this weekend was Rasmussen’s most impressive weekend so far on a Road Course. Where previously he had been trailing his more experienced teammate Alexander Rossi - this weekend went entirely the way of Rasmussen.
Having advanced to the Fast 12 for the third time this season - matching the number achieved by Rossi - Rasmussen would start the race in 11th.
From there, he only moved forward. Making moves that saw him run as high as third. Eventually settling in seventh, he made a small mistake trying to get past Callum Ilott - dipping a wheel off the track and losing a couple of places.
Even so, ninth place is still a result to celebrate. His first top 10 on a road or street course in 2025 represents Rasmussen’s development as a driver and possible shift in the pecking order at Ed Carpenter Racing as the Dane continues to be a driver to deliver for ECR.
Race Direction must be better
Twice this weekend we had an incident involving a driver stranded for multiple laps with no caution. It is simply not acceptable and is an incredibly dangerous precedent to set.
The first of these two cases came after contact between Kyle Kirkwood and Rinus VeeKay- the latter coming off worse as his car went off into the gravel trap of Turn 4.
It remained stationary as cars continued to circulate at high speed for a number of laps. The reason given for the caution not immediately being waived was to allow those who had not yet made their pit-stops to do so.
Knowing how volatile a circuit can be, especially one as unforgiving as Laguna Seca leaves the driver in such a vulnerable and frankly dangerous position.
It should not matter whether certain drivers’ races are affected - that’s racing. IndyCar is often described as a game of snakes and ladders when it comes to pit stops, and it should have been the same on Sunday. Had the drivers who would have lost out been towards the back of the field there is no doubt a caution would’ve been waived almost immediately. Why should it be any different for the drivers up at the front?
The second, and far more egregious decision was late in the race when the Andretti Global of Marcus Ericsson was left stranded at the top of the hill just before the infamous Corkscrew.
Whilst the first occasion was during a pit cycle, this one was not. Which makes race control’s decision to leave Ericsson helpless at the top of a blind crest a poor one.
The helmet camera onboard of Pato O’Ward approaching the incident demonstrates just how dangerous it could have been as Ericsson sat side-on to the right of the track, thankfully just off the racing line.
Moreover, it has already been demonstrated this season the sheer violence of a t-bone style of crash with Josef Newgarden having gone airborne in St Louis. Thankfully both drivers escaped unharmed from that incident, but unfortunately that hasn’t and won’t always be the case. You only have to go back as far as Alex Zanardi’s horrific accident to show how dangerous it can be.
Ultimately, it’s about safety. Whilst it has improved, it is not completely bulletproof and there does not need to be another accident for race control to wake up and acknowledge the dangers. Driver safety should always be the priority in situations such as this.
Dixon delivers another classic from the back of the pack
At this point, no one should be surprised to see Scott Dixon work an alternate strategy to the front. An incredible drive at Laguna Seca only further exacerbates the legend we’ve been lucky to witness.
Starting from 19th, Dixon was one of the few drivers to go off strategy after Jacob Abel brought out an early caution. When the green flag was waived Dixon was third on his strategy but 20th overall.
The traditional IndyCar melee that followed meant by the time all drivers had made their opening pit stops, the Iceman was in the podium places in third.
At this point though, having made his first pit stop over 20 laps before those who had just emerged on fresh tyres it could be easy to say keeping that position would not be easy.
Notably, only the condition of the tyres gets a mention. Fuel? Well - it’s Scott Dixon, he can always make it work.
And he did. Yet again, the lead runner on the alternate strategy coming home an eventual fourth - even closing down third placed Herta towards the end.
As a result of this performance, Dixon currently sits third in the Drivers’ Championship. Whilst there is a comfortable gap for the two drivers at the front, the six-time champion has proved at the age of 45, there’s still plenty of life in him.
Palou turns 2025 Championship into a victory parade
This particular takeaway - to be completely honest - has felt clear ever since the No.10 car of Palou first rolled off the trailer in St Pete.
Such has been the dominance of the Spaniard, with five wins in the opening six races - including a maiden Indianapolis 500 victory. The championship has never even been close.
The constant and unwavering confidence and speed shown every weekend by Palou has been nothing short of breathtaking.
Despite already having three championships, it has still been a year-of-firsts for Palou, a maiden oval win at Indianapolis nonetheless would be backed up by a first short oval success at Iowa.
Having won five out of the first six races and boasting an 115 point lead, a small hiccup at Detroit - through no fault of his own - meant his lead at the front would be shortened and a title battle looked more possible.
In the five races that followed he added a further two wins to his tally as well as a second place in Mid-Ohio to squash any doubts over who would be taking home the Astor Challenge Cup.
Now, having just achieved his eighth win of the season in Monterey - it is more than safe to assume the championship battle is over. With a lead of 121 points and only three races to go, it will be all but a formality when Portland rolls around in a few weeks time.
Instead of focusing on a non-existent championship battle over the last few weekends, we should appreciate being able to see one of the all time greats perform what has been arguably the greatest individual season in IndyCar history.
Ilott’s 18-place-gain marks major step for PREMA’s IndyCar campaign
What started as a year of teething problems for both PREMA Racing and their driver Callum Ilott, over the past few weekends Ilott in particular has shown just why he was called back to IndyCar to spearhead the Italian outfit.
A slow start to his season could be partially explained due to adapting once again to the rigours of driving an IndyCar.
Spending his first two years in the series as a driver for Juncos Hollinger Racing - most of the time in highly uncompetitive machinery - it still didn’t stop the Briton from putting in several standout performances. His best of which throughout his initial foray into IndyCar would coincidentally be sixth at Laguna Seca back in 2023.
His impressive results went unrewarded, however, as by 2024 Ilott was without a seat, replaced at JHR by Romain Grosjean.
Consequently, he moved over to the World Endurance Championship where he managed to win the 12 hours of Spa. A few super-sub appearances for Arrow McLaren in place of the injured David Malukas would be all of the IndyCar action Ilott would face for that year.
With growing experience in the series though, it wasn’t a surprise to see his return when PREMA announced their lineup for the 2025 season - also having previously raced for them in junior formulas.
Having achieved eight place - the team’s best result - at Toronto last race, 24th on the grid in Monterey looked to be a backwards step.
Partial blame could be laid on the loss of a practice session which meant - in their maiden season - they didn’t have as much time on track to learn and improve their setups.
Come race day though, from the start it would be clear that the PREMA Racing car of Ilott was dialled in. Gaining four places on the opening lap, he capitalised on the second caution to make his first pit stop on Lap 12.
Once other drivers had made their stops he would find himself circulating comfortably in the top ten. Having made even more places on his second stop, from just after the halfway point Ilott would find himself battling the Arrow McLaren of O’Ward for fifth.
Despite multiple attempts to make the overtake, Ilott found himself still stuck behind the Mexican. The opportunity to get past would be during the pit cycle with the Briton needing to pit earlier, there was a big chance for an undercut.
Unfortunately for him, a slow stop ruined any chance he may have had - keeping his position but giving O’Ward plenty of time to emerge in front, which he eventually did.
Remaining overtake attempts would not prove fruitful as despite a further two cautions, Ilott crossed the line at the end of the race in sixth. Gaining an astonishing 18 places, he earned himself the biggest mover trophy.
Following Toronto, PREMA seemed ready to challenge, predicting battles to be in a top five position, and whilst they were not quite able to achieve it, Ilott was mightily close. He demonstrated just what he and the team can do as they continue to progress further up the grid.
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