Alex Palou Claims Pole Position at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Sonsio Grand Prix
The 2025 IndyCar season continues to shine brightly for Spanish driver Alex Palou, representing Chip Ganassi Racing. With three victories out of the first four races, Palou solidified his dominance by securing the pole position for the Sonsio Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course on May 9th. This remarkable feat marks his second consecutive pole of the season, showcasing his exceptional skill and strategic acumen on the track.
Palou’s success in qualifying was largely attributed to a well-calculated tire strategy. By saving a set of new Firestone alternate tires for the final round of the Fast Six qualifying session, he was able to set a blistering lap time of 1 minute, 09.3417 seconds. This strategic decision proved to be crucial, allowing him to outpace his competitors. “We had a bit of an advantage by saving a set of new soft tires,” Palou acknowledged. “Some drivers used theirs in Q1, while we held back. That might have made the difference. The #10 DHL car was incredible—too fast. It has been like that all season, but today it was on fire.”
Palou’s impressive lap time placed him nearly four-tenths of a second faster than Graham Rahal, who secured the second position with a time of 1 minute, 09.7516 seconds in his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing entry. This qualifying session was particularly special for Rahal’s team, as they achieved a historic milestone by placing three cars within the top five for the first time in their IndyCar history. “It was an excellent lap; the car was very balanced,” Rahal expressed. “We expected to perform well here, but seeing everything come together like this and having three cars in the top five is simply amazing.”
Rookie driver Louis Foster made headlines by qualifying third with a time of 1 minute, 09.8801 seconds, marking the best performance of his fledgling IndyCar career. Devlin DeFrancesco added to the celebration for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing by finishing fifth with a time of 1 minute, 09.9432 seconds, matching his own best qualifying result, which he also achieved at this road course in 2023.
Among the Team Penske drivers, Scott McLaughlin emerged as the fastest, qualifying fourth with a time of 1 minute, 09.8910 seconds. Current two-time Indy 500 champion Josef Newgarden rounded out the Fast Six with a sixth-place qualifying effort of 1 minute, 09.9829 seconds. Will Power, the all-time winningest driver at this circuit, narrowly missed the final session, settling for seventh with a time of 1 minute, 09.9973 seconds.
Young talent Kyffin Simpson, also from Ganassi, qualified in tenth place, matching his career-best starting position achieved in the previous race at Barber. However, the day was less favorable for Kyle Kirkwood, the Long Beach winner, who struggled to find speed and ended up starting in 21st place with his Andretti Global entry.
The highly anticipated Sonsio Grand Prix will take place on Saturday at 5:30 PM local time in Brazil, with live coverage available on TV Cultura, ESPN4, and Disney+. Before the race, drivers will participate in a warm-up session at 12:30 PM, which will be broadcasted on INDYCARLIVE and Disney+.
The official qualifying results for the Sonsio Grand Prix are as follows:
Event: Sonsio Grand Prix
Date: May 9, 2025
Location: Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Road Course (2.439 miles)
Session: Qualifying | Race 5 of the season
Category: NTT INDYCAR SERIES
| Pos | No. | Driver | Chassis/Engine/Tire | Time | Speed (mph) | Session |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | Alex Palou | D/H/F | 1:09.3417 | 126.625 | Firestone Fast Six |
| 2 | 15 | Graham Rahal | D/H/F | 1:09.7516 | 125.881 | Firestone Fast Six |
| 3 | 45 | Louis Foster (R) | D/H/F | 1:09.8801 | 125.650 | Firestone Fast Six |
| 4 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin | D/C/F | 1:09.8910 | 125.630 | Firestone Fast Six |
| 5 | 29 | Devlin DeFrancesco | D/H/F | 1:09.9432 | 125.536 | Firestone Fast Six |
| 6 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | D/C/F | 1:09.9829 | 125.465 | Firestone Fast Six |
| 7 | 12 | Will Power | D/C/F | 1:09.9973 | 125.439 | Eliminated in Phase 2 |
| 8 | 5 | Pato O’Ward | D/C/F | 1:10.0083 | 125.419 | Eliminated in Phase 2 |
| 9 | 27 | Alexander Rossi | D/C/F | 1:10.0684 | 125.312 | Eliminated in Phase 2 |
| 10 | 8 | Kyffin Simpson | D/H/F | 1:10.1423 | 125.180 | Eliminated in Phase 2 |
| 11 | 14 | Santino Ferrucci | D/C/F | 1:10.1736 | 125.124 | Eliminated in Phase 2 |
| 12 | 60 | Felix Rosenqvist | D/H/F | 1:11.4104 | 122.957 | Eliminated in Phase 2 |
| 13 | 26 | Colton Herta | D/H/F | 1:10.2231 | 125.036 | Eliminated in Phase 1 – Group 1 |
| 14 | 47 | Christian Lundgaard | D/C/F | 1:10.0949 | 125.264 | Eliminated in Phase 1 – Group 2 |
| 15 | 66 | Marcus Armstrong | D/H/F | 1:10.2303 | 125.023 | Eliminated in Phase 1 – Group 1 |
| 16 | 9 | Scott Dixon | D/H/F | 1:10.1158 | 125.227 | Eliminated in Phase 1 – Group 2 |
| 17 | 77 | Sting Ray Robb | D/C/F | 1:10.2339 | 125.017 | Eliminated in Phase 1 – Group 1 |
| 18 | 86 | Nolan Siegel | D/C/F | 1:10.1178 | 125.224 | Eliminated in Phase 1 – Group 2 |
| 19 | 921 | Christian Rasmussen | D/C/F | 1:10.2543 | 124.980 | Eliminated in Phase 1 – Group 1 |
| 20 | 28 | Marcus Ericsson | D/H/F | 1:10.1307 | 125.201 | Eliminated in Phase 1 – Group 2 |
| 21 | 127 | Kyle Kirkwood | D/H/F | 1:10.2554 | 124.978 | Eliminated in Phase 1 – Group 1 |
| 22 | 276 | Conor Daly | D/C/F | 1:10.4295 | 124.669 | Eliminated in Phase 1 – Group 2 |
| 23 | 390 | Callum Ilott | D/C/F | 1:10.2784 | 124.937 | Eliminated in Phase 1 – Group 2 |
| 24 | 418 | Rinus VeeKay | D/H/F | 1:10.5208 | 124.508 | Eliminated in Phase 1 – Group 2 |
| 25 | 551 | Jacob Abel (R) | D/H/F | 1:10.6609 | 124.261 | Eliminated in Phase 1 – Group 2 |
| 26 | 264 | David Malukas | D/C/F | 1:10.6039 | 124.361 | Eliminated in Phase 1 – Group 2 |
| 27 | 783 | Robert Shwartzman (R) | D/C/F | 1:11.1172 | 123.464 | Eliminated |
