IndyCar Gradebook: Grand Prix of Alabama
- Dan Jones
- 2 hours ago
- 9 min read
There was a familiar sighting in Victory Lane at Barber Motorsports Park as Álex Palou claimed his second victory of 2026 despite a faltered challenge from Christian Lundgaard. Some drivers took surprise results whilst others failed to meet the mark. DIVEBOMB IndyCar Correspondent, Dan Jones, graded all 25 drivers' performances during the Barber weekend.
Chip Ganassi Racing
No.8 - Kyffin Simpson - C-
It feels as if 2026 is still getting into gear for Kyffin Simpson despite returning to his preferred track type in road courses. Not for the first occasion this season, it was a quiet weekend for the Cayman Islander, who qualified in 19th and finished 20th. After the promising form showed in 2025, Barber continued a generally underwhelming start to the year for Simpson, barring his top 10 finish at Phoenix.
No.9 - Scott Dixon - B
There's no disputing Scott Dixon's racecraft behind an Indy car, but qualifying has continually let the New Zealander down in 2026, with Dixon once again unable to reach the Fast 12 - something he is yet to do this season. Unsurprisingly, Dixon had a tidy Sunday, despite for once not being on the alternate strategy, as he finished seventh at the chequered flag. Barber remains one of few winless venues for the six-time champion on the schedule.
No.10 - Álex Palou - A+
To the surprise of none, the weekend was controlled start-to-finish by Palou who reigned supreme for the third time at Barber. Pole position felt easy for Palou and although came under pressure from Lundgaard come Sunday, it never truly felt that he would relinquish his grasp from the race lead. Even when a tyre disadvantage was thrown his way, even when he had traffic to deal with, it still all felt so majestically controlled in Palou's hands throughout. He once again lays the 'catch me if you can' standard on road courses and still awaits for somebody to rise to that challenge.
Team Penske
No.2 - Josef Newgarden - B-
A trouble-free weekend for Josef Newgarden may come as a blessed relief after all the troubles he has been through in the last 12 months but there still feels like some performance is missing from the two-time champion's current arsenal. Newgarden qualified in ninth and ran a quiet race as he finished 10th at the flag. Not a bad result by any means, but when you compare it to the current form of his much less experienced teammate, there is still some left to be desired from Newgarden.
No.3 - Scott McLaughlin - C-
After Scott McLaughlin's hefty crash in practice, it was a relief to see the New Zealander injured but it marked a second costly crash in as many races. Given his Barber record, McLaughlin had a good chance to make amends to his turbulent start to the year but his crash compounded him to a backup car which saw him qualify a respectable 14th given the circumstances. McLaughlin would make no progress on Sunday as he fell to 16th, continuing a slightly worrying trend of encouraging practice speed not being converted into results.
No.12 - David Malukas - A
David Malukas continued his impressive start to life at Team Penske at Barber Motorsports Park as he continues to outshine his teammates just a handful of races into his Penske career. For the second time this season, Malukas qualified on the front row, albeit burning a set of alternates whilst doing so. Malukas ran a quiet, methodical race and was unfortunate to not catch Graham Rahal before the 90 laps were complete. He may rue the push-to-pass he still had in the tank but nevertheless Malukas leaves Barber with yet another impressive weekend in the bag.
Andretti Global
No.26 - Will Power - B
It is a difficult weekend to grade for Will Power considering it was de-railed before it really began through no fault of his own after a brake failure in qualifying. Power lined up 23rd and in a race with no cautions on a track inherently difficult to overtake, the two-time champion did a respectable job to recover to 12th. It was a huge shame considering Arlington's success, but there's no doubting Power has the credentials when things start going his way,
No.27 - Kyle Kirkwood - A
It is early days, but if anybody seems capable at challenging Palou over the course of a season, Kyle Kirkwood has made the biggest impression and although quiet, Barber re-enforced that belief further. Kirkwood finished where he started in fifth as he ran a relatively lonely race. Andretti's underlying weakness has been road courses and quiet top five finishes are exactly the results that add up over the course of a championship campaign. There's still progress to be made, but Barber should mark a huge belief that Kirkwood and Andretti maybe do have the credentials to fight for a championship.
No.28 - Marcus Ericsson - B
A ninth place finish in Barber signifies a third top 10 finish of the year for Marcus Ericsson - already beating his count from 2025. Ericsson qualified in eighth and despite a disastrous opening stint which saw him crumble down the order, Ericsson did recover to ninth by the chequered flag. Whether it is enough long-term for his Andretti future remains to be seen but it certainly is a marked improvement on the performances we saw from Ericsson throughout 2025.
Arrow McLaren
No.5 - Pato O'Ward - C
After such an encouraging start to 2026, weekends like this have to be a concern for Pato O'Ward and Arrow McLaren. O'Ward reached the Fast 12 but had an awful start as he dropped four places and was unable to make any progress from that point forward, finishing in 17th. Considering the pace of his teammate, the unexplained lack of speed from O'Ward's camp could be of concern and non-factor weekends like these cannot be replicated throughout the rest of the year should O'Ward want to mount a championship challenge.
No.6 - Nolan Siegel - C-
Barber marked one of Nolan Siegel's stronger weekends in 2025, but the young American could not replicate such form, with an underwhelming Alabama showing continuing a tough stretch of races for Siegel. 15th place was all Siegel could manage in qualifying and he was relatively on-pace with O'Ward for the majority of Sunday. It was his best road/street showing this year, but results such as 18th aren't going to keep Siegel in a seat come seasons end.
