Qualifying for round 10 of the 2026 IndyCar season has been completed at Road America, view the full report here.
In opening practice, MSR paced the field as Marcus Armstrong led the way from Felix Rosenqvist. Earlier today, Pato O’Ward led the New Zealander as the McLaren driver used softs in the second session.
Alex Rossi and Santino Ferrucci headed into qualifying knowing they would drop six spots on the grid for unapproved engine changes.
Round 1, Group 1
Newgarden, Rossi and Lundgaard started on reds.
Once more Meyer Shank Racing had speed. Felix Rosenqvist led run 1 on blacks with a 1:44.098, ahead of Lundgaard on the softs. Siegel, Collet, Hauger and Armstrong completed the top 6. 0.590s covered them.
Simpson, Schumacher, Newgarden, Rossi, Malukas and Ericsson needed to improve.
Switching to the reds, David Malukas put in a stunning 1:43.638 to go almost half a second clear of the field. Rookie Caio Collet was outstanding to place P2, clocking a 1:43.890 to be the closest challenger. Armstrong also got into the 1:43 club.
Siegel, Ericsson and Rosenqvist also advanced to the next round.
Lundgaard, Newgarden, Hauger, Simpson, Rossi and Schumacher got knocked out in 2026 IndyCar qualifying at Road America. The Dane has been struggling with car balance all weekend.
Round 1, Group 2
Rasmussen, VeeKay, Foster and O’Ward went straight for softs. The Mexican was on used tyres.
Christian Rasmussen led the way on run 1 on reds with a 1:44.285, fractions ahead of Ferrucci. Palou, VeeKay, Grosjean and Foster completed the top 6.
Rahal, Dixon, McLaughlin, Power, Kirkwood, O’Ward and Robb needed to improve.
When all drivers switched to reds, Alex Palou was ridiculously fast. A 1:43.498 was almost three tenths quicker than Will Power. McLaughlin was the other driver in the 1:43 bracket. O’Ward, Ferrucci and Scott Dixon at the very, very end made it through as well.
Grosjean missed out by 0.006s after briefly finding the grass out of turn 8. Rasmussen, Kirkwood, Rahal, VeeKay, Foster and Robb also dropped out in Group 2 at 2026 Road America IndyCar qualifying.
Top 12
With the drivers on a mix of reds and blacks to start the session, Alex Palou logged a 1:44.454 to lead the way. Siegel, McLaughlin, O’Ward, Collet and Armstrong were also in the top 6 ahead of the last runs.
Ferrucci, Malukas, Rosenqvist, Dixon, Ericsson and Power needed to improve.
On the new reds, David Malukas put in a strong 1:43.652 to top the session. Rosenqvist and Armstrong confirmed MSR’s practice speed as 1:43.8s put them 2nd and 3rd.
Despite losing almost 0.6s to his Round 1 time, Palou advanced in P4, with Ericsson and McLaughlin also booking their spots in the Fast 6.
Thanks to a slightly worse final corner, Ferrucci missed out by 0.025s. Siegel, Collet, O’Ward, Power and Dixon also got bumped.
Fast 6 in 2026 IndyCar qualifying at Road America
The only driver to do an early banker was Scott McLaughlin, clocking a 1:46.245.
At the end, however, the champion was utterly dominant. A 1:43.661 from Alex Palou saw him take pole by almost 0.3s from David Malukas.
Marcus Armstrong and Felix Rosenqvist locked out the second row for MSR on 1:44.0s, with Ericsson and McLaughlin rounding out the top 6.
