Will Power on pole in St Petersburg

If, after free practice, we expected a Honda package in pole position, it was without counting on this devil from Will Power (Team Penske / Chevrolet). At the wheel of his car Wearing the No. 12, the Australian signed his seventh pole position on the Florida circuit, his third in a row. Author of a lap in 1'01"0640, he was ahead of the New Zealander Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing / Honda) by 0"1579 and the Canadian James Hinchcliffe (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports / Honda) by 0"2399.

For his debut at Penske, Josef Newgarden made a strong impression as he, with his teammate Will Power, was the only Chevrolet driver to have reached Fast Six, the third phase of qualifying pitting the six fastest drivers in Q2 against each other. The top six is ​​completed by the Japanese Takuma Sato (Andretti Autosport / Honda) and the Brazilian Tony Kanaan (Chip Ganassi Racing / Honda).

Nightmarish qualifications for the French. Very energetic since the start of the weekend, Sébastien Bourdais (Dale Coyne Racing / Honda) will start 21st and last, the fault of contact with the tire stacks during the first phase of qualifying. simon pagenaud (Team Penske) also failed to qualify for Q2. The Poitevin will start fourteenth tomorrow, two rows ahead of his teammate Helio Castroneves, three-time winner of the Florida event.