Was IndyCar’s tweaked single-car Fast Six qualifying a success?

Credit: Paul Hurley

Last month in Arlington, IndyCar debuted a one-shot, single-car format for its Fast Six round of qualifying. It was a well-intentioned move - designed to increase the spotlight on each driver in the pole-fighting segment while adding extra dramatic jeopardy - but fell a little flat.

Marcus Ericsson, mandated to run first for Andretti Global having finished sixth in the Fast 12, emerged with a clear advantage over those who had performed better in the previous round. On his still-warm tyres, he comfortably won the pole in a session of sizeable field spread and not masses of excitement. It largely flattered to deceive.

But heading to the next street course round in Long Beach this weekend, the series persisted with the format - though with some changes. This time, drivers could choose when they ran in the Fast Six, with first pick going to the quickest driver from the Fast 12. 

Once the order was determined, tyre selection was made and the cars lined up at pit out in that order, enabling something of a smoother flow.

And on this occasion, it delivered upon the amplification of the product that it promised. It was fast-paced, close-fought and unpredictable, while the choice of when to run added a strategic element, without the early runners having the same advantage as in Arlington.

“I like going further in the back because you have the deltas to base yourself off of,” said Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward, who had fifth pick but opted to run last in hopefully the best track conditions, ultimately achieving a front-row start. “You can also see what issues they’re having so maybe you can see some track progression to prepare your run for. 

“I was pretty happy I was going last. We were probably going to go first; you go first when you want to take advantage of brake and tyre temperature, if you’re going to stay on that same set. For us, we knew [if] we were going to be fifth or sixth, I’d much rather be sixth.”

Credit: Dominic Loyer

Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist had third pick and opted to run third, which led to them snatching a second Long Beach pole in three years. But in the long run, if the format is to continue, he has an idea to negate necessarily having a need to choose, even though the tactical element has an interesting trickle-down effect on the Fast 12 round.

“All in all it, works out pretty well,” he said. “The thing that would be even better is if everyone had new tyres, then it doesn’t really matter. It turned out pretty cool, how you had to really try to nail Q2 to give yourself a good opportunity in Q3; we were P3, which was pretty good, but still a couple of cars with warmer tyres. Not all easy. I like the strategical part of it.”

There is a sense that, as much as IndyCar’s traditional to-the-clock Fast Six format with all cars running at once carried its own excitement, it is in the best interests of the teams and drivers that a one-at-a-time system for the final round succeeds.

If done effectively, while it does somewhat extend the duration of qualifying, it should be easier for an audience to follow without missing any of the action.

“I love it,” O’Ward said. “I think it’s a great addition to the show. It’s great to see the pole laps - that’s usually everything that shows off after the normal qualifying sequence - [but] this way you can also appreciate the laps second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth have done. 

“Someone in fourth has done a pretty impressive lap with a car that probably shouldn’t be there. There’s always those instances during weekends. It’s cool to watch everybody be so tight - but the laps do look different.”

And at the end of the day, such high-pressure situations - in this case only having one opportunity to get your bid for pole right - tend to bring the best out of the drivers.

Credit: Dominic Loyer

“I love the one-lap shootout,” Rosenqvist said. “When they announced it, I was like: ‘I really want to be part of that,’ because it’s such a cool thing when you’re doing the one-lap dash. Watching it was nerve-wracking. That was probably the worst part of it.”

Currently, the format is only set to be implemented across the remaining street course events in 2026. At the end of the year, there will be another reevaluation to see how, if at all, IndyCar should move forward with it.

One question looming is whether it could also be applied to road-course events. But an issue at Arlington was its longer-than-usual layout compared to most street courses, detracting from the intention of making the one-shot shootout a captivating spectacle, which would possibly be a problem on a number of road courses too.

“Why not?” Rosenqvist responded when the question was posed, though he holds some reservations. “I mean, Arlington was one of the longest laps. The time aspect, it becomes a pretty long session. Most laps we do are right over a minute. 

“Let’s say a Laguna [Seca] or Indy road course… yeah, why not? I think it’s amazing. You have to adapt. I actually felt like I had a lot of grip [but] there will certainly be tracks where you feel like you’re on ice, which is also kind of cool because it’s the same for everyone.”

An intriguing concept was left with work to do after its first outing. But take two enthralled.