New qualification system at the Indy 500, how does it work?

After several days of practice, the 2026 Indy 500 drivers will focus on qualifying for the most important race of the year on Saturday and Sunday. As is tradition, each qualifying run consists of four flying laps, with the combined time of the four laps determining the starting grid order. While the first session on Saturday usually determines positions 13th through 30th, the absence of a 34th entrant this year eliminates the need for a "Bump Day," a last-chance session for drivers who qualified beyond 30th on Saturday and battle for a spot on the back row of the grid.

This year, following Saturday's qualifying session (from 5:00 PM to 11:50 PM Paris time), positions 16 through 33 will be determined and locked in for the 110th running of the Indy 500, which will take place on Sunday, May 24. A week earlier, on Sunday, May 17, the qualifying process becomes more complex, divided into several phases to offer maximum suspense and excitement.

Drivers who finished first through ninth on Saturday qualify directly for the Fast 12 session. The final three spots are determined by a session called the "Final 15," which pits drivers who finished tenth through fifteenth on Saturday against each other. One by one, in reverse order of their finishing position, they will complete four qualifying laps, with only one attempt per driver. After the six runs, the top three qualify for the Fast 12, while the bottom three will start on the fifth row of the Indy 500 grid, in positions 13 through 15.

The Fast 12 format then repeats, starting with the slowest of the three drivers who qualified from the Final 15, and ending with the driver who set the fastest time on Saturday. The top six drivers advance to the Fast 6, while the other six will start on the third and fourth rows of the grid. The final session, the Fast 6, will determine the pole position, which will be filled by Robert Shwartzman, who is not competing this year, and the first two rows of the Indy 500 grid.

It used to be said that the four qualifying runs for the Indy 500 were the toughest of the season, as the car had no downforce and speeds could reach 390 km/h on the straights. This year, to secure pole position, a driver will have to complete at least three qualifying runs in the same weekend… whereas in the race's heyday, three runs were allowed over the entire month, and therefore over four qualifying days! Securing pole at Indianapolis is undoubtedly a test of courage…

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