Pato OWard will start from pole position in Portland and keeps his title options alive
The Mexican needs to close the gap on Palou, who is fifth, to stay in the championship race.
Pato O'Ward will start from pole position this Sunday in the Portland Grand Prix, the penultimate round of the 2025 IndyCar calendar. The Arrow McLaren driver benefited from the penalty for his teammate Christian Lundgaard, who had qualified first but will drop six places due to an engine change.
For O'Ward, this result is more than a good start: it represents the opportunity to close in on Alex Palou, the championship leader with a 121-point advantage.
The Spaniard, who will start from fifth place, could be crowned this weekend if he maintains a gap of at least 108 points.
Tight qualifying and costly mistakes
In the first phase of the session, Palou was the fastest in his group with a time of 58.118, followed by his teammate Kyffin Simpson. In the other group, O'Ward dominated with a 58.242, leaving Marcus Ericsson and Josef Newgarden behind.
The second round was led by Felix Rosenqvist (58.1918), with the Arrow McLarens just behind: Lundgaard at +0.063 and O'Ward at +0.090. Palou, Power and Malukas completed the pass to Fast 6, the decisive round.
In that last instance, Lundgaard clocked 58.3939 seconds, but the penalty handed pole to the Mexican. O'Ward was +0.141 behind, while Rosenqvist, Power, Malukas and Palou completed the group. The Catalan made a mistake and went off the track, losing any chance of improving his time.
"I gave my best, tried to go as fast as possible, maybe I was a bit on the limit. But I'm happy to be in the Fast Six, to start in the top six tomorrow and ready to fight," Palou told Fox Sports.
O'Ward, for his part, highlighted the team's progress: "I'm very happy with this great qualifying, we're going to start first, so that's the best." This was our toughest track last year, so it's a big step forward.
Championship Scenarios
If the Monterrey native wants to prolong the fight until the final races, He'll need to outscore Palou by at least 14 points in Portland, or at worst, finish within 107 points of the race. If Palou can finish ahead of O'Ward or second with a few extra points, he could secure his fourth IndyCar title, following those in 2021, 2023, and 2024.