No.7 - Christian Lundgaard - A
To say Lundgaard is knocking on the door of a first Arrow McLaren win would be an understatement, with Barber yet another missed opportunity for the Danish driver to claim an illusive win in Papaya. This was one of the closest calls yet, with a error on his final stop costing Lundgaard a shot at victory. That said, Lundgaard did well to navigate around Graham Rahal to claim a well-deserved second-place finish. Lundgaard did only qualify 10th though, and it begs the question is a better qualifying result could have meant that victory was even closer? It is something Lundgaard himself needs to work on as he continues to be Palou's metaphorical bridesmaid. An excellent weekend though nonetheless.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
No.15 - Graham Rahal - A
A return to the podium has been a long time coming for Rahal but he rolled back the years impressively at Barber to stand on the rostrum for the first time in three years. It was no fluke either. Rahal qualified superbly in third and dispatched of Malukas early on to great effect. His pace from that point forward was strong and he was unfortunate to lose out to Lundgaard late on. That said, Rahal's late-race defence from Malukas was superb as he reminded his critics what he can be capable of. The question for Rahal and RLL now is how they can achieve this on a more regular basis?
No.45 - Louis Foster - D
Whilst his teammate shone, it was a horror weekend for Louis Foster who finished dead last and a lap down after qualifying 22nd. Foster was lapped within 35 laps and even lacked the encouraging qualifying pace he consistently displayed on road courses throughout 2025. The Briton ran the same setup as Rahal did on Sunday, with the large disparity between cars yet to be identified - even by the team.
No.47 - Mick Schumacher - C-
Mick Schumacher joined Foster on the RLL-struggle bus over the Barber weekend but the German is given a slight benefit of the doubt considering it was his first appearance at the notoriously tricky Alabama road course. Schumacher qualified best of the rookies in 20th but also struggled in Sunday, only being able to manage 24th - also a lap down from the lead.
Meyer Shank Racing
No.60 - Felix Rosenqvist - C
A 13th place finish at Barber means Rosenqvist heads into April without a top 10 finish on a weekend where the Swede lacked relative pace. Rosenqvist qualified 18th and could only manage a gain of five places on Sunday, whilst his teammate battled in-and-around the top five. It continues a disappointing start to the year from the driver who finished an impressive sixth in the championship last season.
No.66 - Marcus Armstrong - A-
There was a bold proclamation pre-season that Marcus Armstrong would be able to finish top five in the championship, and with performances like the one shown at Barber, it is hard to feel such a result is not implausible. As has been the case throughout Armstrong's career, he quietly went around business as the New Zealander qualified fourth and had a quiet run to sixth on race day. Meyer Shank still lack the peak performance of the top teams but Armstrong continues to be a reliable pair of hands behind the wheel.
Ed Carpenter Racing
No.20 - Alexander Rossi - B-
It was a distinctly average weekend for Alexander Rossi who finished where he started in 11th. He continues to have the upper hand on his teammate on road/street courses and whilst the team have unlocked supreme pace on ovals, their road/street package still leaves a little bit to be desired.
No.21 - Christian Rasmussen - C-
Like Rossi, it was a fairly muted road/street course race for Rasmussen. The Dane qualified in 17th and fell to 19th after the 90 caution-free laps on Sunday on a fairly atypical strategy. Although he shines on the ovals, more work needs to be done on the road and street courses.
AJ Foyt Racing
No.4 - Caio Collet - C-
Barber proved to be a rough race for the rookies with a quiet weekend for Collet seeing the Brazilian qualify 20th and finish 21st - the last car on the lead lap. That said, Collet remains error-free in his four IndyCar weekends thus far and finished as top of the rookies at Barber as he continued to close the early deficit to Hauger in the Rookie of the Year battle.
No.14 - Santino Ferrucci - A-
After a difficult start to 2026, a strong weekend at Barber gave a reminder of what Ferrucci and the Foyt team are capable of - which was prominently on display in 2024. Ferrucci qualified well in seventh, a much-needed performance after some recent qualifying struggles. Ferrucci quietly went around his business on Sunday as he finished eighth at the finish for a well-deserved first top 10 of the year.
Juncos Hollinger Racing
No.76 - Rinus VeeKay - C
Expectations where sky-high for Rinus VeeKay heading into Barber given his history at the track, making it slightly disappointing that a 14th place was all VeeKay could muster. Palou was shocked when VeeKay didn't make the Fast 12 as he struggled to 18th, with progress little on Sunday as VeeKay could only manage 14th at the chequered.
No.77 - Sting Ray Robb - D+
Barber was the same struggle bus that we've unfortunately seen Sting Ray Robb on too often, as the fourth-year driver qualified dead last in 25th and could only finish in 22nd once all was said and done. After showing some signs of encouragement early on this year, to be a lap down is certainly a disappointment.
Dale Coyne Racing
No.18 - Romain Grosjean - B
A 15th-place finish was an undeserved result for Romain Grosjean and Dale Coyne Racing who had showed impressive qualifying and early-race pace. Despite traffic on one of his key qualifying runs, Grosjean did a mighty job to reach the Fast Six and ran well in the opening stint, comfortably inside the top 10. Things would fall apart from there though and although the result on paper is an underwhelming one, Grosjean and Coyne can certainly leave Barber pleased.
No.19 - Dennis Hauger - C-
A difficult weekend for the rookies was rounded out at Barber by Dennis Hauger, who won the Indy NXT race at the circuit last year. Hauger was significantly off the pace of his teammate, as he qualified 24th and could only finish 23rd, a lap down from the lead, He continues to hold the lead in the ROTY standings though after his impressive run at St. Petersburg.
All photos in this article were taken by DIVEBOMB Photographer, Sydney Redden. You can find Sydney's work on Instagram (@collide.attali.photography)
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