Colton Herta secured pole position for the Detroit Grand Prix after benefitting from a red flag caused by Andretti team mate Kyle Kirkwood. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Palou will start alongside him on the front row, ahead of Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin. Despite a crash in practice, McLaren rookie Theo Pourchaire bounced back to top the first group, progressing alongside Scott McLaughlin, Josef Newgarden, Kyle Kirkwood, Will Power and Santino Ferrucci.
Championship leader Alex Palou set the pace in the second group, progressing along with Christian Lundgaard, Colton Herta, Marcus Ericsson, Pato O’Ward and Scott Dixon. O’Ward’s second round ended in embarrassing fashion when he got stuck at turn five trying to get out of the way of cars behind, but stalled the car. After a red flag, the session resumed without the McLaren driver, with Palou, Newgarden, Dixon, McLaughlin, Kirkwood and Herta those who progressed through to the Fast Six.
Palou set the quickest time with a 1’00.699, before Herta took provisional pole by a tenth-and-a-half in the closing minutes. With less than a minute remaining, Kirkwood ran wide at the end of the long straight into the turn three escape road.
Kirkwood’s attempt to spin-turn the car failed, stalling the car and bringing out the red flag. The session resumed with every driver guaranteed a final flying lap, however a single outlap did not seem like enough to help the drivers prepare their tyres for a push lap and the.
