Written by Dan Jones
After an agonising wait of 40 races outside victory lane, Colton Herta returned to the top step at Exhibition Place, Toronto to provide Andretti Global's first victory of the year. It would be a race filled with crashes, controversy, championship implications and much more. We delve into the winners and losers from IndyCar's visit across the border.
Winner: Andretti Global
This win was long-awaited, but much-needed for Colton Herta, and he did it emphatically. It was the first time in recorded IndyCar history that a single driver had led both practice sessions, took the pole, led warm-up and found themselves in victory lane. Herta also would lead 81 of 85 laps despite all the chaos ensuing behind him.
It's been a frustrating wait for Herta, many opportunities in that period have been lost, whether that through himself or the team, but Toronto was masterful. It also puts Herta in an outside position for the championship, 57 points off the lead. In his words: "I have never put my head down and said the championship is over at any point just because you never know in INDYCAR."
It truly felt like the promise that Colton Herta showed in the early years of his IndyCar career, and the Colton Herta that was expected to come to fruition at that time. There's been no hiding that Andretti Global and Honda have been very strong at street courses in recent times, but Herta's performance went above and beyond.
It was a day only made better by Kyle Kirkwood, who had similar pace to his compatriot all day but wisely opted to bring home a 1-2 finish for the team: "Of course, I would rather have won. That's always the thought. I also wasn't going to push the envelope whatsoever in that situation. We didn't have much pressure from behind. The last thing I'm going to do is attack Colton and potentially cause an issue just so I can win."
It's been a quietly strong year for Kirkwood, and this truly felt like a result that was deserved. Two wins but an 11th place in the standings maybe tells you the inconsistency that he held last year, but Kirkwood now lies in the position of having the most top tens of any driver in the field. A podium was the least that he deserved at some point this season, especially after close calls in Detroit and Laguna Seca.
Although it would once again be a difficult day for Marcus Ericsson, it was just the re-affirmation that Andretti's downsize has proved fruitful in it's early days. With all three of their drivers locked in for years to come, Toronto only feels a bit of what is more to come in the future.
Winner: David Malukas
It's been a mightily impressive comeback to IndyCar life for David Malukas, who's sixth place finish in Toronto lifts the No. 66 Meyer Shank Racing car into the leader's circle for the first time since prior to the Indianapolis 500.
In Malukas' three road and street course events since returning to the series after a pre-season mountain bike injury, he has found himself in the Fast 12 on all three occasions, progressing into the Fast 6 twice, which he did once again in Toronto. It continues to put a slightly awkward dynamic on the No. 6 Arrow McLaren car, which has found itself in the Fast 12 once in 2024.
It marks Malukas' best career effort on a street course and his equal best on a road/street course after a sixth place at Mid-Ohio last year. It's been a difficult year for Malukas, trying to shorten his recovery time, and having continual doubts about his future, but he has shone in his early days at Meyer Shank Racing, akin to teammate, Felix Rosenqvist.
Malukas and the No. 66 entry, previously held by Tom Blomqvist and Hélio Castroneves, now lies a comfortable 28 points ahead of the 'cut zone' in the Leader's Circle. Malukas has brought in the success that MSR needed him to do - and in a short space.
It's been a mightily impressive turnaround for Malukas, especially with the doubts over his wrist before he stepped into a car again. His drive in Toronto was particularly mature, with several others crashing and throwing away good results, Malukas remained composed and brought home a strong result, a nice cure after a frustrating Iowa weekend.
Malukas' trajectory has been impressive, and that could only further improve at IndyCar's next round at World Wide Technology Raceway - a venue which has seen Malukas on the podium in every year of his IndyCar career.
Winner: Chip Ganassi Racing
"That, Ladies and Gentlemen, is our worst ever qualifying effort ever." The slightly bizarre words of Chip Ganassi on Saturday evening, after none of his five-car outfit reached the Firestone Fast 12 in qualifying. "But, this team never, never, never gives up!" Ganassi's words would be proven correct on Sunday.
In a day which the likes of Will Power, Scott McLaughlin and Pato O'Ward faltered, Scott Dixon, Álex Palou and Marcus Armstrong brought home excellent results in a much-needed day which may be looked back on as the turning point in the championship.
