Alex Palou rose to the occasion when it mattered most by storming to the NTT P1 Award for the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 17.
The event’s starting lineup was determined through a condensed, single-day qualifying session that occurred on Sunday after the event’s first round of qualifications that was initially scheduled to occur on Saturday, May 16, was canceled due to on-track precipitation.
For Sunday’s qualifying format, the field of 33 competitors entered to compete in the event was split into two 30-minute practice sessions that started at 9:30 p.m. ET before qualifications began at noon ET on FS2, both of which were aired on FS2. The first qualifying session featured all 33 competitors receiving a single opportunity to post a four-lap qualifying run individually. At the conclusion of the first round, the 12 fastest qualifiers transferred to a second round, while Positions 13-33 from the first round were determined.
The second round, which commenced at 4 p.m. ET on FOX, occurred, and the top six fastest qualifiers transferred to the Firestone Fast 6 round that occurred at 6 p.m. ET on FOX. In the latest round, the official starting lineup, along with the pole winner for this year’s Indy 500, was officially determined.
During the qualification rounds, Palou, the reigning Indianapolis 500 champion and four-time NTT IndyCar Series champion from Barcelona, Spain, was the 31st of 33 competitors to qualify based on a random qualification draw that occurred on Friday, May 15. At the conclusion of the first qualifying round, Palou was the next-to-last competitor to transfer to the second qualifying round as he posted the 11th-fastest four-lap average-qualifying run of 231.155 mph in 2:35.7399 in his No. 10 DHL/Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara-Honda entry. He then managed to post the second-fastest average run of 231.665 mph in 2:35.3969 to transfer to the Firestone Fast 6 round.
In the Firestone Fast 6 round, Palou, who was the next-to-last competitor to qualify, utilized extra speed gained amid windy, warm conditions to notch a four-lap average run at 232.248 mph in 2:35.0066. Following Felix Rosenqvist’s run of 231.375 mph in 2:35.5914, Palou officially clinched the top-starting spot for next Sunday’s prestigious event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a second time.
With the pole, Palou, who won his first Indianapolis 500 pole in 2023, became the 19th competitor to repeat as a pole winner of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. He also recorded his 15th NTT INDYCAR SERIES career pole, his third of the 2026 season, his first on an oval track since the Milwaukee Mile in August 2025. Palou’s 2026 Indy 500 pole award was the ninth for Chip Ganassi Racing and the 15th for Honda in the event. Entering next Sunday’s Indy 500, Palou, who leads the 2026 IndyCar driver standings by 27 points over Kyle Kirkwood, will attempt to become the seventh competitor to win the event in back-to-back seasons.
“These [No. 10 ] guys, just look at these guys,” Palou said on FOX. “Incredible work they did today. I have no words. Today, honestly, we didn’t expect to have that much speed. We started struggling. Everybody saw we were 11th [after the first qualifying round]. We were not holding anything back. I have to say, probably being 31st [to qualify], thanks to my wife, by the way, for drawing that number [on Friday], but I think being there allowed us to just work on those conditions. That was incredible. A great star to the Month of May. [I] Cannot thank everybody at CGR enough.”
Palou will share the front row with Alexander Rossi and David Malukas, both of whom qualified second and third, respectively. Rossi, the 2016 Indy 500 champion who was the sixth-fastest competitor following the first and second qualifying rounds, took advantage of being the first to qualify in the Firestone Fast 6 round to post the second-fastest four-lap average-qualifying run at 231.99 mph in 2:35.1792. Malukas, the 2025 Indy 500 runner-up finisher, backed up his strong qualifying performances of being the second and third fastest following the first two rounds, respectively, to secure the third-place starting spot with a four-lap average-qualifying round at 231.877 mph in 2:35.2549.
For Rossi, who is campaigning in his second INDYCAR season with Ed Carpenter Racing, this season marks his career-best starting spot for the Indy 500 as his previous best was fourth in 2024. For Malukas, who is campaigning in his first season with Team Penske, he also achieved his career-best starting spot for the event after previously qualifying as high as seventh a year ago.
