IndyCar Gradebook: Detroit Grand Prix
- Dan Jones
- 6 minutes ago
- 10 min read
IndyCar's crazy 'Month of May' did not stop at Indianapolis as the show hit downtown Detroit for the third race on three different track types in four weeks. Detroit was unpredictable, but another victory for Álex Palou certainly wasn't as he rose above the rest for his fourth win of the year. DIVEBOMB IndyCar Correspondent, Dan Jones, graded all 25 drivers' performances during the Detroit weekend.
Chip Ganassi Racing
No.8 - Kyffin Simpson - B-
A run to ninth-place in Detroit marked Kyffin Simpson's best result of the year thus far. It was a relatively quiet weekend for Simpson for the most part, having qualified 17th and was having a quiet run until he clumsily ploughed into the back of Graham Rahal, earning himself a drive-through penalty. Simpson fought back well from that point though to take home a solid result.
No.9 - Scott Dixon - B+
It has not been the easiest ride for Scott Dixon so far this year and a hybrid failure in Detroit put a miserable end to one of his better weekends in his season so far. Dixon qualified relatively well in fourth and continued to fluctuate around the front five in the opening stint. However, his day was ended in the pits when he was running 10th - unfortunate considering he had the favoured black tyre to use in his final stint.
No.10 - Álex Palou - A+
There are not many more superlatives that can be used for Palou and the No.10 team, with once again their magic on display at Detroit. After gaining yet another impressive pole position, the No.10 team, as usual, nailed the strategy and there was no better driver to execute that throughout the race. In a weekend where Ganassi and Palou were not expected to lead the way, they once again stamped their authority and proved why they are the very best in the business. It is a driver-team combination that continues to feel unbeatable as the buffer at the top of the championship standings opened up past a race margin.
Team Penske
No.2 - Josef Newgarden - B
It is a very tough weekend to grade for Josef Newgarden, who was clearly not at 100% after his accident at the Indianapolis 500. There were rightful doubts early on in the weekend if he should have even been participating as he was seen hobbling around the paddock in a medical boot but Newgarden persevered nonetheless. That proved to be an excellent decision as despite starting 21st and falling further behind at the start, Newgarden avoided the chaos whilst the No.2 team nailed the strategy. Considering that top 10s have not been a guarantee for Newgarden in recent seasons, considering the circumstances, this is a good result.
No.3 - Scott McLaughlin - A-
There was no doubt that Scott McLaughlin's elbows were out on the Streets of Detroit but he may rue over-stepping the mark in his race-long battle with Will Power. A third-place starting spot was much better than what McLaughlin has shown recently and he looked like a victory contender for the majority of proceedings on Sunday. However, that de-railed when both McLaughlin and Power banged wheels a few too many times which gave the New Zealander tow-link damage and limited him to a 19th-place finish. An unfortunate ending, but McLaughlin has to take some accountability for their collisions.
No.12 - David Malukas - C-
It had been a mighty impressive 'Month of May' for David Malukas until Detroit, where a qualifying crash left him on the back foot for the rest of the weekend. Malukas tapping the Turn 6 barrier which catapulted him into the Turn 7 wall was his first major error since he joined Team Penske but he rebounded extremely well in the race to find himself in a position to battle for a podium. He was unfortunate that he was caught up in Mick Schumacher's error and the proceeding damage from their tap at Turn 4 was enough to eliminate him from contention. A scruffy weekend, but these were expected in his early days with Penske and does not take away from how impressive he has been this season.
Andretti Global
No.26 - Will Power - A
Power may not rue bad luck for his results this season, but Detroit continued a frustrating pattern of small problems having significant consequences. That was a shame, as Detroit had been his best weekend in Andretti colours as he qualified on the front row and was in the picture for victory for the majority of the race after making confident and assured overtakes. His argy-bargy with McLaughlin in Turn 3 proved too much though as he picked up suspension damage and was partially helpless in their proceeding exchanges. Like McLaughlin, Power has to take some blame but it was another result that went awry through one minor incident.
