After two dominant performances by Felix Rosenqvist during the opening two segments of Indy 500 qualifying, Alex Palou ended the Swede’s streak. Last year’s Indy 500 winner delivered a stunning qualifying run, while Rosenqvist disappointed with ‘only’ a fourth-place result. Alexander Rossi and David Malukas will join Palou on the front row for next week’s race.

After two qualifying segments, the battle for the prestigious Indy 500 pole position had been narrowed down from 33 drivers to just six contenders.

As the first driver to hit the track, Alexander Rossi immediately showed his intentions with a very strong qualifying effort, producing an impressive four-lap average of 231.990 mph.

Santino Ferrucci and Pato O’Ward failed to beat that mark, while David Malukas initially opened with an underwhelming 231.728 mph. However, while other drivers gradually lost speed during their runs, Malukas became quicker with every lap. In the end, his four-lap average came up just 0.1 mph short of Rossi’s benchmark.

Anyone expecting Rosenqvist to cruise to pole position after dominating the first two qualifying segments was proven wrong. Alex Palou opened with two blistering laps above 232 mph before showing minimal drop-off, completing his four-lap run with an average speed of 232.248 mph.

Palou’s run was faster than Rosenqvist’s effort in the second segment, although the Swede had still been quicker during the opening segment. Rosenqvist, however, started his pole run with his slowest lap of the day and was unable to match his earlier pace, eventually settling for only the fourth-fastest time.

That handed the prestigious Indy 500 pole position to Alex Palou. The Spaniard will share the front row with Alexander Rossi and David Malukas.

“This is really the result of my crew and all the work they’ve done,” Palou told FOX afterward. “I have no words for this. I didn’t expect to have this kind of speed. We really struggled with the car during the first qualifying run. We weren’t satisfied with being 11th in the first segment. Qualifying 31st actually helped me understand the track conditions better. This is an amazing start to the Month of May for me!”

Check out the full starting grid for the 110th Indy 500