– In qualifying for the 2026 IndyCar season finale at Laguna Seca Raceway near Monterey in the US state of California, Mick Schumacher (Rahal-Honda) got stuck in the Q1 segment. He will start the race on Sunday from P14 in the seventh row. (Schedule, track data, entry list, TV and more: All information about the 2026 IndyCar season finale)
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After Schumacher finished the two previous free practice sessions in P15 (FT1 on Friday) and P6 (shortened FT2 on Saturday), he was one of twelve drivers in Group 1 who had to go out on track in the Q1 segment of qualifying.
With a personal best time of 1:09.572 minutes, Schumacher was temporarily the fastest in Group 1. Immediately after completing this lap, however, he slightly went off into the dirt beside the track at turn 10 – the first corner after the alternative finish line in qualifying.
Despite this mistake at the beginning of the timed lap, Schumacher was briefly on course for an improvement. But then he did not take the legendary Corkscrew section optimally. The chance for a further improvement was definitively gone.
“I made a small mistake in the Corkscrew, too bad! We had a good plan for qualifying. The car feels good. The day that counts is tomorrow,” was Schumacher’s first reaction in a TV interview with Fox after his renewed Q1 exit. (Results: 2026 IndyCar season finale Laguna Seca)
The only time Schumacher made it beyond the Q1 segment of qualifying on a road course in his rookie IndyCar season was at the street circuit in Markham, Canada. There he qualified 11th in the Q2 segment.
Mick Schumacher’s rookie colleagues Caio Collet (Foyt-Chevrolet) and Dennis Hauger (Coyne-Honda) qualified for the season finale at Laguna Seca Raceway in positions 12 (Collet) and 24 (Hauger), respectively, which does not correspond to their starting positions for Sunday in both cases. Reason: There are two grid penalties, one of which affects Collet (see below).
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Scott McLaughlin takes last pole of the season
The fight for the last pole of the 2026 IndyCar season was won by Scott McLaughlin (Penske-Chevrolet) in the six-driver Q3 segment. With a lap time of 1:09.136 minutes, the New Zealander relegated none other than the newly crowned five-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou (Ganassi-Honda) to P2.
Palou had previously set the best time in both the Q1 segment (Group 2) and the Q2 segment with a 1:09.1 time. Palou also drove a 1:09.1 in the Q3 segment, but McLaughlin was 0.018 seconds faster. For McLaughlin, this is the third pole of the season after St. Petersburg and Milwaukee 1.
Third fastest in the Q3 segment behind McLaughlin and Palou was Felix Rosenqvist (Shank-Honda), followed by Alexander Rossi (Carpenter-Chevrolet), Christian Lundgaard (McLaren-Chevrolet), and David Malukas (Penske-Chevrolet). Notably, Kyle Kirkwood (Andretti-Honda; 7th) did not advance from Q2 to Q3.
For six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon (Ganassi-Honda), the end came already in Q1. Dixon starts the last race of his remarkable 25-year Ganassi career from far back. He has not won a race this season yet. If he does not win on Sunday either, it would mark the end of an incredible 21-year streak of consecutive seasons with at least one win. In 2027, Dixon will race for McLaren.
Grid penalties for Christian Lundgaard and Caio Collet
The 2026 IndyCar season finale at Laguna Seca Raceway will be held over a distance of 95 laps on Sunday. Two drivers must drop six positions on the starting grid due to engine changes. Christian Lundgaard, for whom the fight for the runner-up title in the 2026 IndyCar driver standings behind Alex Palou is still on the line in his last race as a McLaren driver, will start from P11.
Caio Collet, for whom the rookie title and entry into the Leaders Circle are still at stake in what is likely his last race for A.J. Foyt Enterprises, will start from P18 in the 25-car field. Thus, the Brazilian starts four places behind Schumacher and six places ahead of Hauger. However, Collet’s chances in both standings, rookie and Leaders Circle, are slim. His deficit to Hauger is 30 points. More than 48 points cannot be made up after qualifying at an IndyCar race weekend.
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