PALOU TAKES INDY GP POLE AS WILL POWER SUFFERS QUALIFYING SHOCKER - Motorsportsclicks

Alex Palou continued his incredible form by securing pole position for the Sonsio Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. The championship leader delivered another outstanding performance to claim his second pole position of the 2026 IndyCar season and his third career pole at the Indianapolis road circuit.

Palou will now aim for a fourth consecutive victory in the Indy Grand Prix later on Saturday in what has become one of his strongest tracks on the calendar. The Spaniard once again showed why he is considered the man to beat in IndyCar, mastering the tricky conditions after qualifying was delayed because of heavy rain on Friday.

Joining Palou on the front row is Pato O’Ward, who continued his strong rivalry with the Chip Ganassi Racing driver. The McLaren star looked competitive throughout qualifying and will hope to challenge Palou into Turn 1 when the race begins.

Felix Rosenqvist secured an impressive third place on the grid for Meyer Shank Racing, while Christian Lundgaard completed the second row in fourth. David Malukas continued his excellent weekend with fifth position, and rookie Louis Foster delivered one of the surprises of qualifying by taking sixth place.

Graham Rahal qualified seventh ahead of six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon, while Kyle Kirkwood and Josef Newgarden rounded out the top ten.

Further back, Brazilian rookie Caio Collet impressed with 12th position, putting himself in a strong place for the race. Former Formula 1 drivers Romain Grosjean and Mick Schumacher qualified 11th and 18th respectively.

The biggest surprise of qualifying came from Will Power. The five-time Indianapolis road course winner and five-time polesitter struggled badly and ended the session last on the grid in his first season with Andretti Global. Despite the disappointing result, the margins were extremely close, with Power missing out on advancing by only around a quarter of a second.

Qualifying itself had already been heavily disrupted by weather. Persistent rain on Friday forced IndyCar officials to postpone the session until Saturday morning, leaving drivers with very little preparation time before the race.

With Palou starting from pole and chasing a fourth straight Indianapolis road course victory, all eyes will now turn to whether anyone can stop the reigning championship favorite from extending his dominance once again at Indianapolis.