IndyCar Preview: Detroit Grand Prix
- Dan Jones
- May 29
- 10 min read
It has been just days since the milk was drunk and the bricks were kissed at the conclusion of the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500, but as the saying goes: 'the show must go on', and that certainly applies to IndyCar, who hit the streets of downtown Detroit, just five days after the closest Indianapolis 500 finish of all time. It is time for the packed post-Indianapolis 500 portion of the season to begin in Detroit, Race 8 of 18 in the 2026 season.
What happened in Indianapolis?
Memorial Day Sunday is always the most important day of the calendar for all 33 drivers competing in the Indianapolis 500 as they all full well know, a victory that day will change their life. Last Memorial Day Sunday changed Felix Rosenqvist's life and capped off a very special 'Month of May' for the Swede, who's first child, Stella, was born earlier in the month.
It would not come easy for Rosenqvist though after he had to battle his way to victory after two late cautions, making the decisive move on David Malukas with just a few hundred metres to go. It was the closest Indianapolis 500 finish in the 110-year history of the race, with just 0.023 seconds separating the top two finishers.
That was all the cause of the second one-lap shootout at the Indianapolis 500 in four years, which saw Rosenqvist, Malukas, Marcus Armstrong and Pato O'Ward all within a realistic shot of victory as the green and white flags were waved together. Rosenqvist, who had started third on the restart, braved it around the outside of teammate Armstrong for the majority of the lap before gaining a tow off Malukas exiting to Turn 4 to beat the young American to the line.
The race was once again a sellout, with all 350,000 seats being occupied on race day which saw the local Indiana TV blackout lifted once again. FOX achieved an average of 6.635 million viewers, a number down 6.4% from the figure achieved last season.
You can read the full race report here, the DIVEBOMB IndyCar Podcast's race review here and my gradebook here.
Although nobody is thinking championship when it comes to the Indianapolis 500, it can still have a significant impact on how the standings shake up. This was only shaken up further when championship leader Álex Palou was penalised five championship points for his front wing not meeting the minimum ride height.
Even if it does not console the pain of such a devastating defeat at Indianapolis, another second-place finish for Malukas propelled him to second in points after a difficult day for Kyle Kirkwood, whilst Rosenqvist unsurprisingly made large gains in the standings. The full top 10 are as follows:
Palou - 273
Malukas - 236
Kirkwood - 224
Lundgaard - 195
O'Ward - 188
McLaughlin - 181
Rosenqvist - 176
Newgarden - 167
Dixon - 167
Armstrong - 154
All you need to know about Detroit
From going flat at speeds of 230+ mph around a 2.5 mile oval, IndyCar goes to the complete opposite end of the spectrum on the Streets of Detroit, highlighting the versatility of the venues the series races at. From the grandeur and splendour of Indianapolis, drivers will now have to navigate clumsy corners, tricky braking zones and a whole load of bumps in the Motor City.
Although not quite that of Indianapolis, Detroit does have a storied history with IndyCar, having played home to the series since 1989. From 1992 to 2022 (with a few hiatuses between) the iconic Belle Isle Circuit was the fixture of IndyCar's annual visit before the series moved back downtown in 2023 to a 1.645 mile (2.647 km) circuit nestled around the Renaissance Centre - home of one of the series engine suppliers in Chevrolet.
The circuit features just nine corners with lap times around the minute mark, but that does not undermine the challenge of the streets. Turns 1 and 2 are tricky 90 degree left handers which has commonly seen drivers clumsily plough into the barriers. The circuit then opens up on the exit of Turn 2 down the backstretch which leads to the best overtaking opportunity at the double-apexed hairpin at Turn 3.
The right-hander at Turn 4 and left-hander at Turn 5, both of which are 90 degrees have been common for incidents in recent seasons, before a bumpy right-left chicane at Turns 6 and 7. a 90 degree left at Turn 8 often sees cars overshoot the corner, before drivers are brought back into the start/finish line through a 90 degree right-hander at Turn 9.
The race will start on the backstraight in order to allow cars to file up correctly, which has seen some chaotic starts in recent years with multi-car collisions at Turn 3 and there is a high possibility we could see the same again this season. Detroit is one of a growing number of circuits who also utilise a double-sided pitlane, which was a first when the circuit joined the schedule in 2023.
