Foster takes stunning second IndyCar pole in Markham

Credit: Julia Bissessar

Louis Foster has secured his second career IndyCar pole with a dominant display in the inaugural qualifying session on the streets of Markham.

The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) sophomore, who will share the front row with Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard, headlined a thrilling evening qualifying, which featured a rare crash for Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR)’s championship leader Álex Palou.

DIVEBOMB unpacks how the session unfolded…

Round 1 - Group 1

The first drama of qualifying came with a little over two minutes remaining in the opening group of the initial round, as Caio Collet slowed between Turns 5 and 6 to bring out the first red flag. The AJ Foyt Racing driver was second in Practice 1 but damaged his suspension with wall contact late in Practice 2, prompting a hasty repair job heading into qualifying.

Upon the session’s resumption, with each driver able to complete one more lap, Palou jumped from the elimination zone to the top of the pack with the fastest lap time of the weekend to that point at 01:14.0990.

Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin advanced in second, ahead of Dale Coyne Racing (DCR) rookie Dennis Hauger, who progressed for the second successive race as he searches to secure a future in the series. Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson, RLL’ss Graham Rahal and CGR’s Scott Dixon completed the transferring six.

Kyffin Simpson was the first driver to miss the cut by only 0.0434s behind his teammate Dixon. Ed Carpenter Racing (ECR)’s Christian Rasmussen, Juncos Hollinger Racing (JHR)’s Sting Ray Robb and Arrow McLaren’s Nolan Siegel were also eliminated, with the final two spots in the group held by Foyt pair Santino Ferrucci and Collet.

Round 1 - Group 2 

A stacked second group of the opening round featured eight of the top 11 drivers in the championship standings, including each of those from second through seventh.

This group similarly long ran without incident, until a red flag was brandished inside the final minute as Will Power spun in Turn 4. The Andretti driver, who crashed heavily in Practice 2 but had his car repaired, kept the car out of the wall and promptly got rolling, though his causing of the red flag saw his two best laps deleted and his ability to advance denied.

IndyCar permitted each driver another lap once the green flag was thrown again, though only DCR’s Romain Grosjean looked to be threatening the cut line. Before he could complete his lap, another red flag was deployed as Penske’s Josef Newgarden crashed before pit entry, rolling into pit lane but having left a trail of debris.

Penske’s David Malukas led the session on a new benchmark of 01:13.4759, followed by Foster, who recorded the fastest practice time. ECR’s Alexander Rossi advanced in third, ahead of rookie Mick Schumacher, who made it a 100% transfer rate for RLL by confirming his first-ever road-and-street Fast 12 appearance.

Lundgaard was fifth in the group - the top five all with sub-01:14 laps - and initially led Arrow McLaren teammate Pato O’Ward, who was eventually bumped out for causing a local yellow flag. JHR’s Rinus VeeKay was thus promoted into the Fast 12.

Grosjean was ultimately the first driver to miss the cut, followed by the driver second in the championship, Andretti’s Kyle Kirkwood. Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist and Marcus Armstrong sandwiched O’Ward in ninth and 11th, with Power and Newgarden rounding out the Group 2 order, owing to lap deletion for causing red flags.

Fast 12 

The second round brought about a rarity, with Palou striking the wall in Turn 10 having slid across the track, ending up damaged - albeit not heavily so - in the runoff. As a result, a fourth red flag of qualifying was thrown inside the final three minutes of the Fast 12 session - right at the point where a number of drivers were trending for big laps.

With times still to fall, an enthralling climax to the session was set up. Ericsson jumped to the top of the pile late in the session with a 01:14.0190 lap, ahead of McLaughlin. Both had been on the outside looking in heading into the final laps.

Hauger confirmed a timely second Fast Six appearance - his first since his debut in St. Petersburg - in third, ahead of VeeKay, advancing to his third successive road-and-street pole shootout. The final-round lineup was completed by Lundgaard, whose Arrow McLaren team had been on the back foot, and Foster, who guaranteed his best street-course start.

Fast Six

The final round was intended to provide a continuation of the single-car format for the pole shootout. But owing to the postponement of Friday practice, a packed Saturday schedule meant a reversion to the traditional, quicker six-minute Fast Six.

Ultimately, there was no denying the dominance of Foster, whose 01:13.2383 lap obliterated the efforts of his competitors. Just like for his pole as a rookie at Road America last season, the Briton secured the P1 Award on used alternate tyres.

Lundgaard was just shy of four-tenths of a second behind to share the front row with Foster, with McLaughlin, Ericsson, Hauger and VeeKay completing the top-six order.