IndyCar Gradebook: Grand Prix of Monterey
- Dan Jones
- 4 days ago
- 9 min read
Álex Palou put himself on the verge of a fourth IndyCar championship in five years after taking his eighth victory of 2025 at Laguna Seca. DIVEBOMB IndyCar Correspondent, Dan Jones, graded all 27 drivers' performances during the Laguna Seca weekend.
Chip Ganassi Racing
No.8 - Kyffin Simpson - D
In a sophomore season that has generally been so positive for Simpson, this was a rare underwhelming weekend. Simpson's improved qualifying form came to the forefront again on Saturday, lining up 14th, but that work became undone quickly on race day. After a check-up mid-pack, Simpson ran into the back of Felix Rosenqvist which sent both into the barrier and ended Simpson's day there. Not the finest moment for the Cayman Islander this season.
No.9 - Scott Dixon - A-
Dixon and the alternate strategy are two words that really go hand-in-hand. It rather feels the New Zealander could start on pole and still try a different strategy to the field. Once again though, Dixon pulled that strategy off after starting 19th. Stopping under the second caution, Dixon was the lead car on the alternate strategy, climbing up to as high as fourth place. A late race mistake allowed Pato O'Ward through but it was another vintage Dixon top five performance as he looks to solidify third in the points standings.
No.10 - Álex Palou - A+
This is as good of a weekend as you will ever see in IndyCar in the midst of a season as good as you'll ever see. Palou has been dominant in 2025, but he was a class apart from the rest of the field at Laguna Seca. Taking pole in a sub-70 second lap by three tenths was remarkable and Palou was truly untouchable on race day. The Spaniard looked comfortable on every restart and would consistently build a gap to his competition every time a yellow eliminated his advantage. It felt all weekend like nobody could lay a finger on Palou's dominance and that was truly the case, with his eighth victory of the season being the one that puts his inevitable fourth championship beyond any reasonable doubt.
Team Penske
No.2 - Josef Newgarden - B-
Although it only ended in an 11th place finish, the fact this was one of Newgarden's better races this season says a lot about how disastrous this year has been. Qualifying has been a big struggle, but Newgarden did an excellent job to qualify fourth on used tyres. His early race pace was encouraging too as he sat inside the top five for the early stints. However, strategy did not fall his way which relegated him to 11th place at the flag. It is by no means the standards we expect of Newgarden, but with the luck he has had this season, you have to take the small wins.
No.3 - Scott McLaughlin - C+
Laguna Seca marked just a sixth top 10 finish of the year for McLaughlin - and just his second since the Indy GP in May. Like his teammates, qualifying is still an all-round problem, with McLaughlin only 16th on Saturday. However, he slowly progressed through the field on Sunday to finish 10th on pace. It is not a disastrous result, but it is one that would have been a disappointment for the New Zealander over the last two seasons.
No.12 - Will Power - B
Power continues his form of being the top Penske driver this season which makes it feel ludicrous his future still is not secured at the team. Power made the Fast Six for the second time this season in fifth and was the top-running Penske on Sunday as he finished seventh. Laguna Seca has always been a recent struggle for Penske so it was a respectable weekend for Power all things considered.
Andretti Global
No.26 - Colton Herta - A
In a season where Herta and the No.26 has really struggled for execution, it was an encouraging sign to see a much cleaner weekend. Herta has always excelled at the circuit nicknamed 'Herta's House,' and that was at the forefront again after qualifying third. He made a crucial move to jump O'Ward on the start and ran in second for most of the race before being caught out by Christian Lundgaard's optimistic move into Turn 11. Despite fresher tyres at the end, he was unable to get past the Danish driver, but still came home in third - his second podium of the season. Still not quite the standards we saw last season, but a much better weekend for Herta.
