IndyCar Portland driver ratings: New low for former F1 star Romain Grosjean

IndyCar’s final road course of the season is over, and the Portland event was… certainly an interesting one.

And our driver ratings reflect it! We have a record low score for former Formula 1 racer Romain Grosjean in a race won by Team Penske’s Will Power.

IndyCar Portland driver ratings

Will Power – 10/10

Team Penske’s Will Power couldn’t have asked for a more perfect race. He took the lead from polesitter Santino Ferrucci within a few corners of the event in Portland, and he never looked back.

Power led 101 of 110 laps. He became the first driver to take three wins in the contentious 2024 season. He narrowed the points gap to championship Will Power. And he did it all without a single flaw.

Alex Palou – 9.5/10

Chip Ganassi Racing driver Alex Palou maintains his championship lead with his second-place finish at Portland, but a win wasn’t in the cards. On Lap 8, Palou made a pass on Santino Ferrucci for second place, then chopped down the gap to Power and made an effort to pass on Lap 26 — but it wasn’t to be.

Had Palou pushed a smidge harder, he may have made it past Power, which is the only reason he doesn’t earn a perfect score; nevertheless, it was an excellent drive from Palou. Now, he’ll have an uphill battle maintaining his title lead with three oval races coming up next.

Josef Newgarden – 9/10

Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden rounded out the final step of the Portland podium after an impressive race. He was one of several drivers to suffer from a poor qualifying session, but that didn’t stop him from powering his No. 2 Chevrolet to the front of the field. Had he started better, Newgarden might have been able to challenge Palou and Power — but a third place is a comfortable consolation prize.

Colton Herta – 7.5/10

Colton Herta had a strong race in Portland and did well to finish in fourth after a ride through the grass, a stall in pitlane and a subsequent penalty threatened to drop him further down the finishing order.

Marcus Armstrong – 8.5/10

A quietly impressive Marcus Armstrong brought home his third fifth-place finish of the season at Portland. He may not be an Alex Palou, but he did certainly outshine the rest of his Ganassi teammates.

Marcus Ericsson – 8.5/10

Matching Armstrong in both first name and rating is Andretti’s Marcus Ericsson, who started 10th and finished sixth in a clean and composed race. It was a much-needed good result for Ericsson, who hasn’t finished in the top 10 since Mid-Ohio.

Scott McLaughlin – 9/10

After a poor qualifying and a penalty, Scott McLaughlin would have a massive uphill battle to climb to bring him back into the top 10 after starting P20. The New Zealander, though, handled the pressure well. As he said after the race, a seventh-place finish would be the equivalent of a podium for him, and he joined his Team Penske teammates in bringing home an impressive finishing result.

Santino Ferrucci – 8/10

It was going to take a miracle for an A. J. Foyt Racing machine to win an almost entirely green-flag race, and that miracle simply wasn’t in the cards for Santino Ferrucci this weekend. Still, he can be proud of an eighth-place finish — and it’ll certainly do wonders to raise his profile as he continues to hunt for a 2025 seat.

Graham Rahal – 8/10

Graham Rahal’s ninth-place finish at Portland may not be his best finish of the season, but it might be his hardest fought. Rahal qualified well but had to take a six-place grid penalty for unapproved engine changes, then pushed his way back up the running order — all despite being impeded by a handful of drivers exiting the pits and battling poor balance all day.

Kyle Kirkwood – 7.5/10

Kyle Kirkwood had quite a perplexing race. He kicked it off by running Scott Dixon wide on the first lap, then was forced to give up two positions for blocking Toby Sowery as they battled for track position. Kirkwood had to then fight back past both of the messy JHR machines — but his race likely could have ended with a higher slot in the finishing order had it been a little cleaner.

Rinus Veekay – 7/10

There’s a reason Rinus Veekay keeps being signed back to Ed Carpenter Racing, and it’s because he can generally be counted on to finish a race — and to place somewhere in the upper-mid pack. The Dutch racer wasn’t much of a factor in the overall IndyCar event, but he’ll have strong momentum heading into the final three races of the year.

Alexander Rossi – 7.5/10

Something about Portland International Raceway just didn’t sit right with Arrow McLaren this weekend, which meant that the normally front-running team’s best finisher was 12th-placed Alexander Rossi. Rossi had a race to be proud of after starting 17th, but perhaps not one to remember.

Christian Lundgaard – 6.5/10

The RLL racer reported a poorly balanced car that he simply struggled to handle in Portland — made all the more obvious when he accidentally cut the first chicane and lost multiple positions taking the exit road. He would have hoped for more after starting in fourth position.

