Detroit – Race: Palou in control for his fourth win of the year

He was worried about being able to win from pole position since he had not managed to do so in the last two races at Indianapolis (the Grand Prix and the 500 Miles), Álex Palou controlled the eighth round of the championship to win for the fourth time this year, once again ahead of Kyle Kirkwood (Andretti Global), who takes back second place in the championship.

The first stint of the race seemed to promise Álex Palou another respectable result, but not enough for the competitor of his. Indeed, the Spaniard lost several positions towards the end of his stint, with his soft tires on their last legs. Having pitted first, alongside Kirkwood, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver regained the lead, and this slightly earlier-than-planned stop allowed him to repeat the same strategic move later in the race, when he was leading.

The hallmark of champions is knowing how to create their own luck, and two laps after his second and final pit stop, Palou was saved by a safety car period caused by contact between Santino Ferrucci (AJ Foyt Racing) and Rinus VeeKay (Juncos Hollinger Racing). With twenty laps to go, Palou rejoined the race with several other drivers behind him who had also benefited from having the race neutralized after their pit stops, including David Malukas (Team Penske) and Mick Schumacher (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing), then fighting for a podium finish.

The two men eventually went wide after Schumacher's wheel locked up, triggering a finish with several safety car periods after a very calm first half. Rossi (ECR) caused a yellow flag by exiting Romain Grosjean (Dale Coyne Racing) under braking on the long straight, while Will Power (Andretti Global) and Scott McLaughlin (Team Penske), Palou's two most serious rivals in this event… neutralized each other by colliding several times.

Although Kirkwood had soft tires at the end of the race, he was no match for Palou, who secured his fourth victory of the year. Graham Rahal (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) earned an unexpected podium finish, allowing Honda to complete a 1-2-3 on General Motors' home turf. The Arrow riders McLarenPato O'Ward and Christian Lundgaard completed the top 5 ahead of Indianapolis 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist (Meyer Shank Racing).

The season continues from Sunday night to next Monday, with the Gateway event.

IndyCar 2026 – Detroit
The classification of the race

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