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LIVE | The 2021 Indy500 - Dixon starts from pole alongside Herta and Veekay
It's time for one of the biggest races in the annual motorsport calendar: The Indy500. This race forms part of motorsport's special triple crown alongside Formula 1's Monaco Grand Prix and Le Mans. Scott Dixon starts from pole position, with Colton Herta and Rinus Veekay filling out the front row. Last year's winner Takuma Sato starts from 15th. You can follow all the action with the GPblog live updates on this page.
Liveblog - Indy500
Indycar 2021
In 2021, the Indycar series have completed five races with a different driver winning at each event. Alex Palou, Colton Herta, Scott Dixon, Patricio O'Ward and Rinus Veekay have all won races. Dixon leads the Championship standings with two podiums and a fourth-place over the last five rounds.
The young Dutchman Veekay is perhaps one of the most outstanding drivers of the season. The 20-year-old, who forms part of the front-row in the Indy500, won the Grand Prix of Indianapolis last time out. Former Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean secured pole position for that race two weeks ago but he won't be competing in the Indy500.
But the older generation remains strong in the United States. Five of the drivers starting in the first eight grid spots this afternoon are in their 40's.
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Former winners and past F1 drivers
The 2021 Indy500 field contains eight previous winners. Helio Castroneves continues his decade long push to become just the fourth driver to win the Indy500 four times. This was last achieved in 1991 by Rick Mears. Castroneves, who will start from 5th on the grid, last won the event in 2009.
Last year's winner Takuma Sato is bidding for his third win, as is former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya. A further six drivers are pushing for their second win at this major event including Dixon and 46-year-old Tony Kanaan.
Eight drivers who are racing this afternoon have previously competed in Formula 1. This includes British driver Max Chilton, Marcus Ericcson, Sebastian Bourdais, Simona de Silvestro, Alexandra Rossi, Pietro Fittipaldi, Sato and Montoya.