Detroit Grand Prix: Cooler temperatures could force IndyCar drivers to adjust

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2 days ago

Fans during morning practice laps at the Detroit Grand Prix course in downtown Detroit on Saturday, May 31, were seen wearing jackets and keeping their hands in their pockets as drivers zoomed around the track.
In short — it was cold. Not frigid, but certainly a lot colder than Detroiters are used to in late May.
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By the time Indy NXT qualification kicked off, around 10:30 a.m., the outside temperature was in the mid-to-high 50s. But winds gusting over 20 miles per hour brought it to a 41-degree "feels like" temperature, which seemed to have a noticeable effect on the race.
For the second consecutive year, Colton Herta snagged pole for IndyCar's Detroit Grand Prix, the Andretti Global driver's first IndyCar pole of 2025.
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That's far from the typical temperature this time of year, which according to Weather Spark averages around 74 degrees. And as many regular drivers will tell you, the cold can have a big impact on how a car drives.
The same goes for IndyCar vehicles — especially their tires.
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"It seems like the tires are kind of slow to come in with how low of a temperature it is and how cold it is today," said Christian Rasmussen, who qualified 12th for Sunday's Detroit Grand Prix.
When temperatures are low, it takes longer for tires to warm up, which makes for slower lap times and potential grip issues around the track.
That sounds like bad news, but there is a flip side to low temps. If tires take longer to warm up, drivers can potentially drive on them for more laps, which in turn could lead to better overall times even if they're slower on each lap.
"It's like, I could stay out for five more laps, but I might lose 6 or 7 seconds here," said Colton Herta, who won the Grand Prix's pole position for the second straight year.
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"So with it being cooler, you could see, I mean, I don't want to put a number on it, but you could see a lot more laps than we have in the past."
With cooler temperatures than expected during qualifying, Herta (and the rest of his Fast Six competitors racing in the final round of qualifying) used the new alternate softer tires to try to get a faster qualifying time. It worked out especially well for Herta, who set a track record with a 1:00.48 track time (beating his own record from 2024).
Andretti Global/Curb-Agajanian's Colton Herta enters Turn 3 as NTT IndyCar Series drivers compete during Detroit Grand Prix in downtown Detroit on Sunday, June 2, 2024.
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"I think this is probably the most difficult street circuit, and maybe the most difficult circuit to create tire temp," Herta said. "Like I said, this race is crazy. Like, you just never know what's gonna happen."
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Herta is looking to avoid a repeat of the 2024 Grand Prix — last year he also entered in the pole position but finished in the back half of the field during a caution-filled race.
As for 2025 circuit leader Álex Palou, he seemed to take it easier during the practice rounds than the rest of his competitors, but turned it up to a sixth-place finish during a challenging qualifying round.
"It was tough for everybody," he said after his morning practice laps. "The good thing is that hopefully it's going to make it a bit better tomorrow with the conditions we're going to have."
The "conditions" he's referring to is the weather, currently forecasted at sunny and 62 degrees when the race starts. If the wind dies down, it should create a more optimal environment for racing (and for fans).
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And for a race that for years had the reputation of being oppressively hot, cooler temps might create some more intrigue on Sunday.
You can reach Christian at [e-mail].
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Grand Prix: Strategies may get tweaks with cooler weather