Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Rain washed out the scheduled first day of Indianapolis 500 qualifying on Saturday, forcing organizers to plan a streamlined format on Sunday to determine the starting grid for the May 24 race. Saturday’s sessions had been expected to determine the 16th through 33rd positions on the grid, with multiple rounds on Sunday to determine pole position and the first nine spots and places 12 through 15.
With the schedule reduced to one day, organizers said each car will be allotted one qualifying run with no chance to withdraw and try again. Those runs will determine positions 13 through 33 — the last seven rows on the grid. The fastest 12 will then contest a Top 12 session, with those finishing seventh through 12th filling out those starting positions, and the fastest six going on to battle for pole position in the Fast Six finale.
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Spain’s Alex Palou won last year’s Indianapolis 500 as part of an eight-win IndyCar campaign that made him the first driver to win both the series title and the Indy 500 in the same year since Dario Franchitti in 2010. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver nabbed his third straight and fourth career IndyCar title in 2025 and leads this year’s championship chase with three wins from the first six races.
He’ll be trying to become the seventh driver to win the Indy 500 in back-to-back years, and the first since Josef Newgarden in 2023-24. Palou was sixth-quickest in Friday’s final practice session, in which Sweden’s Felix Rosenqvist topped the times at 233.372 mph (375.58 Km/h).
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