No.27 - Kyle Kirkwood - C-
A difficult weekend at Laguna Seca continues what has been a difficult stretch of races for Kirkwood. Another minor error in qualifying meant that Kirkwood started 18th. He was penalised on Lap 26 after slamming into the back of Rinus VeeKay - with Kirkwood believing that VeeKay broke significantly earlier into Turn 3 than previously. Kirkwood was given a stop-and-go penalty before getting another penalty on Lap 80 for failure to pack up. He ultimately finished in 16th after a particularly scruffy weekend by his standards.
No.28 - Marcus Ericsson - D+
After an encouraging weekend in an otherwise awful season for Ericsson in Toronto, Laguna Seca was back to the tough reality that 2025 has been. Ericsson qualified in 15th and ran in a similar position for the majority of the race until he spun on Lap 78 after going wide at Turn 6. Unable to get restarted, Ericsson's day was done with a seventh race result outside the top 20 this season with his future seemingly on the line.
Arrow McLaren
No.5 - Pato O'Ward - A
O'Ward continues to operate at a level of consistency he has never achieved in his IndyCar career as shown by another top five finish at a circuit regarded as one of his weakest. O'Ward was the 'best of the rest' in qualifying outside the dominant Palou. He crucially lost out to Herta at the start, but it was evident that his No.5 machine struggled for race pace. However, O'Ward remained level-headed and took advantage of a small Dixon error late on to come home fourth and end the five races in July with exclusively top five finishes. O'Ward continues to edge toward second in the championship for the first time in his career.
No.6 - Nolan Siegel - C
Inconsistency has really been Siegel's downfall in his first full IndyCar season, particularly shown by his lack of experience in wheel-to-wheel combat. The American qualified in 16th and led laps for the first time in his IndyCar career after being an early stopper. However, his position would soon tumble after doing wide racing David Malukas and Sting Ray Robb and later spinning when trying an over-optimistic move on Louis Foster. These small errors have cost Siegel dear this season, with a potential top 10 finish becoming an 18th place finish at Laguna Seca.
No.7 - Christian Lundgaard - A
Although inconsistency has also been a problem for Lundgaard this season, he continues to perform at a level that none of his McLaren predecessors were able to do so, as he stood on the podium for the fifth time this season. Lundgaard qualified in seventh and quickly made his way through the order making decisive and timely overtakes, none more so than his move on Herta into Turn 11. Lundgaard also did well to hold off Herta on the final stint, despite the American being on fresher tyres to claim his second runner-up spot this season and continue to reward Arrow McLaren's faith in him.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
No.15 - Graham Rahal - B-
Results haven't fallen Rahal's way throughout 2025 as was once again the case in Laguna Seca, but there continues to be encouraging signs for the veteran. Rahal qualified respectably in eighth and continues an upwards trend in qualifying form. He would finish 12th at the flag after a fairly anonymous day. However, he remains with just two top 10 finishes this season which is something that certainly needs improvement.
No.30 - Devlin DeFrancesco - D
It has been a very disappointing few races for DeFrancesco and his weekend at Laguna Seca was not one to be proud of. He qualified dead last in 27th after crashing in the only practice session before finishing a lap down in 20th on Sunday. Still not the standards we look for from a third-year driver.
No.45 - Louis Foster - C+
It was certainly not the birthday weekend that Foster was hoping for. His perfect record of transferring to the Fast 12 on road courses continued as the Briton qualified in ninth, but could only muster 17th place after the 95 laps of Laguna Seca. He still remains one of three drivers without a top 10 finish this season.
Meyer Shank Racing
No.60 - Felix Rosenqvist - B-
A very difficult weekend to grade for Rosenqvist. He looked like he would comfortably make the Fast Six before spinning on his final run therefore losing his best times and qualifying 12th. He was then the victim of Simpson's crash and saw any chances of a good finish ended there. It was misfortunate but you make your own luck, with that qualifying error now seeming even more costly.
No.66 - Marcus Armstrong - B
Listeners of the DIVEBOMB IndyCar Podcast will be intensely aware of the 'Armstrong Ability' which was once again a feature at Laguna Seca. It was another quiet weekend for the New Zealander, who once again qualified in the top 10 and finished in the top 10 - this occasion in eighth after making some decisive moves including on Scott McLaughlin into the Corkscrew. Another very respectable weekend for Armstrong in what has been a quietly impressive season.
