The NTT IndyCar Series completed its first qualifying session of the hybrid era on Sunday, and there were a few surprises that shook up the normal order.
There was no surprise at the very top of the timesheets, however, as Alex Palou took his second consecutive pole with a lap of 1:05.3511.
Pato O’Ward very nearly took pole for himself, but he slipped up in the final couple corners and finished his lap 0.0024 seconds slower than the reigning series champion. The margin between the top two spots is the closest in the history of IndyCar’s knockout format.
READ MORE: IndyCar Mid-Ohio – Full Qualifying Report
Many veterans of the series struggled to find pace, however, with Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden, and Will Power all failing to advance out of the first round.
Sunday’s race will be the real test of the new hybrid system, and it is still unknown exactly how the addition will affect the 80-lap event. The green flag will fly Sunday at 1:45 PM eastern time.
| # | Driver | Time | Gap | Avg. Speed (MPH) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Palou | 01:05.3511 | – | 124.387 |
| 2 | Pato O’Ward | 01:05.3535 | 0.0024 | 124.382 |
| 3 | David Malukas | 01:05.6509 | 0.2998 | 123.819 |
| 4 | Colton Herta | 01:05.7653 | 0.4142 | 123.603 |
| 5 | Marcus Armstrong | 01:05.9402 | 0.5891 | 123.275 |
| 6 | Marcus Ericsson | 01:05.9592 | 0.6081 | 123.240 |
| 7 | Scott McLaughlin | 01:05.6178 | – | 123.881 |
| 8 | Alexander Rossi | 01:05.6427 | – | 123.834 |
| 9 | Christian Rasmussen | 01:05.6911 | – | 123.743 |
| 10 | Christian Lundgaard | 01:05.7705 | – | 123.593 |
| 11 | Linus Lundqvist | 01:05.7805 | – | 123.575 |
| 12 | Romain Grosjean | 01:05.7822 | – | 123.571 |
| 13 | Felix Rosenqvist | 01:05.6921 | – | 123.741 |
| 14 | Scott Dixon | 01:05.8562 | – | 123.433 |
| 15 | Kyle Kirkwood | 01:05.7147 | – | 123.698 |
| 16 | Will Power | 01:05.9654 | – | 123.228 |
| 17 | Nolan Siegel | 01:05.7679 | – | 123.598 |
| 18 | Josef Newgarden | 01:05.9857 | – | 123.190 |
| 19 | Graham Rahal | 01:05.8508 | – | 123.443 |
| 20 | Rinus VeeKay | 01:06.0252 | – | 123.117 |
| 21 | Santino Ferrucci | 01:05.9414 | – | 123.273 |
| 22 | Agustin Canapino | 01:06.0550 | – | 123.061 |
| 23 | Pietro Fittipaldi | 01:06.0973 | – | 122.982 |
| 24 | Kyffin Simpson | 01:06.1034 | – | 122.971 |
| 25 | Toby Sowery | 01:08.2499 | – | 119.103 |
| 26 | Sting Ray Robb | 01:06.6894 | – | 121.890 |
| 27 | Jack Harvey | 01:06.9614 | – | 121.395 |
