Palou powers past Rosenqvist and Rossi to win Pole at 110th Indianapolis 500

Credit: Paul Hurley

Alex Palou produced a spectacular four lap run in the Fast Six to secure pole at the Indy 500. He battled from eleventh after the first runs in qualifying and stormed into second place in the Fast 12.

Palou then leapfrogged Alexander Rossi and David Malukas to take the provisional lead of the Fast Six, and celebrated his second Indy 500 pole position when Felix Rosenqvist, who had dominated the first two sessions, could only manage fourth on his final run.

Guaranteed Runs

For the first time since 2008, a full day of Indy 500 qualifying was washed out, meaning that IndyCar was forced to amend the format to squeeze all sessions into Sunday.

Each driver was limited to just one run, and with hotter temperatures and significant wind gusts for drivers to deal with, qualifying was set to be intense and run on the limit.

Scott Dixon headed out first and made the most of cooler track temperatures, driving his Chip Ganassi Racing entry into the Fast 12 at an average speed of 231.411 mph.

The McLaren’s of Christian Lundgaard and Ryan Hunter-Reay both had balance issues, and qualfiied 19^th and 23^rd respectively. Ed Carpenter also failed to take advantage of his early draw, as he fought understeer in his car. Carpenter will start 14^th.

Rinus VeeKay and Scott McLaughlin both powered themselves into the Fast 12, but Nolan Siegel had similar issues to his McLaren teammates, qualifying in 22^nd just 0.011mph faster than Hunter-Reay. Graham Rahal then slotted into what would become 30^th.

Josef Newgarden, a favourite of many to be in the hunt for pole, was shockingly eliminated in the first round, with his best four lap average only good enough for 24^th. Will Power’s run put him into 20^th.

Josef Newgarden, a favourite for the Pole, qualified in 24th | Credit: Joe Skibinski

Felix Rosenqvist led the first session after a highly impressive 232.599 mph run, nearly 0.8 mph faster than any of his competitors. He would be joined in the next session by Santino Ferrucci, whose replacement Chevrolet engine powered him to 10^th.

Conor Daly then set the third fastest average speed of the session, underlining his prowess as a genuine contender in the 2026 Indy 500. Marcus Ericsson qualified highest of the struggling Andretti Global entries in 18^th, with Mick Schumacher 28^th in his first experience of qualifying at Indianapolis. Romain Grosjean was 25^th and Marcus Armstrong could not match the speed of teammate Rosenqvist, ending up 17^th.

Pato O’Ward, David Malukas and Alexander Rossi all drove their ways into the Fast 12, with Malukas particularly impressive in second. O’Ward was ninth and Rossi sixth.

Dennis Hauger’s first Indy 500 qualifying run took him to 31^st, and Kyle Kirkwood was 26^th  in an Andretti car which lacked raw speed. Sting Ray Robb had a horrible Indy 500 qualifying, as his car seemed to be bereft of any downforce or grip. Robb repeatedly had to lift off the throttle into turn three, and his run was over a full mile an hour slower than any of his competitors.

Rookie Brazilian Caio Collet impressed as he transferred into the Fast 12 in tenth, whilst Collet’s fellow countryman and four-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves slotted into 15^th. Takuma Sato and Christian Rasmussen both raised eyebrows as they missed the Fast 12 by small margins. Sato was 13^th and Rasmussen 16^th, before Louis Foster ran well enough for 22^nd.

Kyffin Simpson’s run saw him through in 12^th, but Jack Harvey could not match the speed of teammate Daly and ended up 29^th.

Credit: James Black

Alex Palou’s difficult qualifying draw of third last to run meant he lapped in extremely hot conditions, but Palou used all of his expertise to put together a run that transferred him into the Fast 12 in 11^th.

Jacob Abel struggled in the heat and finished 32^nd, whilst Katherine Legge put together four decent laps qualify 27^th.

Fast 12

With positions 13-33 set for race day, attention then turned to the Fast 12 and the fight for an opportunity to run for the pole. The wind was extremely strong at this time, so speeds were slightly down despite the cooler temperatures.

Simpson ran first, setting a respectable four-lap average speed of 230.883 mph which would end up being good enough for seventh.

Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Palou was next, and Palou used his experience of running in the warmer temperatures and gusty winds to his advantage. His speed of 231.665 mph put him through in second.

Ferrucci ran well as he advanced to the Fast Six in fourth, and he was followed both on-track and into the final round of qualifying by O’Ward, who drove his McLaren into fifth. Five hours after his opening run, Dixon’s four laps put him into 11^th, as Collet continued to impress in his first Indy 500, qualifying in tenth.

Felix Rosenqvist was fastest in the Guaranteed Runs and Fast 12 | Credit: Paul Hurley

Rossi's run in the Fast 12 put him sixth and gave him an opportunity to run for the pole, but Rinus Veekay lost all grip and confidence in his car, qualifying in 12^th. Both McLaughlin and Daly also failed to advance, as they ended up ninth and eighth respectively.

David Malukas went into the Fast Six in third after a strong run, before Rosenqvist once again blew the field away, qualifying at an average speed of 232.065 mph, 0.4mph faster than Palou in the Fast 12.

Fast Six

The Fastest Six drivers from the Fast 12 were now each given one opportunity to set their fastest four-lap average speeds and win the pole for the 110^th Indy 500.

Alexander Rossi was first to run in the session, and set a blisteringly fast run at 231.990 mph. His run could have broken the 232mph mark had he not had to breathe the throttle on his final lap. However, it was still a really impressive marker for everyone to chase.

Rossi qualified in second, his best start at the Indy 500 | Credit: James Black

Pato O’Ward could not match his previous speeds as he only managed to run at 230.442 mph, which would end up being the slowest effort of the Fast Six. Santino Ferrucci also failed to match the speed of his Fast 12 run, as he averaged 230.846 mph and qualified in fifth.

David Malukas was next to run, and his first three laps were slower than Rossi’s. However, a brilliant final lap nearly put him ahead of the 2016 Indy 500 champion. Malukas finished with a speed of 231.877 mph, and settled for the outside of the Front Row.

Palou was the penultimate driver to complete his run in the Fast Six, as he powered ahead of Rossi and to first at a speed of 232.248 mph. Rosenqvist had dominated the first two sessions of qualifying, but needed to produce one more special run to knock Palou off the top.  

Rosenqvist’s run was much slower than his two previous attempts, and he could only manage a four-lap average speed of 231.375 mph. This speed was not even good enough for the front row, and Rosenqvist qualified down in fourth.

Alex Palou will lead the field of 33 to the green flag on Sunday for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, with Rossi and Malukas joining him on the front row.

Practice for the 110^th Indianapolis 500 continues on Monday, May 18^th as attention now turns to race-running.