In the last race of the IndyCar era with combustion engines, Alex Palou moved into the points lead with his second win at WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca Raceway.
Palou won by 1.9780 seconds from Colton Herta and took a 23-point lead over Will Power (who finished seventh) in the championship through eight of the seventeen races this season.
Palou, who started from pole position for the second time in 2024, is trying to win his third championship in four seasons. In four starts at Laguna Seca, the Spaniard has achieved four podium finishes: two wins, a second and a third.
Defending champion Alex Palou wins again at Laguna Seca
The Chip Ganassi Racing star has scored two victories on the road circuit, where he has finished on the podium in all four starts.
Herta sits fourth in the championship, having equaled a season’s best with a second. Alexander Rossi also finished a season-best third, and Romain Grosjean’s fourth place was Juncos Hollinger Racing’s best finish yet.
The IndyCar Series now heads to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, where the July 7 race will mark the long-awaited debut of hybrid engines.
Here are the IndyCar results and points standings after the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca:
RESULTS
Click here for the official box score of the 95-lap race on the 11-turn, 2,238-mile road course in Monterey, California.
Summary of the event
Tour leader’s summary
Lap chart
Section results
Times of the upper sections
Pit stop summary
Here is the finishing order in the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca with starting position in brackets, driver, engine, laps completed and possible reason:
1. (1) Alex Palou, Honda, 95, running
2. (4) Colton Herta, Honda, 95, running
3. (5) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 95, running
4. (8) Romain Grosjean, Chevrolet, 95, running
5. (2) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 95, running
6. (10) Scott Dixon, Honda, 95, running
7. (15) Will Power, Chevrolet, 95, running
8. (9) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 95, running
9. (17) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 95, running
10. (18) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 95, running
11. (3) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 95, running
12. (23) Nolan Siegel, Chevrolet, 95, running
13. (21) Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, 95, running
14. (24) Pietro Fittipaldi, Honda, 95, running
15. (6) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 95, running
16. (12) David Malukas, Honda, 95, running
17. (16) Linus Lundqvist, Honda, 95, running
18. (13) Agustin Canapino, Chevrolet, 95, running
19. (14) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 95, running
20. (25) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, 94, running
21. (7) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 93, running
22. (11) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 93, running
23. (22) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 86, contact
24. (19) Graham Rahal, Honda, 86, contact
25. (26) Jack Harvey, Honda, 82, mechanical
26. (20) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 71, mechanical
27. (27) Luca Ghiotto, Honda, 34, contact person
The average speed of the winner: 162.740 km/h; Time of race: 2 hours, 4 minutes, 9.8545 seconds; Margin of victory: 1.9780 seconds; Warnings: Five for 14 rounds; Lead change: Seven out of five drivers. Tour leaders: Kirkwood 1-24; Palou 25-26; Rossi 27-36; Palou 37-55; Herta 56-63; Palou 64-69; Newgarden 70-74; Palou 75-95.
POINTS
Click here for the points total in the race.
Top 10 in points: Palou 285, Power 262, Dixon 253, Herta 217, Kirkwood 210, O’Ward 208, Rossi 198, McLaughlin 188, Newgarden 181, Rosenqvist 176.
Rest of the rankings: Lundgaard 156, Ferrucci 154, Ericsson 150, Grosjean 144, Armstrong 129, Rahal 127, Veekay 114, Lundqvist 113, Fittipaldi 97, Simpson 88, Canapino 86, Rasmussen 82, Robbi 78, Pourchaaire 75 39, Siegel 35, Ghiotto 27, Castroneves 26, Daly 21, Larson 21, Sato 19, Malukas 14, Carpenter 14, Vautier 12, Braun 10, Hunter-Reay 6, Andretti 5, Legge 5, Siegel 5.
Next race: The IndyCar Series heads to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for a July 7 race with coverage starting at 1:30 PM ET on NBC and Peacock.
