It’s finally time for IndyCar Qualifying for the Indy GP, as all drivers are finally able to join the track. The session was supposed to depart yesterday afternoon, however it was postponed to today due to the inclement weather conditions. Severe precipitations had begun to affect the Indy road course during the IndyNXT race already, with the increasing intensity eventually not allowing the departure of the medical helicopter.
In addition to the increased safety risks of competing without the direct hospital link, a significant amount of standing water had already deposited on track. The phenomenon became evident as the pace car, lapping round to assess the conditions, encountered difficulties in driving straight.
Championship leader Alex Palou will definitely be the top driver to watch during today’s IndyCar Qualifying, as he had already displayed a dominant pace and performance by leading the two previous on-track sessions.
Group 1 takes the track!
As soon as the green flag shined, all the selected drivers immediately went on track in order to get the needed confidence with the track, now in optimal conditions. This session will bear even more importance, as no warm up will happen today.
Rossi set the fastest lap time in 1:10.773 with five minutes left in the session. While the other drovers’s right behind him continue to swap, with O’Ward, Dixon, McLaughlin and Rasmussen cycling through P2, the Ed Carpenter Racing driver remained strongly in the lead for the majority of the session.
He conceded his lead firstly to Pato O’Ward, a man on a mission during this Month of May, then to former championship leader Kyle Kirkwood, on the lookout for his first career road race win this weekend. The McLaren driver appears to have found quite some time compared to his previous on-track outings yesterday.
Kirkwood, Dixon, O’Ward, Rahal, Newgarden and Collet ultimately advance to the next round. Surprisingly, Rossi in the end doesn’t manage to make the cut, with his best effort 0.0011s off the Brazilian driver’s benchmark. Both him and his teammate Rasmussen didn’t move forward, even if he used two sets of soft tyres in their lap attempts. Another surprising name to not advance was Scott McLaughlin, with the Team Penske driver set to start from P18.
Group 2 woes the Indy GP watchers in IndyCar Qualifying
Malukas set the early benchmark in 1:11.019, whereas McLaren confirmed their strong Saturday as Nolan Siegel was the first driver of the Group to set a lap in the 1:10s. Shortly after, he was joined by teammate Christian Lundgaard. It appears to be an auspicious day for rookies, as Schumacher too sets a very positive 1:10.960, which brings him up to P4.
Alex Palou lagged behind, holding the slowest lap for the majority of the session. Dale Coyne Racing’s Grosjean opened the last minute top lap dance, as Malukas, Rosenqvist, Foster and ultimately even Palou improved. The Ganassi driver’s only push lap was a dominant 1:09.912, leading from Malukas, Rosenqvist, Foster, Grosjean , and Lundgaard.
Surprisingly, five times Indy GP pole sitter Will Power is already out of IndyCar Qualifying, and will start from last place. In a very negative group for Andretti drivers, Marcus Ericsson as well failed to advance to the top 12, having to settle for P7. The fact comes as a surprise, following Kirkwood’s very strong performance just a few minutes ago.
The top 12 drivers battle it out
O’Ward was the first driver to set a lap on his used softs. Newgarden set the first lap in the 1:11s, whereas Kirkwood in the 1:10s. Ineluctably, Palou ended up setting the best lap time five minutes in the session, in 1:10.557.
The four times IndyCar champion went on to lower his benchmark to 1:09.780, with both Rahal drivers jumping up to the provisional top 6. With one minute left into the session, O’Ward set a positive 1:10.125, to bring him up to P2. In the final, heated moments of the session Lundgaard managed to snatch P3 with his final fast lap attempt, whereas second-placed Kirkwood failed to improve enough to qualify for the next segment.
They will be joined by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Louis Foster, new dad Felix Rosenqvist and Penske’s David Malukas, as ultimately the McLaren driver knocked off Graham Rahal’s previous 1:10.404.
Among the other most notable exits there are Josef Newgarden and Scott Dixon, who ended up sandwiching Kirkwood to round off the top 10. Grosjean and Collet settled for P11 and P12 respectively.
Fast 6 shenanigans
The first driver on track was David Malukas, followed by O’Ward and Palou. The majority of the first five minutes was devolved to laying tyre on the track surface. The first competitive race lap set by Rosenqvist in 1:10.547 with a minute left.
Malukas moves up to P3 on used softs, with Palou leading from his first lap already in 1:09.748. His second lap was just as impressive, and set a dominant gap to the driver in P2, a surprising Pato O’Ward, who sets a 1:10.296 following a severe lack of pace in yesterday’s practice session. Rosenqvist settles in P3, ahead from Lundgaard, Malukas and Foster.
It’s the third pole for the Spaniard on the Indy GP, and following this very successful IndyCar Qualifying session Palou will aim for his fifth race win at the track. Tune in later at 16:30 ET for the main event!
