INDIANAPOLIS – Alex Palou remains undefeated leading up to this year’s Sonsio Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) Road Course as he secured the NTT P1 Award for the event on Saturday, May 9.
The event’s starting lineup was determined through an on-track qualifying session. It was postponed to Saturday after heavy rain canceled the session o Friday, May 8.
The qualifying session was divided into three segments. The first segment split the field of 25 competitors into two groups. Each group had 10 minutes to post a qualifying lap. At the conclusion of the first qualifying session, the six fastest competitors from each group transferred to a second session.
During the first session, Kyle Kirkwood, Scott Dixon, Pato O’Ward, Graham Rahal, Josef Newgarden and Caio Collet transferred to the second round from the first group. Alex Palou, David Malukas, Felix Rosenqvist, Louis Foster, Romain Grosjean and Christian Lundgaard transferred from the second group.
Meanwhile, the following drivers did not transfer to the second round. They included Alexander Rossi, Marcus Ericsson, Santino Ferrucci, Nolan Siegel, Scott McLaughlin, Mick Schumacher, Christian Rasmussen, Marcus Armstrong, Rinus VeeKay, Kyffin Simpson, Sting Ray Robb, Dennis Hauger and Will Powe. These drivers started 13th through 25th, respectively.
The second segment featured the 12 competitors who transferred from the first round. Each driverhad 10 minutes to post a qualifying lap simultaneously. Only the six fastest competitors transferred to the third and final round (“Firestone Fast 6”). During this session, Palou, O’Ward, Lundgaard, Rosenqvist, Foster and Malukas transferred to the Firestone Fast 6 rounds. Rahal, Dixon, Krikwood, Newgarden, Grosjean and Collet did not. The latter six started seventh through 12th, respectively.
The Firestone Fast 6 session featured the final six qualifiers who transferred from the second round with only six minutes to post a qualifying lap simultaneously. The competitor who posted the fastest lap was awarded the pole position. During this session, Palou drove his No. 10 DHL/Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara-Honda entry to a pole-winning lap at 125.886 in 1:09.7487 with seconds remaining in the final session.
With the pole, Palou, the reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion who was the fastest competitor during the event’s two practice sessions on Friday and maintained pace from Friday’s cool, slick conditions to Saturday’s warm conditions, became the first competitor to win the pole position on the IMS Road Course for three consecutive years. He also achieved his second pole of the 2026 INDYCAR season and his first since Barber Motorsports Park in mid-March and the 14th of his career.
With the pole secured, Palou, the current championship points leader, will attempt to become the first-ever competitor to win at the IMS Road Course for a fourth consecutive time as he has won this event over the previous three seasons.
“It’s tough to get the car in good windows like these guys have been doing,” Palou said on FS1. “It’s a lot of work that everybody’s putting behind at Chip Ganassi Racing. Very happy to get that No. 10 [Honda] on the pole once again here. It feels really, really good. The car was amazing. I think not everybody was running on the new alternates [tires]. I know we’re gonna be on a small disadvantage on the race, but still happy that we start on the front row. We’ll see if we can win with that No. 10 [Honda].”
Palou will share the front row with Pato O’Ward, the latter of whom posted the second-fastest lap at 124.906 mph in 1:10.2962 in his No. 5 Arrow McLaren Dallara-Chevrolet entry. O’Ward, who started on the pole at the IMS Road Course in 2021, secured his eighth front row start for the event. Having finished in the runner-up spot to Palou in the Sonsio Grand Prix a year ago, O’Ward will strive for both his first victory in the event and his first of the 2026 season.
Felix Rosenqvist, Christian Lundgaard, David Malukas and Louis Foster, all of whom transferred to the Firestone Fast 6, will start from third to sixth, respectively.
Qualifying position, Best time, Best speed:
- Alex Palou, 1:09.7487, 125.886 mph
- Pato O’Ward, 1:10.2962, 124.906 mph
- Felix Rosenqvist, 1:10.4548, 124.625 mph
- Christian Lundgaard, 1:10.4751, 124.589 mph
- David Malukas, 1:10.5660, 124.428 mph
- Louis Foster, 1:10.9404, 123.772 mph
- Graham Rahal, 1:10.4042, 124.714 mph
- Scott Dixon, 1:10.4142, 124.696 mph
- Kyle Kirkwood, 1:10.4189, 124.688 mph
- Josef Newgarden, 1:10.4938, 124.556 mph
- Romain Grosjean, 1:10.4981, 124.548 mph
- Caio Collet, 1:10.6299, 124.316 mph
- Alexander Rossi, 1:10.7736, 124.063 mph
- Marcus Ericsson, 1:10.3765, 124.763 mph
- Santino Ferrucci, 1:10.8113, 123.997 mph
- Nolan Siegel, 1:10.4288, 124.671 mph
- Scott McLaughlin, 1:10.8281, 123.968 mph
- Mick Schumacher, 1:10.4487, 124.635 mph
- Christian Rasmussen, 1:10.8877, 123.864 mph
- Marcus Armstrong, 1:10.4742, 124.590 mph
- Rinus VeeKay, 1:11.0611, 123.561 mph
- Kyffin Simpson, 1:10.4751, 124.589 mph
- Sting Ray Robb, 1:11.2029, 123.315 mph
- Dennis Hauger, 1:10.5163, 124.516 mph
- Will Power, 1:10.5701, 124.421 mph
The 2026 Sonsio Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course is scheduled to occur on Saturday, May 9, and air at 4:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
