The Spanish driver secured an authoritative pole position this Friday for the Sonsio Grand Prix at the Indianapolis circuit, with a perfectly executed strategy that allowed him to save a set of new Firestone alternate tires for the decisive moment.
With a lap time of 1:09.3417, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver left his pursuers at a considerable distance. His 0.4099-second advantage over Graham Rahal speaks volumes about the superiority shown by car number 10 in the qualifying session.
Photo By INDYCAR
We saved the new soft tires for the end while others used theirs in Q1. The car responded perfectly in every corner. We've worked hard on the setup and the results are showing.
For the Catalan driver, winner of three out of four races so far this season, this pole confirms his status as favorite for a weekend where he aims to extend his championship lead. This marks his second consecutive pole this season and also at this circuit.
RLL Racing makes history with three cars in Fast Six
The surprise of the day came from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, which for the first time in its history placed all three cars in the Fast Six. Graham Rahal led the effort with second place, while rookie Louis Foster delivered an outstanding performance qualifying third with a time of 1:09.8801.
Foster, whose previous best result was tenth at The Thermal Club, made significant progress. Meanwhile, Devlin DeFrancesco completed a perfect day for RLL with fifth place (1:09.9432), matching his best IndyCar qualifying result.
This result comes from collective work. We knew we had pace, but getting all three cars up there exceeds our expectations. The team has made huge progress in recent weeks.
Between the RLL drivers was Scott McLaughlin, who will start fourth in his Team Penske Chevrolet (1:09.8910). His teammate Josef Newgarden, two-time Indy 500 champion, completed the Fast Six with a time of 1:09.9829.
Will Power, five-time winner on the Indianapolis road course, narrowly missed the Fast Six with a lap of 1:09.9973, just 0.0144 seconds off the cutoff.
Photo By INDYCAR
Also notable were Mexican driver Pato O'Ward in eighth and young Kyffin Simpson, who matched his best qualifying of the year with tenth. In contrast, Kyle Kirkwood, the only driver to break Palou's dominance this season, had a session to forget ending up in a disappointing 21st place.
The 85-lap race starts tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. ET with dry conditions expected. The final practice session will take place at 11:30 a.m.
Complete Sonsio Grand Prix qualifying results
| Pos | Driver | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Palou, Alex | 01:09.3417 |
| 2 | Rahal, Graham | 01:09.7516 |
| 3 | Foster, Louis (R) | 01:09.8801 |
| 4 | McLaughlin, Scott | 01:09.8910 |
| 5 | DeFrancesco, Devlin | 01:09.9432 |
| 6 | Newgarden, Josef | 01:09.9829 |
| 7 | Power, Will | 01:09.9973 |
| 8 | O'Ward, Pato | 01:10.0083 |
| 9 | Rossi, Alexander | 01:10.0684 |
| 10 | Simpson, Kyffin | 01:10.1423 |
| 11 | Ferrucci, Santino | 01:10.1736 |
| 12 | Rosenqvist, Felix | 01:11.4104 |
| 13 | Herta, Colton | 01:10.2231 |
| 14 | Lundgaard, Christian | 01:10.0949 |
| 15 | Armstrong, Marcus | 01:10.2303 |
| 16 | Dixon, Scott | 01:10.1158 |
| 17 | Robb, Sting Ray | 01:10.2339 |
| 18 | Siegel, Nolan | 01:10.1178 |
| 19 | Rasmussen, Christian | 01:10.2543 |
| 20 | Ericsson, Marcus | 01:10.1307 |
| 21 | Kirkwood, Kyle | 01:10.2554 |
| 22 | Daly, Conor | 01:10.4295 |
| 23 | Ilott, Callum | 01:10.2784 |
| 24 | Veekay, Rinus | 01:10.5208 |
| 25 | Abel, Jacob (R) | 01:10.6609 |
| 26 | Malukas, David | 01:10.6039 |
| 27 | Shwartzman, Robert (R) | 01:11.1172 |
Palou achieves overwhelming victory in Alabama
Third win of the year for the Spaniard, who moves away in points with two weeks to go before Indianapolis
Palou takes first place for the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
McLaughlin takes second in a qualifying session with multiple lead changes
Kirkwood's victory in Long Beach slows Palou's progress
Andretti driver triumphs after a non-stop race
Andretti Global puts its cars on the front row at Long Beach
Kirkwood takes pole position as Herta completes team double in qualifying
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