Alex Palou has qualified on pole position for the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver posted a lap during the Firestone Fast Six that was more than two-tenths of a second quicker than the rest of the field, securing his fifth consecutive pole position — making him the first driver to achieve the feat since Alex Zanardi in 1996 and 1997. David Malukas qualified second, ahead of Marcus Armstrong.

Surprises Mark Opening Qualifying Round

There were immediate surprises in the first group of the opening qualifying round. Rookie Caio Collet posted the second-fastest time, while Nolan Siegel also advanced to the Fast 12. In doing so, Siegel outqualified his highly regarded teammate Christian Lundgaard, who missed out on a Fast 12 berth by just over a tenth of a second.

Alexander Rossi received a drive-through penalty for speeding on pit lane, limiting him to the 11th-fastest time in the group. Combined with a grid penalty, he will also have to start the race from the rear of the field. Mick Schumacher was the slowest driver in the group after finishing both practice sessions inside the top ten. David Malukas topped the group, while Collet, Siegel, Marcus Armstrong, Marcus Ericsson, and Felix Rosenqvist also advanced to the Fast 12.

The biggest surprise in the second group was championship runner-up Kyle Kirkwood. The American could manage only the ninth-fastest time in his group, meaning he will start the race from 18th on the grid. Romain Grosjean came close to advancing to the Fast 12 but made a mistake just before the Carousel and ultimately missed the cut by only six thousandths of a second.

Alex Palou was fastest in the second group, ahead of Will Power, Scott McLaughlin, Pato O’Ward, Santino Ferrucci, and Scott Dixon.

Malukas Leads the Way in the Fast 12

The Fast 12 session did not belong to Palou, who could manage "only" the fourth-fastest time. Malukas set the pace, ahead of Meyer Shank Racing teammates Rosenqvist and Armstrong. Ericsson and McLaughlin also advanced to the Firestone Fast Six, while Ferrucci fell short by just two hundredths of a second at the very last moment.

Siegel continued to impress by qualifying ahead of teammate O’Ward for the first time this season. The young American will start as McLaren’s highest-qualified driver in eighth, while O’Ward will line up tenth.

Palou Dominant in the Firestone Fast Six

As is often the case, the Firestone Fast Six came down to the closing minutes of the session. Rosenqvist was the first driver to post a truly competitive lap, but teammate Armstrong bettered it by nearly three hundredths of a second. Palou then raised the bar significantly, going three tenths faster than Armstrong, a gap that only Malukas was able to reduce slightly.

Most of the drivers had one final opportunity to improve their lap times, but tire wear prevented anyone from finding additional speed. Palou, however, once again demonstrated his dominance by posting another lap that would have been good enough for pole position on its own, just 0.1 seconds slower than his best effort.

With that performance, Palou secured his fifth consecutive pole position.

Full results of the qualifying session at Road America