Felix Rosenqvist, driving for Meyer Shank Racing, who topped the qualifying charts with blistering speeds of 232.599 and 232.065 following the first two rounds, respectively, ended up qualifying in fourth place for this year’s Indy 500 with a four-lap average-qualifying run of 231.375 mph in 2:35.5914. This season marks Rosenqvist’s fifth consecutive season qualifying in the top-10 mark for the Indy 500.
Santino Ferrucci and Pato O’Ward, both of whom also transferred to the Firestone Fast Six round with Palou, Rossi, Malukas and Rosenqvist, will share the second starting row with Rosenqvist by starting fifth and sixth, respectively. Kyffin Simpson, Conor Daly, Scott McLaughlin, rookie Caio Collet, Scott Dixon, Rinus VeeKay started seventh through 12th, respectively, after the latter six transferred as far as the top-12 qualifying round.
Takuma Sato, a two-time Indianapolis 500 champion who barely scrubbed the outside wall entering Turn 3 during practice, was the first competitor who did not transfer to the second qualifying round, as he will start in 13th place. He will share the fifth row with Ed Carpenter and Helio Castroneves.
Christian Rasmussen, Marcus Armstrong and Marcus Ericsson will share the sixth row, while Christian Lundgaard, Will Power and Nolan Siegel will start in the seventh row, respectively. Louis Foster, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Josef Newgarden will occupy the eighth row, while Romain Grosjean, Kyle Kirkwood and Katherine Legge, the latter of whom is competing in the Memorial Day ‘Double’ between the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, will start in the ninth row, respectively. Rookie Mick Schumacher, Jack Harvey, Graham Rahal, rookie Dennis Hauger, rookie Jacob Abel and Sting Ray Robb completed the 33-car field for this year’s Indianapolis 500 starting grid, respectively.
Qualifying Position, Average Speed, Average Time:
- Alex Palou, 232.248 mph, 2:35.0066
- Alexander Rossi, 231.990 mph, 2:35.1792
- David Malukas, 231.877 mph, 2:35.2549
- Felix Rosenqvist, 231.375 mph, 2:35.5914
- Santino Ferrucci, 230.846 mph, 2:35.9428
- Pato O’Ward, 230.442 mph, 2:36.2218
- Kyffin Simpson, 230.883 mph, 2:35.9229
- Conor Daly, 230.712 ph, 2:36.0390
- Scott McLaughlin, 230.577 mph, 2:36.1300
- Caio Collet, 230.539 mph, 2:36.1560
- Scott Dixon, 230.347 mph, 2:36.2862
- Rinus VeeKay, 229.585 mph, 2:36.8048
- Takuma Sato, 230.995 mph, 2:35.8477
- Ed Carpenter, 230.829 mph, 2:35.9593
- Helio Castroneves, 230.811 mph, 2:35.9717
- Christian Rasmussen, 230.705 mph, 2:36.0434
- Marcus Armstrong, 230.701 mph, 2:36.0464
- Marcus Ericsson, 230.667 mph, 2:36.0690
- Christian Lundgaard, 230.661 mph, 2:36.0729
- Will Power, 230.279 mph, 2:36.3323
- Nolan Siegel, 230.213 mph, 2:36.3769
- Louis Foster, 230.212 mph, 2:36.3773
- Ryan Hunter-Reay, 230.202 mph, 2:36.3843
- Josef Newgarden, 230.165 mph, 2:36.4098
- Romain Grosjean, 229.791 mph, 2:36.6643
- Kyle Kirkwood, 229.607 mph, 2:36.7896
- Katherine Legge, 229.456 mph, 2:36.8928
- Mick Schumacher, 229.450 mph, 2:36.8969
- Jack Harvey, 229.207 mph, 2:37.0634
- Graham Rahal, 229.017 mph, 2:37.1936
- Dennis Hauger, 228.982 mph, 2:37.2176
- Jacob Abel, 228.169 mph, 2:37.7778
- Sting Ray Robb, 226.572 mph, 2:38.8901
The 2026 Indianapolis 500 will mark the 110th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway next Sunday, May 24. The event’s pre-race coverage will air at 10 a.m. ET on FOX. The drop of the green flag will occur at 12:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
