Alex Palou takes pole position for the Indianapolis 500

Defending champion Alex Palou secured pole position for the 2026 Indianapolis 500 on Sunday with a four-lap qualifying average of 232.957 mph (approximately 375 km/h), a run that ESPN logged as the third-fastest pole speed in the race's history.

Palou claimed pole at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. The Spanish driver had already won the 2026 Indianapolis 500 a year earlier and has taken the past three IndyCar Series titles.

In the Fast Six qualifying format, where the six fastest from Saturday's session compete for pole, Palou turned a first lap of 233.150 mph and a fourth lap of 232.768 mph. The four-lap average is the basis for the grid position.

Takuma Sato finished second and Scott McLaughlin third. Two Chip Ganassi Racing cars made the top five, while three Penske drivers ended within the top eight.

Engineers spoken to by ESPN said Palou's Honda-powered Dallara was particularly well adapted to the wind conditions. Track air temperature on Saturday sat at 23°C, with wind speeds of about 11 km/h on the front straight.

"Starting position is half the job," Palou said in the post-qualifying news conference. "The race is 200 laps on Sunday, and strategy and pit-stop pace will be what decides it." He repeatedly noted that pole does not guarantee a race win.

The historical conversion rate of Indy 500 pole sitters to race winners is only about 18 per cent. According to ESPN's compiled history, in the past 20 years just three pole sitters have also won the race: Helio Castroneves in 2010, Ed Carpenter in 2013, and Palou himself in 2025.

The race start order will also include penalties. ESPN reports that two teams were demoted on the grid after being judged to have made unauthorised technical adjustments during qualifying. Two cars otherwise destined for the third and fourth rows will instead start at the back.

The Indianapolis 500 begins on Sunday at 12:45 p.m. ET (16:45 UTC). It is 200 laps long, just over 500 miles, and last year's race was completed at an average speed of 174 mph (280 km/h).

While Palou's chances of back-to-back wins are statistically credible, ESPN's betting-data analysts note that the Indy 500's nature — mechanical attrition and the chance of weather — makes the race notoriously unpredictable. Live coverage will be carried in the United States by NBC, with international broadcasts on Sky Sports F1 and ESPN-affiliated networks.