Pato O'Ward leads McLaren one-two in qualifying at Thermal

This is the first time since 2022 that O'Ward will start from pole position, and this time it comes with a one-two finish. McLaren. Very comfortable since the start of the weekend, Christian Lundgaard joins his new teammate on the front row. Championship leader Álex Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing) will start third, ahead of Colton Herta (Andretti), Marcus Ericsson (Andretti) and Alexander Rossi (ECR), who had correctly predicted the possibility of his team to show itself better on this first road circuit of the year.

The real underperformance was undoubtedly posted by Team Penske. Its three drivers started in Group 1 Q1. None of the three managed to place in the top 6 or reach Q2! Josef Newgarden will start from seventeenth place, Will Power 21st and Scott McLaughlin 25th. Unlike last year, the Thermal event counts towards the championship, and will be contested on Sunday with an identical format to the others, 65 laps to cover for a total of approximately 320 kilometers. Power explained that it was complicated to fit everything together in one lap of what is the second longest circuit of the season.

Prema's newcomers have had mixed fortunes at the start of the weekend. Callum Ilott qualified 22nd, while Robert Shwartzman will start last. The Israeli driver was unable to complete any laps in Free Practice 1 on Friday due to a fire on his car. After a complete rebuild and engine change, he was able to return to the track for an installation lap in FP2 before taking part in qualifying. The start of this second round of the season will be around 20 p.m. this evening!

Thermal Grand Prix – Qualifying

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