No.27 - Kyle Kirkwood - A
A second-place finish is undoubtedly a good result for Kyle Kirkwood and Andretti but there feels as if a growing concern that his unofficial 'King of the Streets' crown is being lost to Palou. It was a messy Fast Six qualifying run for Kirkwood who certainly had potential for pole but he showed his usual street course prowess in the opening stints to cycle up to second. He was unfortunate with the timings of the final three cautions as he chased victory and was unable to attack Palou on used reds towards the end. It continues his remarkable consistency this season but it says a lot about Andretti's ambitions that he feels disappointed with such a result.
No.28 - Marcus Ericsson - B-
A fourth top 10 finish of the year for Ericsson in Detroit means he doubles his 2025 tally just eight races into the season, but he was once again lacking the pace of his teammates as the clock ticks on his future. A 10th place in qualifying was unremarkable for Ericsson considering Andretti's street course form and he ran on the lower end of the top 10 for the majority of the day before coming home in eighth. It by no means is a disastrous result, but you only feel like there was more on the table for Ericsson.
Arrow McLaren
No.5 - Pato O'Ward - B+
Pato O'Ward's bizarre 2026 season continued in Detroit as he took home his sixth top five finish of the season in just eight races, but remains podium-less this season. Although O'Ward did not take any headlines throughout the weekend, he qualified respectably in seventh and stayed in-and-around the top five for the entire race. He was one of the frontrunners to start on blacks and although he made progress in the opening stint, the unfavoured red tyres in the final stint meant a podium slipped out his grasp. A fourth place is O'Ward's best on the downtown streets but he continues his longest podium-less streak at McLaren.
No.6 - Nolan Siegel - B-
The annual chaos of Detroit felt an apt opportunity for Nolan Siegel to pick up another much-needed strong result but a botched final pitstop saw a potential top 10 finish fall to 15th. A 13th-place qualifying effort marked Siegel's best on a road/street course this season and he raced trouble-free in Detroit on the unpreferred black-red-red strategy. He was maybe unfortunate on this occasion, but there's still too much of a gulf to his teammates.
No.7 - Christian Lundgaard - B+
Christian Lundgaard's Detroit weekend was remarkably similar to that of O'Ward's, with both drivers running in a similar position for the majority of the race, on the same strategy. Lundgaard qualified marginally better in fifth and had looked an outside shot of victory towards the closing end of the first stint when on the favoured black tyre. However, once Lundgaard had switched to the reds, the same pace was not there as he came home with a respectable fifth-place finish.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
No.15 - Graham Rahal - B+
A third podium of 2026 continues some very positive momentum for Rahal and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) although unlike Barber and the Indy GP, this result did not quite tell the full story. Rahal reached the Fast 12 for the fourth time this season in six attempts and ran towards the lower end of the top 10 for the opening stint until he was spun around by Simpson on Lap 41. That sent Rahal to the back but a conveniently-timed final stop suddenly elevated him back into a podium position under slightly fortuitous circumstances. Nonetheless, Rahal defended well with limited push-to-pass to claim another unlikely podium.
No.45 - Louis Foster - A-
I said after the Indy GP that Louis Foster would need to prove he can achieve top 10 finishes outside the IMS road course and he did that impressively in Detroit with the best weekend of his IndyCar career. Foster was the strongest RLL car in 11th but had run in seventh or eighth for the majority of the day after making some aggressive moves. Foster's usual achilles heel of tyre management did not prove to be an issue and he ended up being slightly unfortunate after losing positions when being stuck behind the limping McLaughlin. Nevertheless, seventh matched his career best result and solidified the progress both him and RLL are making.
No.47 - Mick Schumacher - D
Mick Schumacher's tricky rookie season did not get any easier on the Streets of Detroit as he was involved in several incidents and was plagued by issues. Schumacher clumsily crashed in Turn 7 in qualifying which saw him start 23rd. He ran pretty quietly until he cycled to third after pitting before the Lap 66 caution. That gave Schumacher a prime opportunity for his best IndyCar result until he lost his radio meaning he was in the wrong engine map, which he cites was the reasoning into his error at Turn 5. Possibly an unfortunate set of circumstances but it was a messy weekend all-round.
