Indycar Long Beach Grand Prix Weekend Recap

The IndyCar Grand Prix in Long Beach California came to an intense finish by winner Alex Palou in the number 10 from Chip Ganassi Racing. 

(Image credit to @alexpalou on Instagram)

The circuit in Long Beach is a 1.968 mile long circuit,  consisting of 11-turns, and 90 laps. The first practice started off smoothly until with about 30 minutes left to the end of the session Mick Schumacher stopped on track and was advised not to switch his car on by the team. This incident resulted in a red flag which paused the session for several minutes before resuming for the last 25 minutes. By the end of the session Will Power went fastest overall, followed by Scott Mclaughin, then Kyle Kirkwood, Alex Palou, and Marcus Armstrong. 

Practice 2 showed drivers like Kirkwood and Malukas continuing with stellar performances. With Kirkwood topping the time sheets after a 1:07.5417, the quickest time over the two sessions. David Malukas finished the session in 2nd place with a 1:07.7750, followed by Pato O’Ward who finished the session in 3rd. 

Practice 2 came with plenty of contact with Nolan Seigel hitting the wall in turn 8, Mick Schumacher hit the tire barrier on Turn 3. Romain Grosjean brought out the third and final red flag of the session when he collided with the concrete barrier on turn 1. Neither driver was hurt, and the session ended prematurely following the impact of Grosjean. 

Qualifying followed the same format as previous races this season with the Firestone Fast Six featuring single qualifying laps from the 6 drivers participating in the session. A format IndyCar has adopted from oval race qualifyings to the street circuit format. 

The top 6 drivers included Rosenqvist driving for Mayer Shank Racing, O’Ward for Arrow McLaren, Palou with Chip Ganassi, Kirkwood with Andretti Global, Malukas from Team Penske, and Dixon with Chip Ganassi racing. After the Fast 6 session the order didn’t change between the top 6 with championship leader Kirkwood starting in fourth on the grid. 

Starting 3rd on the Grid, Palou made a move against O’Ward on the opening lap to take 2nd place. The next 45 minutes ran smoothly without any cautions, with the top 5 holding positions. Rosenqvist led with a 3 second advantage over Palou until debris from the track caused a caution eliminating the gap he held for the majority of the race. 

Following a quick pitstop Palou was able to take the lead from Rosenqvist. The race ended with Palou in first place, Rosenqvist in second and Scott Dixon finishing off the podium. 

Alex Palou now leads the championship with 205 points, Kyle Kirkwood who going into the weekend lead the championship is now in second place with 188 points. IndyCar will be returning in May for the Sonsio Grand Prix on May 9, followed by the Indianapolis 500 on May 24, 2026. 

Article Written by Israa Ihab