Alex Palou earns one other P1 begin, whereas Andretti drivers face struggles for Indy

No shock right here: Alex Palou is again on the entrance of the NTT IndyCar Collection discipline. This week, at Indy.

The dominant championship chief continued his near-flawless 2025 marketing campaign into the Month of Might at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a cushty cruise to pole for Saturday’s Sonsio Grand Prix. Palou laid down a scorching 1:09.3417s lap to safe the pole by almost half a second. It marked his eighth-career pole and second of 2025. 

For Palou, the distinction was a recent set of soppy tires. 

“I believe we had a little bit of a bonus there with a set of brand name new gentle tires,” Palou mentioned. “I believe some used it in Q1 and we didn’t. Perhaps that’s the place the time comes. However in any case, that #10 DHL automotive was wonderful. It’s been tremendous quick all season, actually. However at the moment it’s been on fireplace.” 

Palou wanted the tempo to disclaim a pole to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLLR), who stormed by means of qualifying on the Indianapolis highway course with all three drivers within the Quick 6. Graham Rahal led the group in second, securing his finest beginning place since his 2023 pole run in Portland. Rookie Louis Foster adopted together with his first Quick 6 look in third, whereas Devlin DeFrancesco tied his career-best qualifying efficiency in fifth. 

The entrance row run was a pleasing shock for Rahal, who assumed others might need softs and deny him a front-row begin. However greater than something, Friday supplied a much-needed enhance for the crew. 

“All people watching is aware of this, we would have liked this,” Rahal mentioned. “We count on to be good at (the) Indy highway course. However to see it come collectively and really have three vehicles within the top-five is wonderful. It feels superior for our crew.” 

Staff Penske’s Scott McLaughlin cut up the RLL group in fourth, with Josef Newgarden following in sixth to finish the Quick 6. They’ll begin simply forward of teammate Will Energy, who didn’t advance to the ultimate spherical in seventh. 

Earlier than Palou’s sizable pole run, the ultimate moments of the Quick 12 noticed continuous shakeups on the prime of the charts, with most drivers setting their quickest lap after time expired whereas Felix Rosenqvist went for an sudden journey off-course. 

Palou managed to maintain himself away from the sector, main the trio of RLL drivers and Staff Penske’s Newgarden and McLaughlin. Energy, Pato O’Ward, Alexander Rossi, Kyffin Simpson, Santino Ferrucci and Rosenqvist had been eradicated within the spherical. Energy felt he’d misplaced two tenths within the opening corners, whereas a confused O’Ward mentioned his automotive gave up two tenths down the straightaway. 

O’Ward paced the sector in Group 1 because the lone Quick 12 qualifier for Arrow McLaren. He was adopted by Rossi, Rosenqvist, Ferrucci, Foster and Simpson. Palou was quickest within the second group and set the highest general time of the group rounds at 1:09.6683s, main DeFrancesco, Energy, Rahal, McLaughlin and Newgarden. 

Each teams noticed stunning eliminations, with Andretti World’s trio of drivers all ousted in group qualifying. Present championship runner-up Christian Lundgaard fell .0332s wanting Newgarden for the ultimate switch spot within the second group. He was adopted by two-time Indy highway course winner Scott Dixon, who couldn’t make sense of his lack of tempo. 

“The automotive feels fairly good,” Dixon mentioned after. “I don’t know what we’re lacking. It feels type of irritating, to be sincere.” 

There have been no main incidents in qualifying, with the forgiving Indy highway course providing bountiful runoff space within the uncommon moments a driver dipped a wheel off-course. Essentially the most consequential second could have been a block that wasn’t televised. 

Andretti stars wrestle — hassle for Saturday

If you wish to understand how Andretti World’s qualifying effort went, it may be finest summed up by one succinct quote afterward from championship hopeful Kyle Kirkwood. 

“I don’t actually have any constructive issues to say right here, if I’m being sincere,” Kirkwood advised FOX Sports activities. “It’s just a little disappointing.” 

Kirkwood, Colton Herta, and Marcus Ericsson all struggled within the opening group qualifying spherical, leaving every driver mired within the pack for Saturday’s race and in want of a rally to maintain from shedding floor to their championship rivals. 

Lower than a month after Kirkwood and Herta swept the entrance row in Lengthy Seashore, none of Andretti’s drivers managed to crack the Quick 12 on the Indy highway course. Herta got here closest of the trio, falling simply shy of development in seventh as the primary group session drew to an in depth. Kirkwood was a distant eleventh in the identical group, whereas Ericsson discovered himself tenth within the second group. 

For Kirkwood, who entered Indy third within the standings as the one race winner exterior of Palou, a tire technique play could have been his undoing. 

“I didn’t get an opportunity to run the reds this morning,” Kirkwood advised FOX Sports activities. “We type of took a big gamble with that and I don’t suppose it labored out completely in our favor. We needed to have the most effective tires for the race, proper? So meaning not utilizing as lots of them. 

“The best way that qualifying labored out, all people was backing up. It was just one lap to get it performed. I didn’t actually have a reference, if I’m being sincere. And I ended up locking up (my tires) into flip 7, (solely) ever-so-slightly. Nevertheless it’s sufficient to price you a tenth or two, which is every part right here.” 

Herta was left with related issues to Dixon. “The steadiness hasn’t been an issue,” he mentioned. “It’s a bizarre factor this weekend. I’ve been usually pleased with the automotive. We’ve simply been gradual. I believe it’s simply (a) lack of general grip. Nonetheless the mechanical grip is working is simply not giving us the final word grip we’d like.” 

Herta will roll off thirteenth within the Sonsio Grand Prix, with Ericsson and Kirkwood following in twentieth and twenty first, respectively. 

Photographs from Indianapolis Roadcourse – Observe & Qualifying