Felix Rosenqvist – 7/10

Meyer Shank Racing driver Felix Rosenqvist was another one of those “silent but impressive” drivers in Portland. He moved up four positions from his starting place in a race that didn’t give him much to work with.

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Pato O’Ward – 7/10

A tough race for Pato O’Ward followed his tough qualifying session on Saturday. The Mexican driver tried to offset his poor starting position by pitting early in the first stint, but all it did was leave him a lap down before the halfway point of the race.

Kyffin Simpson – 8/10

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyffin Simpson may not have finished particularly well, but he was still one of the biggest movers of the race and came home at the end of the 110-lap race with a clean car.

Toby Sowery – 9/10

In just his third IndyCar start, Dale Coyne Racing driver Toby Sowery proved that he has the skill to make him a strong silly season contender heading into 2025. He was the final car on the lead lap, and he also waged an impressive multi-turn battle with Kyle Kirkwood’s Andretti that saw Sowery come out on top. It’d be great to see him in a full-time ride in the future.

Sting Ray Robb – 7/10

The A. J. Foyt Racing rookie wasn’t much of a factor in Portland, but his 18th-place finish did mean he improved six positions over his starting slot, and that’s great experience for him. 

Juri Vips – 7.5/10

Juri Vips has joined Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing for a one-off drive as he tries to find an IndyCar seat for 2025, and a pit lane mishap saw him lose some hard-earned positions. The fuel hose simply didn’t connect properly to his car, and it killed any momentum he had amassed previously — but he still finished against quite a few IndyCar regulars.

David Malukas – 5.5/10

Meyer Shank Racing driver David Malukas had a penalty to contend with for an unapproved engine change, which resulted in a certifiably mediocre race. Unfortunately, he later cut Portland’s chicane and attempted to merge back on track; that earned him another penalty, and he lost the hard-earned positions he’d been fighting for.

Nolan Siegel – 6/10

What could have been for Nolan Siegel! The rookie at Arrow McLaren looked strong until he pushed too hard trying to pass Toby Sowery on Lap 60 and lost multiple positions. The race was overall a difficult one for the team, but Siegel didn’t make it any easier on himself.

Conor Daly – 7/10

Conor Daly improved four positions in his race compared to his qualifying session, which was a fairly strong result for a driver who was clipped by an out-of-control Pietro Fittipaldi trying to dive too deep into the first turn.

Linus Lundqvist – 6.5/10

Chip Ganassi Racing driver Linus Lundqvist had a quiet race in Portland, but it wasn’t a good one. He took home 23rd position, thankfully with a clean car.

Jack Harvey – 6/10

Like Lundqvist, Jack Harvey also had a quiet, nondescript race, one where he was outshone by his rookie teammate. Harvey loses points here for impeding Graham Rahal.

Pietro Fittipaldi – 5/10

After he was penalized for pushing Scott Dixon of the track on Lap 1, Pietro Fittipaldi’s race never quite recovered. Though Fittipaldi felt he didn’t deserve his penalty — and a great argument could be made in agreement with that viewpoint — he did later make contact with Conor Daly trying to pass the Juncos racer, which didn’t help him in the slightest.

Christian Rasmussen – 5.5/10

It was a tough day for No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing driver Christian Rasmussen. The driver took an off-track excursion on Lap 55 and saved it only to be hit by Romain Grosjean shortly after. It’s Rasmussen’s final race of the 2024 season, as he’s road-course-only racer, and it’s one he’s likely prefer to forget.

Romain Grosjean – 1/10

Former F1 driver Romain Grosjean had a frankly embarrassing race, and it all came to a climax when he spun himself on Lap 62 and ended up stalled and pointing the wrong way on the racing surface.

But once Grosjean got the car started, he whipped it around and tried to get back on the racing surface, only to drive directly into the path of Christian Rasmussen. Grosjean placed the blame for that contact on the No. 20 driver. Then, as he blended back into the race, Grosjean almost ran into Toby Sowery.

It wasn’t just dangerous; it was dumb. Worse, Grosjean also pushed Colton Herta off the track earlier in the race and earned no penalty.

Scott Dixon – N/A

Unfortunately, Scott Dixon’s day at Portland International Raceway ended after just a few corners. He was pushed wide by the No. 27 of Kyle Kirkwood, then made contact with the No. 30 of Pietro Fittipaldi. That second contact launched Dixon into the dirt, and he collided with the wall. Race over for the No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing driver.

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