There was no missed opportunity for Christian Lundgaard this time around.
Six weeks after seeing a winning opportunity unravel in the closing stages at Barber Motorsports Park, there was no denying both Lundgaard and Arrow McLaren in Saturday’s Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.
A riveting pass to the outside of David Malukas moved Lundgaard to the lead with 18 laps to go. The Dane checked out from there, marching out to a 4.6-second advantage over Malukas to claim his second win in the series. Lundgaard’s victory ended a 47-race winless streak dating back to July 2023.
“Very happy,” Lundgaard said during a post-race interview. “I really didn’t expect this today. I hoped for it. This was a long wait for this win, especially around this place. You know how fast I’ve always been around here, and it’s just been time after time after time disappointments. Now we’re here. Let’s go!
“We did it. Let’s go. Good start to May.”
Graham Rahal came home third, securing his second podium in the past three races. Josef Newgarden and four-time series champion Alex Palou rounded out the top five, with Scott Dixon, Louis Foster, Dennis Hauger, Kyle Kirkwood and Nolan Siegel completing the top ten.
The top two drivers in the series points standings laid down the gauntlet early on. Palou and Kirkwood ran first and second amid a caution-filled opening stint, with the yellow flag flying frequently within the first 30 laps of the race.
One of those resulted in the flow of the race being upended. When Alexander Rossi’s car stalled on the frontstretch, it first prompted a local yellow before being swapped to a full-course caution – a delay Rossi wasn’t fond of in the moment.
Rossi’s frustrations stole the spotlight in the moment, but the caution had deeper ramifications on the surrounding race.
Since Palou and Kirkwood hadn’t yet pitted, they ended up having to come in under the ensuing yellow, dropping them to the rear of the field and effectively out of winning contention.
Both drivers rallied, but ran out of time to make up the deficit. It kept Palou from winning his third race in a row on the IMS road course, leaving the Spaniard disappointed on a day he’d entered as the favorite after starting from pole.
The caution brought out by Rossi’s engine expiration was part of an eventful beginning of Saturday’s race thanks to multiple yellow flags, three in the first 30 laps. The final of those yellows came as Kyffin Simpson and Christian Rasmussen got together while trying to avoid Sting Ray Robb‘s entry in turn 13.
The first caution flew on the opening lap. Felix Rosenqvist came into Saturday afternoon with momentum after a third-place qualifying effort, but that prosperity barely lasted one turn as he, Dixon and Caio Collet ended up caught up in a three-car incident.
All three drivers continued on after the incident, though Rosenqvist was hit with a drive-through penalty for avoidable contact.
Rinus Veekay also sustained damage coming to the green flag. Christian Rasmussen avoided the initial chaos, but wound up taking damage that eventually knocked him out of the event just six laps into the race.
2026 IndyCar Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course Results
With the road course opener complete, the Month of May continues onto the oval for the NTT IndyCar Series next week with practice and qualifying. The 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 is set for May 25 at 12:30 p.m. EST, with coverage to air on FOX.
Brad joined Frontstretch.com in 2020 and contributes to the site's 5 Points To Ponder column and other roles as needed. A graduate of the University of Georgia's Henry W. Grady School of Journalism and Mass Communication, he has covered sports in some capacity for more than 20 years with coverage including local high school sports, college athletics and minor league hockey. Brad has received multiple awards for his work from the Georgia Press Association.
Good on Lundgaard. The breaks fell his way, and he didn’t squander the opportunity.
I’ve yet to see an official explanation of what went on when Rossi’s car died. I hope there’s a logical reason for what happened, but I can’t come up with any scenario where the answer isn’t “officials effed up”.
I understand this was in the middle of a pit sequence, and throwing a caution would (and eventually did) turn the race upside down. But, this happens sometimes in racing, and it’s not a reason to endanger a driver. For those who haven’t seen it, Rossi’s car died on the front stretch, leaving him against the inside wall. There is no “apron” at Indy. Inside wall, then the track, then the outside wall. A local yellow, which was initially thrown, isn’t good enough to protect a stopped car here. Rossi was stranded in an area where cars were running 170+ mph.
So, Rossi (understandably) decided sitting in his car was more dangerous than climbing out and getting away. Remember, there was no sign a full caution was coming. This left Rossi crossing pit road on foot, while cars were coming down the open pit road. Then the full caution fell. I get that drivers put their lives on the line every race. It’s part of the sport. But I cannot find a defensible reason to leave a driver stranded, on the highest speed portion of a track.