After a rather quiet Practice 1, it’s time to set the starting grid for the IndyCar round in Gateway with Qualifying. Will championship leader Alex Palou manage to extend his dominant Qualifying streak, securing a fourth pole in a row? Or will instead Practice 1 leader Pato O’Ward convert his earlier speed into another P1?
Cars line up to take on the short oval one by one!
First driver to line up, as the field will run in reverse championship order, is Mick Schumacher, recovering form his late Detroit disappointment, with Turn 1 being rather windy. His two-lap average speed was 170.290. Up next is, surprisingly, ECR’s Rasmussen. Will he be able to return on the podium in the same spot where he had secured his first ever top three result? The answer is no, as he suffers from strong lockup at the beginning of his second lap.
Robb in his Juncos Hollinger Racing settles two miles behind the two drivers that preceded him, leaving the spot to yet another rookie, Caio Collet. The Brazilian as well has a moment at the beginning of the second lap, settling for provisional P3 only 0.002 behind Rasmussen.
Grosjean, with his broken hand, lines up next, following his Practice 1 issues caused by the fuelling system. Understeer affected him at Turn 2, forcing him to dive in deep. His speed average is below 170mph, forcing him to settle for P4.
An unexpected provisional pole sitter
The next group of five cars sees Siegel, sporting a new livery and new sponsors, dive first. He was the driver to make the most corrections with his wheel during Practice 1, but ultimately his 169.067 is good enough for P4, as Schumacher holds on to his provisional lead.
Foster brings Britain on track next. Schumacher’s teammate was significantly faster than the German and his second lap wasn’t too shabby as well, as he takes P1 with a 170.569. Andretti’s Power, in spite of having secured five pole positions at the track throughout the span of his career, sets a speed average in the low 169mphs, good enough for current P5.
Dennis Hauger doesn’t repeat his 2025 IndyNXT pole feat, setting a 168.853 that puts him only ahead of Robb. Up next, new Qualifying leader becomes AJ Foyt’s Ferrucci, who found the first 171mph lap of the session on his second circling.
Drivers shuffle on top
Ganassi’s Kyffin Simpson dethrones him immediately after, with the first 171mph average speed of the session. It was a rather close comparison, with only a few fractions of miles of difference separating them. Alexander Rossi too cycles at the lead, as he signs a strong 172mph first lap in spite of his several health issues carried over from Indianapolis. His final average is 171.923.
Following his Practice 1 crash, Rinus VeeKay will definitely be looking for revenge. In spite of a small mistake at Turn 1, the Dutchman was able to slot up to P2, leaving a significant gap to the Ed Carpenter Racing driver. Andretti’s Marcus Ericsson was able to improve his lap speed by almost a mile on his second lap, averaging a 171.384 good enough for P2.
Sir Scott Dixon is the next driver to cycle at the lead, setting the first 172mph average speed of the day, aiming for his first pole at the track since 2018. However, his pole run is over with the following driver already, as his former teammate Marcus Armstrong sets a 172.483.
Detroit Podium finisher Graham Rahal has a strong display as well, settling in P4 right behind Rossi. In spite of his severe foot injury, Newgarden set an incredibly strong first lap speed in 172.904, but dropped to P3 following a not equally fast second lap.
His Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin was instead able to snatch the top speed from the Honda-powered Kiwi driver, signing a 173.44 first lap speed. 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist immediately made it clear that he was not here to play, with a similarly fast first lap and an average of almost 173 mph.
Top 5 aims for Pole in IndyCar Qualifying at Gateway
Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward was visibly struggling with downforces on his first lap, but was able to recover pace while on the second leg of his IndyCar Qualifying attempt in Gateway, settling for P6. His teammate Chirstian Lundgaard followed him, but appeared to be struggling as well with his Chevrolet challenger, dropping to P13 with an average below 171mph.
High expectations at this track surround Penske newcomer David Malukas, second in the season for most laps led behind Palou but yet without a win to his name, and he did live up to those as he signed the first 173mph average speed of the day.
Only the top two drivers are yet to take the track, with Andretti’s Kirkwood. The 2025 Gateway race winner set an unexpected 173.206, just fractions of miles shy of Malukas’s provisional pole. Finally, championship leader Alex Palou takes the track. In an astounding performance, his first lap was an unbeatable 174.965mph, improving Malukas’s previous best speed by over a mile in 174.353.
It’ll be a race to watch for sure in Gateway, with the top three title contenders starting at the front.