Meyer Shank Racing
No.60 - Felix Rosenqvist - B+
Considering how busy Felix Rosenqvist has been since he kissed the bricks and drunk the milk, a sixth-place finish is a result he will likely be very pleased with, considering his lack of preparation for Detroit. Rosenqvist unsurprisingly did not qualify very well in 16th but kept on avoiding the chaos to progressively make his way through the order. That lead to Rosenqvist quietly finding himself comfortably in the top 10 with a strong sixth-place result.
No.66 - Marcus Armstrong - B-
An 11th-place result for Marcus Armstrong looks fairly disappointing on paper but does not tell the full story into quite an unfortunate tale for Armstrong on Sunday. Armstrong qualified well in eighth and had been battling within the top 10 until he lost out to Foster at Turn 3. He had gone the longest of anybody on his opening stint which proved costly when the caution came out as he required an emergency fuel top-up which sent him to the back of the field. That meant Armstrong had to restart at the back of the field mid-way through, where he could only progress to 11th by the chequered flag.
Ed Carpenter Racing
No.20 - Alexander Rossi - B-
Like Newgarden, Alexander Rossi was walking wounded in Detroit after his accident at Indianapolis. However, the signs of injury where not clear as Rossi looked fairly comfortable in the car for most of the weekend, qualifying mid-pack in 14th and battling within the top 10 early on. However, Rossi's race unravelled after the yellow was brought out when he was entering pit-lane which gave him a drive-through before he ploughed into the back of Grosjean later on. A 17th-place result is disappointing but considering Rossi's injuries, it was not a bad weekend performance-wise.
No.21 - Christian Rasmussen - D
An early-retirement for Christian Rasmussen on the Detroit streets compounded what has been a miserable start to 2026, as he now lays just a singular point off the bottom of the full-time entries. That was a shame after Rasmussen qualified well in ninth and was running just outside the top 10 at the point of a clumsy error when he hit the wall in Turn 1. The pressure continues to build in what is a contract year for Rasmussen.
AJ Foyt Racing
No.4 - Caio Collet - C
It was a fairly muted weekend for Caio Collet, who qualified in 19th and finished in 16th. He was unfortunate to require a wing replacement under caution which relegated him to the back of the field, but he could not make any progress from there and finished last of the drivers still running (bar Rossi who fell to last because of his drive-through).
No.14 - Santino Ferrucci - D+
Detroit proved to be a chaotic weekend for Santino Ferrucci who had a messy weekend throughout. Ferrucci did not qualify well in 22nd and was involved in much of the mid-pack madness, having incidents with both Rossi before he caused a caution by hitting the back of Rinus VeeKay at Turn 5. His throttle pedal then broke causing his mechanical failure on Lap 80 to end off a dismal weekend.
Juncos Hollinger Racing
No.76 - Rinus VeeKay - B-
VeeKay was another to be involved in much of the mid-pack madness in Detroit as he came home with a 12th-place finish despite being spun around by Ferrucci on Lap 66 and suffering an engine failure which stopped his running in second practice. VeeKay did not qualify superbly in 18th and was in the wars for much of the day. He was running just behind Rosenqvist when he was spun though in a case of 'what could have been?'.
No.77 - Sting Ray Robb - C+
Although a 14th-place result does not look impressive, this was by far Sting Ray Robb's best performance of the season. Robb's running was extremely limited in practice, having turned just 30 laps due to issues. That said, Robb did not qualify well in 24th but made some good moves in the race and kept it out of the barriers.
Dale Coyne Racing
No.18 - Romain Grosjean - C
Detroit was a quiet weekend for Romain Grosjean, who's longest bit of television time was the unfortunate sight of him being taken out by Rossi. Grosjean qualified underwhelmingly in 20th and had not made any meaningful progress in the race despite being on the preferred black-red-red strategy. He was in 15th when he collided with Rossi in a distinctly average weekend.
No.19 - Dennis Hauger - C+
It was by no means a spectacular weekend for Hauger, but he continued to open up his advantage at the top of the Rookie of the Year battle. Hauger qualified fairly respectably in 15th and ran in a similar position for the majority of the race before coming home 13th at the chequered flag. Kept it clean throughout which led to a decent finishing spot.
All photos in this article were taken by DIVEBOMB Photographer, Dominic Loyer. You can find Dominic's work on Instagram (@dominicloyer_photography)
