The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was abuzz with the name Ganassi as the four-car team prepared to defend their Indianapolis 500 victory. However, Arrow McLaren Racing made a resounding entrance on the first day of qualifying, taking the spotlight away from Ganassi.
Former Chip Ganassi Racing driver Felix Rosenqvist led McLaren with the fastest four-lap average of 233.947 mph, which landed him in the third spot in the race’s history. He surpassed teammate Alexander Rossi’s time that had held the top spot for almost six hours.
Rosenqvist expressed his amazement at the tremendous speed they achieved and credited his success to being part of the Arrow McLaren team. All four McLaren drivers secured spots within the top 12 qualifiers, ensuring their participation in Sunday’s pole shootout.
Meanwhile, Ganassi managed to place all its four drivers in the top 12 but defending champion Marcus Ericsson was still undecided about making another qualifying attempt as the day’s buzzer went off.
At the time, he held the 10th position but was caught in a lengthy traffic jam as drivers outside of the top 12 considered withdrawing their times and attempting to log four speedy laps around the historic 2.5-mile oval.
In contrast, Team Penske struggled significantly, with only the reigning IndyCar champion, Will Power, managing to advance into the top 12. Neither Josef Newgarden nor Scott McLaughlin were able to put together a strong enough four-lap average run to climb up the ranks. McLaughlin will begin the Indy 500 from the 14th spot, three places ahead of Newgarden, who did withdraw his time in a last-minute effort to break into the top 12.
Newgarden has yet to win the biggest race in the world after 11 attempts.
“We took an aggressive approach, but it didn’t work out,” Newgarden explained. “We usually handle most situations well, but this race seems to be elusive and I’m not sure why it’s giving us so much trouble.”
“We should not let our egos get in the way. Despite not fully understanding the situation, we must continue to work hard. We were not good enough, and we need to determine why.”
On Sunday, the four fastest drivers will be determined during the final round of qualifying. While Team Penske had a smooth day, Rahal Letterman Lanigan team experienced panic. As Graham Rahal, Christian Lundgaard, and Jack Harvey struggled, the team made a last-minute adjustment, shifting the setup from Katherine Legge’s car to the other three. Legge, the only female driver in the race, was the quickest of the Rahal cars, and the team was desperate to improve their speed.
Rahal, Harvey, Lundgaard, and Sting Ray Robb were the four slowest drivers of the day and will have their own Sunday shootout. Three of them will advance to the field of 33, while one will be eliminated. Team owner Bobby Rahal won the Indy 500 in 1986 but missed it the following year.
“It’s incredibly disappointing. It’s not ideal to compete against each other to qualify,” Lundgaard stated. “At least Katherine did a fantastic job, although we do not have the speed.”
For one of IndyCar’s better teams, the performance was poor, especially when compared to underdog A.J. Foyt Racing, who placed two drivers in the top 12. Chevrolet dominated the day with three of the fastest cars, and all eight of their representatives advanced to the Sunday shootout. The only Honda drivers to make the cut were from the Ganassi team.
Andretti Autosport had a subpar day, failing to qualify a single driver in the top 12. Marco Andretti expressed his frustration, stating that their team is trying different tactics to improve their performance. “It’s embarrassing that we come here to compete and end up running like this. This is the third year in a row that we can’t compete.”