Postcards from the Paddock - Belle Isle
Belle Isle, it's been a blast. The island-park in the middle of the Detroit River has been the home of road racing in the Motor City off and on since 1992 and while a return to the city streets in downtown Detroit figures to make the Detroit Grand Prix simpler logistically and more accessible to all, the rough-and-tumble street circuit on the island developed into a surprisingly good track. If last weekend truly was the swan song, The Raceway at Belle Isle went out with a bang.
Each year it's difficult to return to the grind of the IndyCar season after getting used to the rhythms of the Month of May in Indianapolis. In previous years, a doubleheader of IndyCar coverage and, in many years, IMSA coverage when I was writing for Sportscar365, provided the jolt I needed to get back in the groove. While there was no IndyCar double dip last weekend, a pair of Indy Lights races and another late-night Formula E race kept me on my toes!
I arrived in Detroit on Thursday along with IndyCar Radio engineer Rick Evans. Rick is an invaluable asset for us at the track. He does everything from assembling the booth at the track to positioning the scissor lifts our turn announcers use to get a better vantage point of the circuit for their calls. He also helps resolve any equipment issues that may arise and coordinates with BSI, the company that provides the gear for those of us on site for radio and television.
I spent the first few hours assembling my Formula E booth, which I now have considerable experience tearing down and reassembling, then helped Rick with whatever small things I could before settling in for the long wait until it was time for my tech check with my Formula E colleagues in the UK at midnight. Once that was done, it was a quick ride in an Uber from Belle Isle to the hotel ahead of the first full day at the track.
On Friday IndyCar Radio was on air for IndyCar and Indy Lights practice in the afternoon. Our practice shows are usually a good time to do extended interviews with team principals in the pit lane and with so much silly season news breaking between the Indianapolis 500 and Detroit it was a great time to chase those stories.
Fans on the grid ahead of the Detroit Grand Prix from Belle Isle
We were able to hear from Michael Andretti on losing Alexander Rossi to ARROW McLaren SP (no hard feelings) and bringing Andretti Autosport's former Indy Lights star Kyle Kirkwood back to the fold (Michael believes he's a future champion). We heard from Taylor Kiel, team president of McLaren's IndyCar arm, about why Rossi was the right guy to place in the team's third car next year (Rossi is a proven winner in the prime of his career) and Felix Rosenqvist's future with the team (they like him and Felix knows what he needs to do in order to stay). We also heard from Larry Foyt (the team knew Kirkwood was a one-year rental when they signed him; plans are already being formed for his replacement), Simona De Silvestro (no testing prior to Road America next week, her first IndyCar road course race since '15), and Callum Illott (expects to be cleared to race for Road America after injuring his wrist at Indy). All in all, it was probably my favorite practice broadcast we've had all year.
After practice, while most everyone was packing up and getting ready to leave Belle Isle for the day, my day was just beginning. I returned to the booth to finish my prep and catch a quick nap before I needed to be on headset for Formula E qualifying at 11:00 p.m. Learning from my Long Beach experience, this time I brought along a bag with blankets and pillow for my overnight stay on the island and it's a good thing too as the temperature fell to the low 50s! I was able to catch a little sleep ahead of qualifying and then again before the race itself.
Through both practices and qualifying, it certainly looked like this was finally going to be the breakout weekend for Jean-Eric Vergne and the DS Techeetah team. Vergne and his teammate Antonio Felix da Costa were dominant in the head-to-head phase of qualifying and locked out the front row. The pair controlled the early stages of the race as well, but Mitch Evans and Jaguar played the strategy perfectly to score a surprise win.
It's hard to know what to make of Evans at this stage in the season. On one hand, he has a series-best three wins but he sits fourth in the standings due to a jarring lack of consistency. On the other hand, Vergne has been the most consistent. He's the only driver to score points in every E Prix but he has yet to win and is second in points. Edoardo Mortara is very much a contender with a pair of wins but also has a pair of DNFs that have been costly. And quietly out in front is Stoffel Vandoorne who has finished no worse than fifth in the six races since Mexico but has rarely been dominant. Odds are that the champion comes out of that quartet but good luck picking a winner!
Audi R8
The race wrapped up a little after 6 a.m. so I was able to catch a quick nap before heading out for our first session of the day on Saturday in Detroit. Between IndyCar and Indy Lights we had four sessions to cover but mercifully they wrapped up by the early afternoon ahead of the IMSA race that was the centerpiece of the day's schedule. Ordinarily I would have loved to hang around to catch the race and catch up with friends in the IMSA paddock but given my near all-nighter the night before it was time to get back to the hotel for a shower and nap.
The weekend culminated with the final IndyCar race on Belle Isle. It is always challenging to follow the bigger picture of the race from pit lane; I'm focusing on the cars in my section of the pits and I can't always see a monitor of what's happening on track from down there but this race was more complicated to stay on top of than most. Because of the high levels of wear teams were experiencing with the alternate Firestone compound, some drivers pitted as early as two laps into the race to change to the primary compound. Others stretched their stint on the Reds for an extended amount of time and plenty more fell somewhere in between. In all, it appeared that there were four viable strategies in play at any given time!
In the end, Will Power's gamble to finish the race on reds netted him his first win of the season and vaulted him into the points lead. Alexander Rossi's charge came up a lap or two short but it was a thrilling finish to close out the Detroit Grand Prix's time on Belle Isle. Power's win was his 41st career IndyCar win and moves him within one of tying Michael Andretti for fourth on the all-time list. Power seems to be on top of his game: outside of a disappointing 15th at the Indy 500 he has finished no worse than fourth all season and appears to be a legitimate title contender at age 41. Impressive stuff.
2022 Detroit Grand Prix race winner Will Power
I should add a congratulations as well to Linus Lundqvist who seemingly took control of the Indy Lights championship by sweeping the pair of races last weekend with two steady drives. He knows his best — and maybe only — shot at making it to IndyCar is by winning the advancement scholarship as the Lights champion and he's well on his way with an 84-point cushion over his closest pursuer.
Coming up next is a trip to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin for the next IndyCar race on the calendar. Road America is my favorite road course in the U.S. and I can't wait to get back! Thanks to everyone who followed the Formula E, Indy Lights, and IndyCar coverage this past weekend. Hope you join us again for the next one!
—Ryan