Christian Lundgaard was able to seize every opportunity that came his way to claim on Saturday the second victory of his IndyCar career, as well as McLaren’s first win in 2026.
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Starting fourth, the Dane and the McLaren No. 7 team delivered a flawless performance, both in strategy and during pit stops and on track.
A spectacular overtake allowed him to snatch the lead from David Malukas, driver of Team Penske, who ultimately finished second with the Chevy No. 12. Graham Rahal completed the podium behind the wheel of the Honda No. 15 from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
Palou and Kirkwood trapped
Author of the pole position, Alex Palou had dominated the first 23 laps without difficulty. But a strategic misunderstanding at Chip Ganassi Racing — the team thought a full course caution had been deployed after Alexander Rossi (ECR) stopped on track when it was only a local yellow flag — disrupted the race.
Palou and Kyle Kirkwood (Andretti) stayed on track while Lundgaard and Malukas dived into the pits. When the real full course caution was triggered, Palou and Kirkwood finally refueled but dropped to the back of the pack. Malukas then inherited the lead, with Lundgaard immediately on his tail.
The Arrow McLaren driver then made a bold move to definitively take command, while Palou climbed from last place up to fifth, just behind Josef Newgarden, who was very strong throughout the race. Kirkwood, meanwhile, suffered another slow stop and had to settle for ninth place.
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Hauger laughs, Grosjean cries
Further back in the pack, rookie Dennis Hauger benefited from a huge accident that occurred on the first lap, trapping much of the mid-grid. The Dale Coyne Racing driver climbed from 24th to 8th place, by far the best rookie of the day.
Better qualified in eleventh on the grid, his teammate Romain Grosjean was fighting in the top 5 early in the race before foolishly losing a lap when the pit lane was closed as he was about to enter, then being forced off into the gravel by a somewhat too aggressive Marcus Armstrong (MSR), which led to a small altercation in the pits after the finish…
Conversely, Scott Dixon was involuntarily involved in this multi-car incident. Sent to the back of the field with a destroyed front wing and damaged suspension, the Ganassi driver nevertheless managed an impressive comeback to sixth place.
Finally, Mick Schumacher seemed on track to secure a solid top 12 for RLL before contact with Santino Ferrucci late in the race sent the AJ Foyt Racing driver into a spin. Schumacher received a drive-through penalty and ultimately finished 20th. And now, in two weeks, see you at the speedway for the Indy 500!
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