The three previous races on downtown Detroit have seen three different winners. Palou won in 2023 followed by his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon the year after. Kirkwood was victorious for Andretti Global last season. Palou is the only active polesitter at the circuit, having done so in 2023.
Drivers will have access to 150 seconds of push-to-pass in the 100 laps that make up Sunday's race. As per the ruling introduced prior to the Indianapolis Grand Prix, drivers can use push-to-pass immediately on restarts but will not be able to on the race start.
Being a street course, the series will also utilise the single-car qualifying format in the Fast Six as was previously used on the Streets of Arlington and the Streets of Long Beach.
"I think for street course racing, it's pretty cool," said Santino Ferrucci of the format mid-week. "When they initially rolled it out, I was like 'this could be really dumb'. After doing it and witnessing it, the way that they do it now I think it pretty awesome. I think it's fun to watch for the fans.
"Yeah, I kind of like the one-shot qualifier for the street courses. I think it's rather fair. It's not something I think you can do on the road courses just the way the tyres are, temperature build-up is so different."
What to look out for in Detroit
Rosenqvist has not stopped since he crossed the line 0.023 seconds ahead of Malukas on Sunday, since going on a week-long media tour around New York where his child-induced lack of sleep has only worsened!
It circles back to the statistic that no Indianapolis 500-winning driver has won the following race since Juan Pablo Montoya won at Milwaukee in 2000., with no driver having finished in the top six since 2017. Although that isn't fully representative as Palou was in podium contention last year before being wiped out by Malukas in Turn 1.
Rosenqvist has a respectable record at Detroit though, including a podium in 2023 but as he simply put it, "he doesn't care" about how his weekend pans out on the streets, and we don't blame him either.
So let's circle back to our usual protagonists and being a bumpy street course, Kirkwood comes into the weekend as the pre-race favourite given his record on street courses in recent seasons and his comfortable victory at the track last year. Kirkwood has never finished lower than sixth in Detroit, impressive given the caution-filled, unpredictable races that have defined this event in recent seasons.
Andretti's success at Detroit is not exclusive to Kirkwood either, with Colton Herta having taken the last two Detroit poles. Herta also claimed a podium last season and Marcus Ericsson's only Andretti podium to date came on the Detroit streets in 2024. Although he has not raced at Detroit for Andretti, Power has never finished lower than sixth in Detroit despite being involved in the chaos in years previous, which included a second-place finish in 2023.
It will be no surprise if Andretti are strong, but they will still have to overcome Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing, who have won two of the three Detroit races since the series moved back downtown. However, Palou's 2023 victory is his only top 15 finish at Detroit, showing the volatility of the unpredictable circuit which could change the championship complexion post-weekend. On the other side of the garage, Dixon is the master at chaotic races as proved in 2024 and will be one to keep an eye out if the yellow flag keeps showing as has been the case in previous seasons.
It has not been as happy a hunting ground for Team Penske, who have just one podium in three seasons at Detroit in the shadow of Chevrolet's headquarters. However, Malukas has continued to impress at each race this season, having not finished outside the top seven since his tyre failure in St. Petersburg. However, Malukas has not finished inside the top 10 in any Detroit race previously.
Pato O'Ward is one of three drivers alongside Malukas and Palou who have qualified in the top 12 for every race this season. But like Penske, McLaren have just a singular podium since 2023 at the circuit, with O'Ward having never finished in the top five. O'Ward is also on his longest podium-less streak since he joined McLaren in 2020 having not stood on the rostrum for 11 races. Bizarrely though, O'Ward has finished either fourth or fifth on seven occasions in that timeframe.
Given the unpredictability of Detroit, it is difficult to take much from previous races with meaningful conclusion. There are some other names to look out for though including Marcus Armstrong, who has finished inside the top eight in all three Detroit races including a podium in 2024. Christian Lundgaard's record at Detroit is not as strong, but he has proved he can spring a surprise for Arrow McLaren on street courses. Santino Ferrucci earned a podium here last season, and also finished within the top 10 in 2024 too.
