It’s not been long since Álex Palou took a dominant pole position for the Sonsio Grand Prix. With qualifying replacing warmup, the tyre strategy is relatively unknown for the race. Consequently, there was a range of strategies at play as the grid tried to get the better of Palou. Ultimately, David Malukas and Christian Lundgaard battled for the win, with the No.7 Arrow McLaren taking his second victory.
The race was preceded by a tribute in memory of Alex Zanardi. The montage looked back on his INDYCAR career and what he achieved. Each car for the race is sporting a sticker to pay their respects for the champion.
A Yellow To Start
With Palou bunching the field up to start, as the Spaniard crossed the alternate start/finish line chaos was starting at the rear of the grid. Contact between a range of drivers just before the green flag saw Rinus VeeKay suffer front-wing damage.
But that wasn’t the only trouble at the start. As Pato O’Ward was looking around the outside of Palou Turn 1, Felix Rosenqvist locked up. Driving into the Arrow McLaren, the pair spun and caught Scott Dixon and Caio Collet. Many drivers had to go wide to avoid the contact, promoting Kyle Kirkwood to P2. In a separate incident, Scott McLaughlin tangled with Louis Foster. He subsequently received a three-place grid penalty.
Whilst Rosenqvist and O’Ward were able to get going, Dixon and Collet were stuck together. Consequently, a full course caution a brought the safety car out. Fortunately, all drivers were unharmed and, once recovered, were able to keep going. Race control awarded Rosenqvist with a drive-through penalty for avoidable contact.
A Dangerous Decision and More Cautions
Following the restart, Palou was building a gap back to Kirkwood behind him. The fastest man on the track soon had a three second lead over his championship rival. In contrast, second-place starter Pato O’Ward opted to switch to an alternate strategy and pit early. However, a slow stop due to a missing wheel nut put him even further down the grid.
After his ECR teammate retired due to a gearbox issue, Alexander Rossi began to slow on the main straight, eventually stopping just after the iconic bricks. In a controversial move, Race Control only displayed a local yellow. Without a full course yellow, drivers maintained their pace, putting Rossi at risk. Understandably, the drivers were vocal about the need for a caution.
Whilst the local yellow was shown, most of the grid opted to pit. The exception came from the top two of Palou and Kirkwood. But the switch to a full course caution prevented them from pitting a lap later. This meant they had to pit once the grid had bunched up, falling to P19 and P20 respectively.
The caution bred another caution, and when the field went green Rosenqvist was in another Turn 1 incident. This time, Sting Ray Robb touched O’Ward. Kyffin Simpson then touched Robb, and Rosenqvist went into them both, gaining some air time. As a result, Rosenqvist had to retire, and another caution was brought out.
Palou Weaves Through The Field
As Rosenqvist met the air, Palou was forced wide over the grass to avoid contact. Kirkwood was able to stay on track, overtaking his championship rival. As the third caution came to a close, Palou was facing a recovery drive from 21st on the grid. In the second stint Kirkwood proved his speed, overtaking the grid to set cars between the pair.
But it switched again following the second pit stop. Palou chose the undercut, coming in a lap before Kirkwood. When the Andretti Global driver came in, he needed a perfect stop. But it wasn’t to be. A wheel nut issue caused the No.27 to be stationary for 15 seconds, and he joined the grid behind Palou.
Palou’s sight was set on returning to the front of the grid. Slowly but surely, he was overtaking the field around him. Being on a different strategy to those around him saw him save more fuel. But being strategic with his Push to Pass, Palou was able to gain ground. Ultimately, the championship leader finished fifth, unable to gain or overtake Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden.
Malukas Vs Lundgaard
Following Palou and Kirkwood being forced to take a later pit stop, Malukas inherited the lead. Now leading the field, it was time for the newest Team Penske addition to show his skills. During the second stint he was able to build a gap to Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard, and the pair were breaking away from Graham Rahal in third. The gap allowed Malukas to retain the net lead after the second pit stop.
Coming in for his second pit, Malukas mentioned that there could be an issue with his engine. Team Penske saw nothing of concern on the data and he continued to run. After initially building a gap, Lundgaard was starting to gain on Malukas as the third stint was closing. This time, the Dane chose to undercut the leader. Whilst this didn’t completely work, with Malukas retaining his lead, they were closer than before as the final stint began.
It wasn’t long before Lundgaard challenged Malukas for the lead. With 18 laps to go, the pair fought side-by-side through the corners. And, with more Push to Pass to utitilise, Lundgaard won out. After taking the lead, he checked out, leaving Malukas to defend from Rahal.
A Maiden McLaren Win and Best Results
As the chequered flag fell, Lundgaard had a 4.4 second gap over Malukas. Equaling his best result, Lundgaard finally achieved his second win in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. This marked his maiden win for Arrow McLaren, and the papaya team’s first win in 2026.
“Very happy. I really didn’t expect this today. I hoped for it. This was a long wait for this win. Especially around this place. I mean, Jack, you know how fast I’ve always been here. And it’s just been time after time after time, disappointments. And now we’re here.“
~ Lundgaard post-race to Jack Harvey, FOX Reporter.
But across the field, best results were being recorded. Rookie Dennis Hauger posted his best finish this series, finishing eighth after starting P24. Fellow rookie, Mick Schumacher, also was on course for his best finish. The German was in P12 and battling Santino Ferrucci. However, in the closing laps, he ran into the back of Ferrucci, sending the A. J. Foyt Racing driver spinning. Consequently, Schumacher was handed a drive-through penalty. This caused him to finish 20th, and the last driver on the lead lap.
The Top Ten for the Sonsio Grand Prix were as follows:
The Sonsio Grand Prix gave us a chaotic start to the Month of May with a postponed qualifying session, a criticised yellow, and a new winner. Now, there is a two-day break to reset and refocus. Tuesday 12th May sees the beginning of the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500. Who will cement their name in INDYCAR history?