2021 Indy 500 – Start time, how to watch, & more

The reigning IndyCar champion and 2008 Indy 500 winner produced a stunning run in the pole position shootout last Sunday to produce an average of 231.685mph over his four laps to edge out Andretti Autosport’s Herta by only 0.03mph.

Rinus VeeKay and Ed Carpenter both put in eye-catching qualifying performances to grab third and fourth respectively for the Ed Carpenter Racing squad, pushing 2013 Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan into fifth place for the Chip Ganassi Racing squad.

Kanaan’s team-mate Alex Palou completed the second row in sixth place, with two former winners in Ryan Hunter-Reay (2014) and Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002 and 2009) taking a spot on the third row in seventh and eighth respectively.

Former Formula 1 driver Marcus Ericsson completed the fast nine contenders and qualified in ninth place for Chip Ganassi Racing.

Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

Photo by: Barry Cantrell / Motorsport Images

Full starting grid for the 2021 Indy 500:

Cla	Driver		Team	Time	Gap	Mph
1	Scott Dixon		Chip Ganassi Racing	2'35.383		231.685
2	Colton Herta		Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian	2'35.403	0.019	231.655
3	Rinus van Kalmthout		Ed Carpenter Racing	2'35.500	0.116	231.511
4	Ed Carpenter		Ed Carpenter Racing	2'35.504	0.121	231.504
5	Tony Kanaan		Chip Ganassi Racing	2'35.822	0.439	231.032
6	Alex Palou		Chip Ganassi Racing	2'36.103	0.720	230.616
7	Ryan Hunter-Reay		Andretti Autosport	2'36.182	0.799	230.499
8	Helio Castroneves		Meyer Shank Racing	2'36.280	0.896	230.355
9	Marcus Ericsson		Chip Ganassi Racing	2'36.305	0.921	230.318
10	Alexander Rossi		Andretti Autosport	2'35.813	0.429	231.046
11	Ed Jones		Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan	2'35.814	0.431	231.044
12	Patricio O'Ward		Arrow McLaren SP	2'35.936	0.552	230.864
13	Pietro Fittipaldi		Dale Coyne Racing with RWR	2'35.948	0.564	230.846
14	Felix Rosenqvist		Arrow McLaren SP	2'36.016	0.633	230.744
15	Takuma Sato		Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	2'36.041	0.658	230.708
16	James Hinchcliffe		Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport	2'36.139	0.755	230.563
17	Scott McLaughlin		Team Penske	2'36.143	0.759	230.557
18	Graham Rahal		Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	2'36.168	0.784	230.521
19	Conor Daly		Ed Carpenter Racing	2'36.231	0.847	230.427
20	Jack Harvey		Meyer Shank Racing	2'36.392	1.008	230.191
21	Josef Newgarden		Team Penske	2'36.473	1.089	230.071
22	J.R. Hildebrand		A.J. Foyt Enterprises	2'36.535	1.151	229.980
23	Santino Ferrucci		Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	2'36.556	1.172	229.949
24	Juan Pablo Montoya		Arrow McLaren SP	2'36.596	1.212	229.891
25	Marco Andretti		Andretti Herta-Haupert with Marco & Curb-Agajanian	2'36.608	1.225	229.872
26	Simon Pagenaud		Team Penske	2'36.673	1.289	229.778
27	Sébastien Bourdais		A.J. Foyt Enterprises	2'36.696	1.312	229.744
28	Stefan Wilson		Andretti Autosport	2'36.716	1.332	229.714
29	Max Chilton		Carlin	2'36.919	1.535	229.417
30	Dalton Kellett		A.J. Foyt Enterprises	2'37.671	2.288	228.323
31	Sage Karam		Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	2'37.098	1.714	229.156
32	Will Power		Team Penske	2'37.290	1.906	228.876
33	Simona de Silvestro		Paretta Autosport	2'37.650	2.266	228.353
View full results

When is the Indy 500?

Date: Sunday 30th May 2021
Start time: 5:45pm BST, 12:45pm local time

The 2021 Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which also acts as the sixth round of the 2021 IndyCar season, gets underway at 12:45pm local time (5:45pm BST) on Sunday 30th May.

How can I watch the Indy 500?

In the United Kingdom, Sky Sports has live and exclusive broadcasting rights for IndyCar, with the Indy 500 shown live on Sky Sports F1. Pre-race coverage will be starting at 3:45pm BST ahead of the race start at 5:45pm BST.

Sky will broadcast the entire race live including the initial post-race reaction.

· Channel: Sky Sports F1

· Date: Sunday 30th May 2021

· Start time: 3:45pm BST

When can I watch the highlights?

In the United Kingdom, Sky Sports is also broadcasting highlights of the Indy 500 at 9:00pm BST on Tuesday 1st June on Sky Sports F1. The full programme will run for one hour, covering the pre-race, the race highlights and the initial post-race reaction.

The highlights will also be repeated during the week on the Sky Sports F1 channel.

· Channel: Sky Sports F1

· Date: Tuesday 1st June 2021

· Start time: 9:00pm BST

 

Weather forecast for the Indy 500

Current weather forecasts predict sunny conditions for the start of the Indy 500, with cloud cover building as the race progresses, but a low possibility of rain on race day. The temperature is expected to be 16 degrees Celsius for the start of the race and rising to 20 degrees Celsius by the finish.

How many laps is the Indy 500?

The race is scheduled to complete 200 laps of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, covering a total race distance of 500 miles.

Will there be fans at the 2021 Indy 500?

Due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, this year’s Indy 500 spectator attendance allowance is currently capped at 40% of the regular full capacity – estimated to be 135,000 fans on race day – after consultation with state and local health officials and approval from the Marion County Public Health Department.

All fans will need to adhere to strict health and safety protocols at the track, including face coverings worn, temperature checks on entry to the venue and social distancing measures.