Keeping up-to-date with the Rookie of the Year battle, Dennis Hauger now holds a comfortable 25 point lead over Caio Collet, with Mick Schumacher a further 10 points behind. Hauger won the Indy NXT race in Detroit last season, whilst Collet has back-to-back runner-up finishes in IndyCar's premier junior series. Schumacher, like at all other venues this season, will visit the circuit for the first time. Unlike the previous road/street race on the Indianapolis road course, the Detroit streets have not been so kind to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing who are still to earn a top 10 finish.
Indy NXT preview
Detroit marks Indy NXT's third and final street course race of the season as they will not follow IndyCar to Markham and Washington.
The series comes off a three-week break after a frenetic double-header weekend on the Indianapolis road course which saw two first-time winners in Indy NXT. A dry-to-wet race on Saturday saw HMD Motorsports' Enzo Fittipaldi victorious for the first time as he bravely overtook Lochie Hughes in wet conditions after starting 10th on the grid. Championship leader Nikita Johnson finished third after moving up from 10th once conditions soured.
Race 2 was a simpler affair which saw Tymek Kucharczyk, also of HMD Motorsports, victorious for the first time after a fantastic start saw him go from fifth to first before he fended off the challenge of Max Taylor. Fittipaldi's strong weekend continued as he claimed another podium, his fourth in five races.
A chaotic weekend results-wise also saw the margin at the top of the standings close significantly, with just 16 points covering the top four in the championship. Johnson was able to maintain the championship lead but his gap at the top narrowed from 23 to 11 points. Full top 10 being as follows (drivers with an R are eligible for Rookie of the Year):
Johnson (R) - 231
Kucharczyk (R) - 220
Taylor - 217
Fittipaldi (R) - 215
Hughes - 167
de Tullio (R) - 162
Correa - 134
Missig - 125
Rowe - 119
Murray - 118
The championship picture has grown increasingly interesting in recent races and like IndyCar, Indy NXT have also had several chaotic affairs on the Detroit streets which could shake things up further. Six drivers have taken the 18 available podium slots so far this season, with 16 of them being taken by Johnson, Kucharczyk, Taylor and Fittipaldi. Taylor and Kucharczyk finished on the podium in both street course races earlier in the season which may bode well for the similarly-bumpy Detroit.
When it comes to qualifying however, Alessandro de Tullio has been the driver to beat, having taken four of the six available pole positions this season, including on the last street course in Arlington.
The top driver returning to Detroit from last season is Juan Manuel Correa, who finished third in just his third Indy NXT race. Correa, who races for Cusick Morgan Motorsports, is yet to finish on the podium this season and despite being seventh in the standings, has only earned a single top-five finish this year - that being on the Streets of Arlington.
It bodes well for the victor in Detroit as the last three winners on the Detroit streets in Indy NXT have all progressed to IndyCar in Hauger, Louis Foster and Nolan Siegel. Pole position has also won in each of the last two seasons and is an important position to avoid the chaos.
Detroit will revert back to the single-race format seen in St. Petersburg and Arlington earlier this year. The race will take place over 45 laps or 55 minutes, whichever is completed quicker.
Timings
Indy NXT Practice: 14:00 ET (19:00 BST) Friday
IndyCar Practice 1: 15:05 ET (20:05 BST) Friday
Indy NXT Practice 2: 08:00 ET (13:00 BST) Saturday
IndyCar Practice 2: 09:05 ET (14:05 BST) Saturday
Indy NXT Qualifying: 12:00 ET (17:00 BST) Saturday
IndyCar Qualifying: 13:00 ET (18:35 BST) Saturday
Warm-up: 09:35 ET (14:35 BST) Sunday
Indy NXT Race: 10:36 ET (15:36 BST) Sunday
Detroit Grand Prix: 12:51 ET (17:51 BST) Sunday
Will the Detroit carnage be a factor once again? Can Rosenqvist get over the post-500 hangover? Will Andretti continue to lead the charge on the Detroit streets? Can the series carry over the Indy 500 momentum? There's plenty of stories to look out for up and down the field as IndyCar heads to the Detroit streets.
DIVEBOMB will bring you all the news and updates throughout the weekend as well as post-race analysis as the post-Indy 500 portion of the season begins.
All photos in this article were taken by DIVEBOMB Photographer, Dominic Loyer. You can find Dominic's work on Instagram (@dominicloyer_photography)
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