The ultimate qualifying session of the 2026 IndyCar season occurred on Saturday at Laguna Seca.
Scott McLaughlin set a blazingly quick ultimate lap to safe his third pole of the season, lapping in 1:09.1363 at a median pace of 116.535 MPH.
Alex Palou was only a hair slower, and earned a spot on the skin of the entrance row. The second row was populated by efforts from Felix Rosenqvist and Alexander Rossi.
READ MORE: IndyCar Laguna Seca – Full Qualifying Report
Pato O’Ward simply missed out on advancing out of the primary spherical, and needed to accept a thirteenth place grid place. He didn’t have a proof for why he was off the tempo.
Operating approach slower than his Crew Penske team-mates, Josef Newgarden was additionally eradicated from the primary spherical and can begin on the tenth row.
Drivers can have another observe session this afternoon, then will line up for the 95-lap race at midday pacific time on Sunday.
| # | Driver | Time | Hole | Avg. Velocity (MPH) | Spherical |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scott McLaughlin | 01:09.1363 | — | 116.535 | Quick Six |
| 2 | Alex Palou | 01:09.1540 | 0.0177 | 116.505 | Quick Six |
| 3 | Felix Rosenqvist | 01:09.1931 | 0.0568 | 116.439 | Quick Six |
| 4 | Alexander Rossi | 01:09.3247 | 0.1884 | 116.218 | Quick Six |
| 5 | Christian Lundgaard | 01:10.2227 | 1.0864 | 114.732 | Quick Six |
| 6 | David Malukas | 01:12.8461 | 3.7098 | 110.600 | Quick Six |
| 7 | Kyle Kirkwood | 01:09.5726 | 0.4230 | 115.804 | Prime 12 |
| 8 | Marcus Ericsson | 01:09.6961 | 0.5465 | 115.599 | Prime 12 |
| 9 | Kyffin Simpson | 01:09.6993 | 0.5497 | 115.594 | Prime 12 |
| 10 | Marcus Armstrong | 01:09.9951 | 0.8455 | 115.105 | Prime 12 |
| 11 | Louis Foster | 01:10.1123 | 0.9627 | 114.913 | Prime 12 |
| 12 | Caio Collet | 01:10.1446 | 0.9950 | 114.860 | Prime 12 |
| 13 | Pato O’Ward | 01:09.5544 | 0.1454 | 115.835 | First Spherical |
| 14 | Will Energy | 01:09.8617 | 0.7219 | 115.325 | First Spherical |
| 15 | Mick Schumacher | 01:09.5721 | 0.1631 | 115.805 | First Spherical |
| 16 | Nolan Siegel | 01:09.8620 | 0.7222 | 115.324 | First Spherical |
| 17 | Scott Dixon | 01:09.6184 | 0.2094 | 115.728 | First Spherical |
| 18 | Christian Rasmussen | 01:09.8726 | 0.7328 | 115.307 | First Spherical |
| 19 | Rinus VeeKay | 01:09.8411 | 0.4321 | 115.359 | First Spherical |
| 20 | Josef Newgarden | 01:09.9549 | 0.8151 | 115.171 | First Spherical |
| 21 | Santino Ferrucci | 01:09.9460 | 0.5370 | 115.186 | First Spherical |
| 22 | Graham Rahal | 01:09.9593 | 0.8195 | 115.164 | First Spherical |
| 23 | Romain Grosjean | 01:10.3840 | 0.9750 | 114.469 | First Spherical |
| 24 | Dennis Hauger | 01:09.9611 | 0.8213 | 115.161 | First Spherical |
| 25 | Sting Ray Robb | 01:10.1619 | 1.0221 | 114.832 | First Spherical |
