Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Speedway, Ind.) — Yes, again.
Alex Palou, the defending Indianapolis 500 winner and four-time INDYCAR champion who seems to win all the big events these days in INDYCAR, captured the Indy 500 pole Sunday.
No surprise there. Unless you’re Alex Palou.
“Very surprised,” Palou said in his news conference after winning his second career Indy 500 pole. “We did not have the speed. Even on Fast Friday [practice two days ago], we tried and tried and tried to get more speed. It was OK.”
It certainly was more than OK on Sunday when it counted most. Here are my takeaways:
1. Rosenqvist disappointment
Felix Rosenqvist posted the fastest four-lap qualifying run of the day at 232.599 mph. But that came in the top-12 session that determined the six drivers who competed for the pole.
Rosenqvist could only muster a four-lap average of 231.375 mph in the Fast Six round, while Palou posted a qualifying speed of 232.248 mph, followed by Alexander Rossi (231.990) and David Malukas (231.877).
Rosenqvist had been fastest in early rounds in past years at Indy, and this one was just another disappointment for the Meyer Shank Racing driver.
“I’ve been so close so many times so it’s kind of annoying that I am not able to do it,” Rosenqvist said told me after his run. “At least I did the run I could with what we had. There was not much more in it.”
2. Notable Qualifiers
No one expected pole-winning runs from Mick Schumacher and Katherine Legge. But there were plenty of eyes on each of them in their qualifying runs.
Schumacher, the former F1 driver and son of seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher, will start 28th in his first Indy 500 as a rookie at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
“Overall, it’s been great,” Schumacher told me and other reporters after his laps. “It’s been step by step, and that’s what you want you really want out here. You want to build the confidence. … Unfortunately, we didn’t quite hit the [fast] window here.”
Mick Schumacher will start 28th in his first Indy 500.
Legge will start 27th as she attempts to do the Indy 500-Coke 600 double next Sunday.
“The team has done a phenomenal job getting me a car that is fast and comfortable in normal conditions,” Legge told me and other reporters after getting out of her HMD Motorsports car that is being fielded as part of a partnership with A.J. Foyt Racing. “I feel we’ll have a really solid race car.”
3. Rossi Quietly Confident
When Alexander Rossi talks about his victory in the 2016 Indianapolis 500, he indicates that he plans that it won’t be his only win in the race.
The ECR Racing driver will start second next Sunday, and has had a quiet confidence about him all week, even though he had an engine expire earlier in the week in practice.
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“This year has been a little bit of failed to meet expectations in some areas and exceeded in others, but internally we’re performing at a much higher level and doing a better job than we were last year,” Rossi said in his post-qualifying news conference.
4. No crashes?
INDYCAR drivers made it through four days of practice and a full qualifying day without anyone having to go to the infield medical center because of a crash.
It is rare to go a full week without having at least one car significantly damaged.
“This whole grid is pretty damn good, man,” Santino Ferrucci told me after he qualified fifth for the Indy 500. “You’re seeing a lot of wheeling out there.”
Strong driving was on display as no major crashes through five days of being on track.
Rossi said it certainly isn’t because the cars are less than a handful.
“It’s not easier, I can promise you that,” Rossi said. “That was one of the harder qualifying days I’ve had around here.”
4 ½. What’s Next?
INDYCAR teams get two hours to practice Monday and then get a final two-hour practice Friday (Carb Day) before the race Sunday. The Friday slate includes a concert and the Wienie 500.
Many of the drivers who were happy with their cars in practice in race trim will be glad to back to where they have speed. Teams get extra boost for qualifying, and that seemed to upset many of the cars, including that of two-time Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden, who will start 24th.
“I could tell from the beginning of the week [qualifying would not be good],” Newgarden told me and other reporters after his laps. “You know very early at this place. Race trim will be a different conversation.”
