Alex Palou takes magnificent IndyCar pole at Mid-Ohio: See full qualifying results and starting order for race

The IndyCar paddock entered the second half of the season with the Mid-Ohio race weekend, where Alex Palou will start in pole position. However, his climb to the top spot was not an easy one, as the fight for the front seat went down to the wire.

The 2.258-mile track posed various challenges to the 27-car grid as the 13-turn road course possessed a variety of hurdles that they had to overcome to ace the track. The Round 1 Group 1 qualifications saw a pretty mundane session, which was topped by Christian Lundgaard.

However, two big names were unable to make it out of the relegation zone, in Pato O'Ward and Scott McLaughlin. The second group of qualifications began with reigning pole-sitter Louis Foster, claiming the early bragging rights in the session.

Foster's top spot in Round 1 of qualifications did not last for long as rivals started going faster, and Alex Palou deposed him from the top of the timing sheets. But, the major talking point from the session remained that the Team Penske trio was knocked out of the first round of qualifying, with Alexander Rossi making it through the thinnest of margins.

On the other hand, the Round 2 qualifications began with a bang as the rookie Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver went over to the grass in his first run. Meanwhile, Kyle Kirkwood started the session as the leader, but this situation quickly changed as Alex Palou emerged as the table-topper, with Lundgaard and Foster putting in stellar laps to quickly take away this privilege.

Subsequently, the Fast Six got underway, and the shootout for the pole position began. While Nolan Siegel and Kyffin Simpson impressed the IndyCar sphere, the eyes of the fans were glued to the top of the timing sheets as Palou emerged and took home the NTT P1 award. Christian Lundgaard will join him on the front row at Mid-Ohio.

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Alex Palou shares his thoughts on bagging pole position for Mid-Ohio race

Alex Palou ahead of qualifying for the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio - Source: Getty

Alex Palou's pole position around Mid-Ohio was his third pole position of the year. He was the reigning pole sitter at the track and will aim to secure his redemption from last year come raceday.

However, after winning six of the nine races held so far, the Spaniard is not focusing on redemption and was ecstatic after bagging his third P1 award of the year:

"Ever since I started with CGR; we've had great cars, but I would say we've always struggled qualifying upfront, so this year has been phenomenal. Like the speed we have in the cars in every single racetrack we show up has been amazing... Super happy, tomorrow's going to be a great day for sure."

Meanwhile, Palou's nearest championship rival, Kyle Kirkwood, qualified a distant P7 for the race around the 13-turn track.

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What is the starting order for the 2025 IndyCar Mid-Ohio Grand Prix?

The provisional starting order for the IndyCar grid around the race in Ohio is as follows:

1. #10 Alex Palou
2. #7 Christian Lundgaard
3. #8 Kyffin Simpson
4. #6 Nolan Siegel
5. #26 Colton Herta
6. #45 Louis Foster
7. #27 Kyle Kirkwood
8. #66 Marcus Armstrong
9. #9 Scott Dixon
10. #21 Christian Rasmussen
11. #28 Marcus Ericsson
12. #20 Alexander Rossi
13. #76 Conor Daly
14. #4 David Malukas
15. #5 Pato O'Ward
16. #60 Felix Rosenqvist
17. #14 Santino Ferrucci
18. #2 Josef Newgarden
19. #77 Sting Ray Robb
20. #15 Graham Rahal
21. #3 Scott McLaughlin
22. #12 Will Power
23. #30 Devlin DeFrancesco
24. #90 Callum Ilott
25. #51 Jacob Abel
26. #18 Rinus VeeKay
27. #83 Robert Shwartzman