Indianapolis 500 Qualifying Sees Former Winner on Pole

Indianapolis 500 Qualifying is generally an entire weekend affair. If teams are lucky, they run both Saturday and Sunday. If unlucky, they will wait to run again in later practice sessions, tethered to their positions behind the first 4 rows.

This year, however, after changing the qualifying format the first time, Saturday ended before it even began. The first day of qualifying was rained out, leaving the 33-car grid to run 3 sessions to set the grid on Sunday. The new Top 15 qualifying format – scrapped.

The new Indy 500 Qualifying Format resembled that of a road or street course track on the IndyCar calendar. All 33 drivers ran one at a time, banking their 4-lap average. This was followed by the Top 12 and Fast 6.

Ultimately, Alex Palou achieved his second Indianapolis 500 Pole Position alongside former Indy 500 winner, Alexander Rossi and Penske’s David Malukas.

First Session Qualifying Results

The first session saw all 33 cars race for the fastest 4-lap average speed – a session that went without incident on a very hot, sunny day in Indianapolis. This session set grid positions 13-33 prior to the two sessions that will set the front of the grid.

There were a few interesting trends coming out of the first session of the day. First, and most notably, is that no other car on the grid could hold a candle to the average speed of Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist, who set a 232.599 average.

On the other side of the coin, Penske’s Josef Newgarden (two-time winner), and all three Andretti cars – Kyle Kirkwood (2nd in 2026 Championship), Marcus Ericsson (former winner), and Will Power (former winner) – all did not make the Top 12. Both of Newgarden’s teammates made the Top 12, with Newgarden over 1mph off their pace.

Top 12 Qualifying Results

During one of the hottest parts of the day, the Top 12 drivers went out with one question in mind – could any driver touch the speeds that Felix Rosenqvist put in earlier today? And could Felix Rosenqvist replicate his results?

The answer in this session was a ‘yes’ and ‘no’. Rosenqvist again topped the session with significant performance drop offs plaguing drivers like Veekay over the course of their 4-lap averages.

Daly and McLaughlin, both favorites for pole, fell at this hurdle and will start together on Row 3. They are still ones to watch next weekend during the race.

Fast 6 Qualifying Results

Straight out of the gates, ECR’s Rossi – a former Indianapolis 500 winner exactly one decade ago – set the fastest 4-lap average significantly faster than his speed in the prior two sessions.

However, the biggest disappointment of the session was Felix Rosenqvist, who was significantly faster in the prior two sessions, coming in 4th, approximately one mph slower than the full grid and Top 12 sessions.

When the ‘floodgates’ opened for Palou, he put out one of the fastest laps of the day, followed by precise consistency that he is known for. The pole-to-win conversion rate is currently ~20%, so the odds are stacked against Palou. As the reigning Indianapolis 500 champion, the only question on people’s minds is if Palou can two-peat… and Palou thinks he can.

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