Scott McLaughlin will start on the front row in tomorrow’s IndyCar Grand Prix of Monterey, having qualified second at Laguna Seca this morning. McLaren’s Felix Rosenqvist will start on pole in his final race for the team, going just 0.0097 seconds faster than the Kiwi Team Penske driver.
Scott Dixon will start from fifth, next to championship winner Alex Palou, while Marcus Armstrong lines up 15th and Tom Blomqvist 21st.
Dixon and Blomqvist both qualified in Group 1, with the former’s late 1:07.0002 topping the group ahead of Romain Grosjean, rookie Juri Vips, Santino Ferrucci, Rosenqvist and Rinus VeeKay.
Blomqvist was 11th in the group, with only the top six progressing, ahead of rookie Benjamin Pedersen and Ryan Hunter-Reay, the latter of whom triggered a late red flag with a spin and stall at the exit of Turn 11.
There was also an early red flag in Group 2’s running when Helio Castroneves spun off at Turn 3 in what could potentially be his final Road Course race in IndyCar.
Patto O’Ward would top the group with a late 1:06.8459, bettering McLaughlin by 0.0302 seconds. Christian Lundgaard, Josef Newgarden, Palou and Will Power were the others to progress.
Armstrong finished eighth in Group 2, missing out on Top 12 qualifying by two-tenths of a second.
Luundgard set the best time in Round 2, his 1:06.4610 the best time of the day. McLaughlin was second, 0.1052 behind, and was joined by Palou, Rosenqvist, Dixon and Newgarden in progression to the Fast Six.
Vips impressed in just his second race weekend in the series, qualifying as the best of the rest to line up seventh.
The Fast Six showdown came down to the wire, with Rosenqvist’s pole-setting time a whole 4.9 seconds faster than last year’s on the repaved Laguna Seca circuit.
Dixon ventured out on harder primary tyres, which took time to get to temperature, but once they did he went to the top of the leaderboard with a 1:07.0171.
Newgarden would better this shortly after, as would Lundgaard, McLaughlin and Rosenqvist, all on softer tyre compounds.
Lundgaard and Newgarden line up on the second row, behind Rosenqvist and McLaughlin, while Dixon claims the inside grid on row three next to Palou.
Tomorrow’s IndyCar Grand Prix of Monterey coverage starts at 6.30 am on Sky Sport 5.
Header Image: Penske Entertainment: James Black