Ed Carpenter Racing
No.20 - Alexander Rossi - C-
It was a disappointing home event for Rossi who came in as outsider for a strong result this weekend. Rossi crashed in opening practice and with no second practice, it was an uphill battle from there. Rossi qualified poorly in 22nd and could only finish 15th - continuing a stretch of tough races with the American not finishing in the top 10 since Detroit.
No.21 - Christian Rasmussen - B+
It feels like Rasmussen has had a bit of a breakout since the Indianapolis 500 and once again showed very well at Laguna Seca. The Danish driver qualified for the Fast 12 again, this time in 11th and was on the fringes of the top five for the majority of the race. As has been the case previously though, it felt Rasmussen was a bit overzealous which dropped him to ninth at the flag. It was another impressive weekend nonetheless and he continues to have the advantage over his far more experienced teammate.
AJ Foyt Racing
No.4 - David Malukas - B-
Getting strong results at the finish has felt like a bit of a struggle for Malukas this season and Laguna Seca rather felt like a 'what could have been?' event. Malukas qualified well once again in sixth but could not convert on a good result after starting on the primaries. Malukas ultimately finished 13th in an underwhelming weekend.
No.14 - Santino Ferrucci - D+
After his heavy crash in Toronto, Ferrucci was declared fit to race at Laguna Seca despite having a nerve issue and being on plenty of medication. However, it maybe felt like Ferrucci should have waited to return to full fitness after a difficult showing. The American qualified 20th and spun out late on at the Corkscrew, finishing 22nd when all was said and done. After a great stretch of races after the Indianapolis 500, Foyt are concerningly heading back to their difficult early season form.
Juncos Hollinger Racing
No.76 - Conor Daly - C+
Road and street courses remain an Achilles Heel for Daly and Juncos, but this weekend was one of their better outings this season. Daly did qualify disappointingly in 23rd and was in the gravel on the opening lap. However, Daly did recover to a respectable 14th which is his best result on a road/street course this season.
No.77 - Sting Ray Robb - C-
It was one of Robb's better showings in 2025 at Laguna Seca with the American finishing 19th after qualifying 26th. Robb featured in wheel-to-wheel combat on several occasions including trying moves at the Corkscrew - which unfortunately for him, did not pay off. It would be better to see this racecraft against the rest of the field on a more regular occasion though.
Dale Coyne Racing
No.18 - Rinus VeeKay - B-
Another difficult one to grade with VeeKay being the victim of somebody else's mistake. VeeKay qualified in 17th - which is slightly better than average this season but was stuck in the gravel after being collected by Kyle Kirkwood on Lap 26. A top 10 finish may have been on the cards for the Dutch driver but ultimately left Laguna Seca with just a 23rd place finish.
No.51 - Jacob Abel - C
Abel's torrid luck in his rookie season does not get any better. Abel had one of his better qualifying results in 2025 as he qualified 21st, but another mechanical failure - this time a brake failure left him helpless into Turn 2 with his race ending after just 11 laps. It felt it would have been a much better weekend for Abel, but unfortunately lady luck was not on his side once again.
PREMA Racing
No.83 - Robert Shwartzman - D+
It rather feels we are still yet to see Shwartzman's ultimate pace on road and street courses - which have surprisingly been his weak point in 2025. Shwartzman qualified poorly in 25th, and was in the gravel alongside Daly at Turn 3 after trying to take avoiding action. Shwartzman finished 21st at the flag, a lap down.
No.90 - Callum Ilott - A-
It has taken a long time for PREMA to finally find their form in IndyCar, but there has been great encouragement in recent races for the Italian team as Ilott claimed their best result to date in sixth. It was one of Ilott's poorest qualifying results of the season in 24th, but he made the alternate strategy work alongside Dixon to cycle up to the front. He hounded O'Ward in pursuit of a top five to no avail but still came home with a very impressive sixth-place finish.
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