0
Takuma Sato has taken his first IndyCar pole position since Pocono in 2015, laying down a 1:08.5934 in the Fast Six.
The Japanese driver leads an all Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing front row, as he got the better of teammate Graham Rahal, who held provisional pole after the first round of laps.
Not a single Team Penske car managed to make it into the Fast Six, the first time that has happened since Long Beach, 2014.
Reigning series champion Scott Dixon ended the session in third place, beating Schmidt Peterson Motorsport's James Hinchcliffe to lead the second row.
Sebastian Bourdais was fifth, while Spencer Pigot setting his fastest lap on the slower, black Firestone tyre to secure sixth for the start of tomorrow's race.
Perhaps surprisingly, there were no red flags deployed during the qualifying sessions, after the practice running was heavily disturbed by the reds throughout the weekend on the build-up to qualifying.
Will Power will start from seventh, having secured pole position at the first two rounds of the season so far. His teammates Josef Newgarden and Simon Pagenaud were surprise exits from Q1.
Alexander Rossi joins Power on row four, ahead of Colton Herta, who won last time out at the Circuit of the Americas. Santino Ferrucci will start from tenth.
Firestone Fast Six
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Takuma Sato | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing |
1:08.5934 | - |
| 2. | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing |
1:08.6971 | +0.1037 |
| 3. | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | 1:08.8081 | +0.2147 |
| 4. | James Hinchcliffe | Schmidt Peterson Motorsport | 1:08.8476 | +0.2542 |
| 5. | Sebastien Bourdais | Dale Coyne Racing | 1:09.0189 | +0.4255 |
| 6. | Spencer Pigot | Ed Carpenter Racing | 1:09.6074 | +1.0140 |
Q2
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | James Hinchcliffe | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports | 1:08.4074 | - |
| 2. | Spencer Pigot | Ed Carpenter Racing | 1:08.5951 | +0.1877 |
| 3. | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | 1:08.6123 | +0.2049 |
| 4. | Takuma Sato | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | 1:08.6234 | +0.2160 |
| 5. | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | 1:08.6996 | +0.2922 |
| 6. | Sebastien Bourdais | Dale Coyne Racing | 1:08.7860 | +0.3786 |
| 7. | Will Power | Team Penske | 1:08.8248 | +0.4174 |
| 8. | Alexander Rossi | Andretti Autosport | 1:08.8866 | +0.4792 |
| 9. | Colton Herta | Harding Racing | 1:08.9130 | +0.5056 |
| 10. | Santino Ferrucci | Dale Coyne Racing | 1:09.0213 | +0.6139 |
| 11. | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport | 1:09.0764 | +0.6690 |
| 12. | Jack Harvey | Meyer Shank Racing | 1:09.2967 | +0.8893 |
Q1 Group 2
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | 1:08.4996 | |
| 2. | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | 1:08.5104 | +0.0108 |
| 3. | Will Power | Team Penske | 1:08.5397 | +0.0401 |
| 4. | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport | 1:08.6872 | +0.1876 |
| 5. | Takuma Sato | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | 1:08.7171 | +0.2175 |
| 6. | James Hinchcliffe | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports | 1:08.7545 | +0.2549 |
| 7. | Simon Pagenaud | Team Penske | 1:08.7943 | +0.2947 |
| 8. | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske | 1:08.8700 | +0.3704 |
| 9. | Patricio O'Ward | Carlin | 1:08.9011 | +0.4015 |
| 10. | Marcus Ericsson | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports | 1:08.9226 | +0.4230 |
| 11. | Max Chilton | Carlin | 1:09.0566 | +0.5570 |
| 12. | Ben Hanley | DragonSpeed | 1:10.4165 | +1.9169 |
Q1 Group 1
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Spencer Pigot | Ed Carpenter Racing | 1:08.3548 | - |
| 2. | Colton Herta | Harding Racing | 1:08.3762 | +0.0214 |
| 3. | Santino Ferrucci | Dale Coyne Racing | 1:08.5672 | +0.2124 |
| 4. | Sébastien Bourdais | Dale Coyne Racing | 1:08.5930 | +0.2382 |
| 5. | Alexander Rossi | Andretti Autosport | 1:08.8013 | +0.4465 |
| 6. | Jack Harvey | Meyer Shank Racing | 1:08.8605 | +0.5057 |
| 7. | Marco Andretti | Andretti Autosport | 1:08.8950 | +0.5402 |
| 8. | Matheus Leist | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | 1:08.9477 | +0.5929 |
| 9. | Felix Rosenqvist | Chip Ganassi Racing | 1:08.9630 | +0.6082 |
| 10. | Tony Kanaan | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | 1:09.0327 | +0.6779 |
| 11. | Ed Jones | Ed Carpenter Racing | 1:09.0441 | +0.6893 |
| 12. | Zach Veach | Andretti Autosport | 1:09.4478 | +1.0930 |
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
C. Sainz jr
Replies (0)
Login to reply