As he so often seems to do, Dixon pulled fuel out of absolutely nowhere, and extended his stints masterfully. And when the likes of Josef Newgarden fell back through various issues, Dixon capitalised. He, like Palou, would be no match for the dominant Andretti's, but brought home a fourth podium of the season, to keep himself within touching distance of the championship.
For Palou, he may have had the most successful day of all. On a day many of his rivals faultered (more on that below), Palou remained mature and wise to bring home a fourth place. Apart from an unfortunate collision and Detroit and his Iowa incident, Palou has finished in the top five at the flag at all races in 2024. It was a fine recovery after a controversial penalty he received in qualifying, after being judged to impede Pato O'Ward. Palou jokingly said he'd 'like to thank the stewards' after receiving the 'Biggest Mover' award.
And it would be a much-needed result for Marcus Armstrong. It's a third top five of the season for Armstrong, and it comes at a crucial time. When Ganassi explore options to downsize with the impending charter agreement limiting teams to three chartered entries, Chip Ganassi will have a decision to make on what he does between Armstrong, Lundqvist and Simpson.
On yet another messy day for Lundqvist, Armstrong remained error-free to bring home his best realistic result of the day. When this decision is made, results like this looks preferrable on Armstrong's resume. Despite a weekend which looked difficult - Chip Ganassi Racing certainly did not give up.
Winner: Honda
It's been a difficult year for Honda, but this was impressive. The first Chevrolet driver at the flag? Rinus VeeKay, in eighth. It's the third consecutive street race that Honda have swept the podium, and has lifted them back into within 13 points off the lead of the engine manufacturer standings, after a particularly strong Iowa for Chevrolet.
No manufacturer has swept out the top seven positions in nine years, only adding to the achievement of Honda's weekend. Four of six cars in the Fast Six were Honda, as they swept the first three positions in qualifying.
In a year where Honda had multiple blowouts at the Indianapolis 500, and have had many more engine replacements than required - Kyffin Simpson and Graham Rahal have already had two further engines fitted than their original allotments, results like this will only boost confidence back in Japan.
After a particularly difficult Iowa weekend, and three Chevrolet wins on the bounce, Honda have reminded their American rivals that they are certainly still in the fight too, and the engine manufacturer standings may be one to quietly keep an eye on for the rest of the year.
Loser: Team Penske
This is not the first time that Team Penske have self-imploded this year, and this one has serious championship implications. A particularly disappointing outcome from a day which had seemingly so much promise.
Will Power and Scott McLaughlin's collision will steal the headlines. It was an over-ambitious move by Power on McLaughlin, a role reversal of that at Laguna Seca. McLaughlin was not impressed with his teammates move, as he sarcastically clapped him the next time the Aussie came by Turn 5.
McLaughlin was already on the back foot though. Placed on the green 'guayule' tire for the opening stint, McLaughlin was forced to do 35 laps on the tire at the end after using his singular set of primary tyres in his mid-stint. It would have been a miracle if McLaughlin nursed a tire 35 laps that he struggled to do 18 on. Power was given a drive-through penalty for his troubles, relegating him from fourth to 12th, but a better outlook than McLaughlin, who finished a pitiful 16th.
It wouldn't be any better for Josef Newgarden. The Indianapolis 500 winner found himself up to third in the opening stages, but lost several places after a incorrectly-fitted wheel at the crucial round of stops. He'd drop to the fringes of the top ten, and then the top five, before gaining a puncture, at the same corner his teammates had collided seconds earlier.
It maybe tells you the story of Newgarden's year that the 11th place finish is in his top half of results in 2024. McLaughlin's 16th place is also his best on a street course this season. Power has now finished outside the top ten in three of the last four races.
Power remains second in the championship, 49 points off Palou, so is still in the championship mix, but cannot afford to have anymore clumsy days. McLaughlin, after such a successful Iowa weekend, lays 83 away from the lead - a first IndyCar championship looks out of reach - a frustrating look after such a clumsy collision.
Loser: The Championship Fight
A title challenge I described as mouth-watering post-Iowa, now looks like a fairly bleak championship fight post-Toronto.
