Samwise IndyCar Newsletter
Saturday, May 9, 2026
Palou Sets the Pace in Both Sonsio Grand Prix Practice Sessions
Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing led both Friday practice sessions at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, setting up the four-time champion as the favourite for Saturday’s 85-lap Sonsio Grand Prix. Palou posted 1 minute 10.0904 seconds in Practice 1, then topped Practice 2 at 1:10.4507 in the No. 10 DHL Honda. Kyle Kirkwood, trailing Palou by 17 championship points, was second in the afternoon session at 1:10.5574. Louis Foster of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing surged to third in Practice 2 at 1:10.7182, one of several drivers to impress ahead of today’s qualifying and race.
Sources: RACER
Rain Forces Sonsio GP Qualifying to Move to Saturday Morning
Persistent rain and standing water on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course forced IndyCar officials to cancel Friday evening’s scheduled NTT P1 Award qualifying session for the Sonsio Grand Prix. The three-round knockout session will now begin at 10:45 a.m. ET Saturday on FS2, with coverage moving to FS1 at 11:30 a.m. Saturday’s warm-up session has also been cancelled to accommodate qualifying. The 85-lap race itself remains on schedule with the green flag at approximately 4:55 p.m. ET on FOX. Both Friday practice sessions ran without issue in dry morning conditions before the rain arrived in the afternoon.
Sources: RACER
Enzo Fittipaldi Charges from Tenth to Win Wet Indy NXT Race 1 at IMS
Enzo Fittipaldi charged from tenth on the grid to score his first INDY NXT by Firestone victory in Race 1 of the Indianapolis doubleheader on Friday afternoon, outdueling Lochie Hughes in a wet and chaotic race. Hughes led from pole through Lap 12 before rain triggered a red flag, allowing teams to switch to Firestone Firehawk wet tyres. Fittipaldi made his decisive move on Lap 25 exiting Turn 9, going on to take the flag ahead of Hughes with Nikita Johnson third. The race produced a record 284 on-track passes at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Sources: Speedway Media
IndyCar Toughens Push-to-Pass Rules, Makes Drivers Personally Liable for Illegal Use
IndyCar has updated its rulebook to make drivers personally responsible for illegal Push-to-Pass activation, even when a system malfunction is to blame. New language states it is solely the competitor’s responsibility to ensure P2P is not used during prohibited periods, regardless of the INDYCAR signal status. The rule follows April’s Long Beach race, where a software fault sent simultaneous CAN-bus messages to all 25 cars, accidentally activating P2P during a restart. IndyCar did not penalise the 12 drivers found to have pressed the button opportunistically during that incident, but the updated rulebook closes the loophole for future races.
Sources: RACER
Expanded Push-to-Pass Availability Causing Strategic Confusion at Indianapolis
A revised Push-to-Pass policy is causing confusion among IndyCar drivers at Indianapolis ahead of Saturday’s Sonsio Grand Prix. Beginning this weekend, P2P is available at all times on road and street courses once drivers pass the alternate start-finish line after the green flag, including on restarts where it was previously banned. The expanded deployment window adds complexity to race strategy, with teams reworking when to use the 60 horsepower boost. Several drivers noted in Friday media sessions that adapting to the new rules will take time, and engineers are revising pit boards to clearly flag the expanded activation window.
Sources: ClickOnDetroit
Mick Schumacher’s Practice Lap at IMS Matches Michael Schumacher’s 2002 F1 Pole Time
Mick Schumacher posted a lap of 1 minute 10.7904 seconds during Friday’s second Sonsio Grand Prix practice session at Indianapolis Motor Speedway — almost identical to the 1:10.790 set by his father Michael Schumacher when claiming pole for the 2002 United States Formula 1 Grand Prix at the same venue. The coincidence, spotted by IndyCar journalist Eric Smith, spread quickly through the paddock. Mick’s team, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, acknowledged the moment on social media. Though the IndyCar road course layout differs from the former F1 circuit, the near-matching times 24 years apart provided one of the weekend’s most talked-about stories.
Sources: PlanetF1
O’Ward ‘Definitely in Trouble’ After Arrow McLaren Struggles in Sonsio GP Practice
Pato O’Ward was left without answers after finishing 19th in Friday’s second Sonsio Grand Prix practice session, more than half a second behind session leader Alex Palou in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. O’Ward said bluntly: “We’re definitely in trouble. I’m hoping for the rain, because I don’t think you can get much worse than where we’re at.” His teammates Christian Lundgaard and Nolan Siegel were considerably more competitive, placing fourth and tenth in Practice 2. The gap between O’Ward and his teammates makes the pace deficit particularly puzzling for Arrow McLaren to diagnose before qualifying Saturday morning.
Sources: RACER
Drivers’ Championship
Through Round 5 — Grand Prix of Long Beach
1. Alex Palou — 205 pts
2. Kyle Kirkwood — 188 pts
3. David Malukas — 142 pts
4. Pato O’Ward — 136 pts
5. Christian Lundgaard — 131 pts
6. Josef Newgarden — 130 pts
7. Scott McLaughlin — 127 pts
8. Scott Dixon — 120 pts
9. Felix Rosenqvist — 109 pts
10. Graham Rahal — 106 pts
11. Alexander Rossi — 105 pts
12. Marcus Armstrong — 104 pts
13. Marcus Ericsson — 104 pts
14. Will Power — 89 pts
15. Rinus VeeKay — 79 pts
16. Dennis Hauger — 76 pts
17. Kyffin Simpson — 75 pts
18. Santino Ferrucci — 74 pts
19. Louis Foster — 68 pts
20. Romain Grosjean — 55 pts
21. Nolan Siegel — 51 pts
22. Caio Collet — 42 pts
23. Sting Ray Robb — 38 pts
24. Mick Schumacher — 35 pts
25. Katherine Legge — 12 pts
Teams’ Championship
Through Round 5 — Grand Prix of Long Beach
1. Chip Ganassi Racing — 400 pts
2. Team Penske — 399 pts
3. Andretti Global — 381 pts
4. Arrow McLaren — 267 pts
5. Meyer Shank Racing — 213 pts
6. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing — 209 pts
7. Ed Carpenter Racing — 105 pts
8. Juncos Hollinger Racing — 79 pts
9. Dale Coyne Racing — 76 pts
10. A.J. Foyt Racing — 74 pts
Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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