Felix Rosenqvist captured the NTT P1 Award for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach at the Streets of Long Beach, California, on Saturday, April 18.
The event’s starting lineup was determined through a qualifying format that was broken into three segments. The first segment (Segment 1) featured the field being divided into two groups and receiving 10 minutes to post the fastest qualifying lap amongst one another.
The fastest six competitors from each group transferred to the second qualifying segment, Segment 2. Meanwhile, the competitors who qualified in the first group but did not transfer to Segment 2 filled in the odd-numbered positions while the second group competitors occupied the even-numbered positions, respectively.
Segment 2 featured the top-12 competitors who advanced from Segment 1 given 10 minutes to qualify. From this segment, the fastest six qualifiers transferred to the third and final segment, the Firestone Fast Six, while the bottom six qualifiers occupied positions 7th through 12th, respectively.
The Firestone Fast Six round featured each of the final six qualifiers posting a single-lap qualifying run individually. This format was first used during IndyCar’s inaugural event at the Streets of Arlington, Texas, in mid-March and will be used for the remaining street circuits this season. The competitor who posted the single-fastest lap was awarded the pole position.
Rosenqvist, a 34-year-old native of Värnamo, Sweden, commenced Saturday’s qualifying session by being the fastest qualifier from the first group of the first qualifying round. He was then the third-fastest competitor and one of six to transfer to the Firestone Fast 6 round. After electing to qualify third of the final six qualifiers, Rosenqvist posted a single pole-winning lap at 105.017 mph in 1:07.4635.
With the pole, Rosenqvist notched his seventh NTT INDYCAR SERIES career pole, his second driving for Meyer Shank Racing and his first since he won the pole position at Long Beach in 2024. The pole award was also the second ever for Meyer Shank Racing and the third in a row this season for Honda.
Rosenqvist, who is in his third consecutive campaign driving the No. 60 Dallara-Honda entry for Meyer Shank Racing, enters Long Beach strapped in 14th place in the driver’s standings. He also holds an average-finishing result of 14.3 as he has finished no higher than 12th through the first four-scheduled events this season (Streets of St. Petersburg & Phoenix Raceway). Amid the start, Rosenqvist strives to cap off the weekend by contending for his first IndyCar victory in six years.
“That was nerve-wracking to watch [during the final round of qualifying],” Rosenqvist said on FS1. “My old buddy, Pato, there at the end. He was close. That was a good lap. What a day for us. Meyer Shank Racing had their win in the IMSA race before [today’s qualifying], [IMSA] pole yesterday and then, followed by [IndyCar] pole here, too. It’s been a tough start of the year. We said we wanted to do a little bounce back here and so we did. Huge thanks for everyone, SiriusXM, Honda, Meyer Shank Racing, Acura. Phenomenal day for us.”
Rosenqvist will share the front row with former teammate Pato O’Ward. O’Ward, who opted to qualify the last of the six finalists, was on pace to knock Rosenqvist off the top of the qualifying charts before he settled with the second-fastest single-lap session at 104.948 mph in 1:07.5076.
Alex Palou, the reigning four-time IndyCar champion who is coming off his victory at Barber Motorsport Park, will start in third place with a lap at 104.915 mph in 1:07.5289. Palou, who is pursuing his first Long Beach victory, will share the second row with Kyle Kirkwood, the latter of whom clocked in the fourth-fastest lap at 104.774 mph in 1:07.6199 and has won two of the previous three IndyCar events at Long Beach.
David Malukas, who was the fastest during Segment 2, and Scott Dixon, a two-time INDYCAR winner at Long Beach, will start fifth and sixth, respectively. Will Power, Scott McLaughlin, Kyffin Simpson, Graham Rahal, Christian Lundgaard and Rinus VeeKay, all of whom transferred as high as Segment 2 in qualifications, will start seventh through 12th, respectively.
Rounding out the 25-car field for Sunday’s main event at Long Beach are Marcus Armstrong, Josef Newgarden, Marcus Ericsson, Christian Rasmussen, Louis Foster, Alexander Rossi, Dennis Hauger, Caio Collet, Mick Schumacher, Santino Ferrucci, Romain Grosjean, Sting Ray Robb and Nolan Siegel, respectively.
Long Beach – Qualifying Position, Average Speed, Total Time:
- Felix Rosenqvist, 105.017 mph, 1:07.4635
- Pato O’Ward, 104.948 mph, 1:07.5076
- Alex Palou, 104.915 mph, 1:07.5289
- Kyle Kirkwood, 104.774 mph, 1:07.6199
- David Malukas, 104.726 mph, 1:07.6508
- Scott Dixon, 104.408 mph, 1:07.8566
- Will Power, 104.935 mph, 1:07.5163
- Scott McLaughlin, 104.797 mph, 1:07.6047
- Kyffin Simpson, 104.777 mph, 1:07.6177
- Graham Rahal, 104.709 mph, 1:07.6619
- Christian Lundgaard, 104.616 mph, 1:07.7218
- Rinus VeeKay, 104.606 mph, 1:07.7283
- Marcus Armstrong, 104.54 mph, 1:07.7709
- Josef Newgarden, 104.608 mph, 1:07.7274
- Marcus Ericsson, 104.416 mph, 1:07.8516
- Christian Rasmussen, 104.434 mph, 1:07.8399
- Louis Foster, 104.338 mph, 1:07.9024
- Alexander Rossi, 104.379 mph, 1:07.8756
- Dennis Hauger, 103.861 mph, 1:08.2142
- Caio Collet, 104.298 mph, 1:07.9282
- Mick Schumacher, 103.811 mph, 1:08.2471
- Santino Ferrucci, 104.289 mph, 1:07.9340
- Romain Grosjean, 103.356 mph, 1:08.5474
- Sting Ray Robb, 103.753 mph, 1:08.2850
- Nolan Siegel, 103.262 mph, 1:08.6097
The 2026 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is scheduled to occur on Sunday, April 19, and air at 5:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