This was a perfect day for Álex Palou. I saw it as a five-car battle for the championship following Iowa, three of those contenders faltered, and Palou's lead over Dixon was so comfortable after Mid-Ohio, Dixon's gain of three points is fairly minimal.
Coming into the race, Palou had four drivers within 65 points, he now has two. Yes, there's five races to go, and four of them are on ovals - regarded as Palou's 'weak point,' but it already looks llke an uphill climb for any of Palou's rivals.
O'Ward and McLaughlin - maybe the two strongest on ovals other than Newgarden, now lie 71 and 83 points off respectively. That's approximately a gain of 15 points per race needed, unless either driver wins every race, it looks like a difficult challenge.
That challenge only looks more difficult with Portland two races away, the venue Palou sealed his second championship last season. Palou has won at Portland twice in three attempts, and could quite possibly be his best track on the schedule. On the flip side, World Wide Technology is his weakest statistically, but Palou has a margin effectively that of a race victory, so can afford a 'disastrous' weekend in some ways.
A championship fight is still a plausibility, especially with the experienced faces of Will Power and Scott Dixon the ones most likely to overthrow Palou. Herta lies four points back from Dixon, and cannot be written off, but feels more unlikely than those above him in the standings. But if he, Power, Dixon or even O'Ward and McLaughlin, are going to pose a real threat, it has to be done soon.
Loser: Arrow McLaren
It feels like Arrow McLaren have a new disaster to deal with every single weekend. And in many ways, Toronto couldn't have gone much worse.
An unfortunate practice accident for Alexander Rossi, which broke his thumb and saw him forced to miss the race, saw a bizarre but welcome return for Théo Pourchaire to the McLaren fold, just weeks after being dropped from the team in favour of Nolan Siegel.
And Pourchaire didn't have a bad weekend, considering he missed out on both practice sessions and had never driven Toronto prior to the weekend. It was steady, but a respectable job all things considered, out-qualifying Sting Ray Robb in his group, before coming home 14th at the flag, despite a mid-race incident with Linus Lundqvist.
But, in some ways, there's an argument to be had this only further hurts McLaren's reputation. It further adds to a bizarre and simply unexplainable tale of events surrounding Pourchaire and his departure. But this weekend can only put himself in the shop window further ahead of 2025.
In the other side of the garage, it was a miserable weekend. Pato O'Ward was frustrated after being impeded in qualifying and unable to progress from his group. O'Ward and the No. 5 team would make an encouraging race day recovery, finding themselves sixth and ahead of Palou, before a clumsy spin from O'Ward cost him dear, leading to a controversial accident, where O'Ward and McLaren believe that IndyCar did not throw the caution quickly enough, as Marcus Ericsson, Pietro Fittipaldi and Santino Ferrucci all piled into O'Ward.
Things would only get worse when Nolan Siegel would be the last driver to hit the stranded O'Ward, giving both cars significant damage and a rather large repair bill ahead of Gateway. It's compounded a year of frustration and disappointment for McLaren, and makes any potential outside championship chances with O'Ward unlikely at best. A rather catastrophic outcome after such a minor mistake.
Loser: Felix Rosenqvist
It had been such an encouraging start to 2024 for Felix Rosenqvist, but that has quickly fizzled out, after yet another retirement leaves the Swede six races without a top ten finish, as opposed to the five in six he had to start 2024, alongside his pole position at Long Beach and podium at the $1 Million Challenge.
It had been an encouraging start to the weekend, as Rosenqvist qualified third, only behind the dominant Andretti's in Herta and Kirkwood. And Rosenqvist would run in-and-around the top five all day, but would de-rail after a clumsy lock-up when attempting to overtake compatriot, Marcus Ericsson on Lap 57. It was a lock-up so significant, Rosenqvist would retire six laps later.
It's been a frustrating run, after a mechanical failure whilst running in a similarly strong position at Iowa. It's been a feel-good feeling for Rosenqvist in qualifying all year, but fortunes have not come his way on race day. The Swede now lies 13th in the standings, behind Ericsson, and Christian Rasmussen, in a position that feels somewhat undeserved.
It's been an awful run of form for Rosenqvist, but maybe Toronto the blame can be a portioned to him. After such an encouraging start to life at Meyer Shank, Rosenqvist or the team cannot afford for these sort of days to continue to happen.
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