Thunderstorms and hours of rain on Saturday in Indianapolis prevent the scheduled holding of Q1 for the Indy 500 – New schedule for Sunday
The first of two scheduled qualifying days for the 110th edition of the Indianapolis 500, the highlight of the 2026 IndyCar season, has been completely rained out. Because it rained for hours on Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and there was also a thunderstorm, the Q1 session scheduled for the day with all 33 registered participants could not take place.
The minimum goal would have been for every driver to complete at least one four-lap run, meaning they could complete four consecutive flying laps without being affected by the weather. This was not possible due to the continuous rain. In fact, not a single one of the 33 IndyCar cars was able to take to the track. And with that, the entire schedule for this year’s already-modified Indy 500 qualifying format has now changed.
Because the Q1 segment could not take place on Saturday, it will be rescheduled for Sunday. Q1 is scheduled to begin at 12:00 p.m. local time (6:00 p.m. CEST). However, it will take place in a shortened format. Instead of the opportunity for multiple four-lap attempts that would have been available during the originally scheduled 6-hour and 50-minute time slot, each of the 33 drivers will get the chance for just a single four-lap attempt on Sunday. This will determine the Q1 results.
Based on this postponed Q1 result, the top 12 will advance to the second qualifying segment, which, due to the postponement, will also be the final one. This is the Top 12 Shootout as the second qualifying segment, followed by the third qualifying segment, the Fast 6 Shootout.
In the latter Q3 segment, the six starting positions in the first two rows, including pole position, will be determined. The scheduled start time for the Top 12 Shootout is 4:30 p.m. local time (10:30 p.m. CEST). The final Fast-6 Shootout is scheduled to begin around 6:00 p.m. local time (midnight CEST). In both the Top-12 Shootout and the Fast-6 Shootout, each participant will have only a single four-lap attempt.
The order in which the 33 drivers will enter the postponed and shortened Q1 segment on Sunday afternoon was determined by a draw on Friday evening—as has been the custom at the Indy 500 for decades.
The result of the draw: Scott Dixon (Ganassi-Honda) will be the first to take to the track, Katherine Legge (HMD/Foyt-Chevrolet) the last. Mick Schumacher (Rahal-Honda) will drive 15th according to the draw
Originally, a different format had been planned for this year’s Indy 500 qualifying: Q1 with all 33 drivers on Saturday, followed by the newly created Final 15 Shootout (Q2), Top 12 Shootout (Q3), and finally the Fast 6 Shootout (Q4) on Sunday. However, due to Saturday’s bad weather, that won’t happen—at least not this year.
At least the weather forecast for Sunday is better. According to the current forecast, rain is expected only in the early morning hours, followed by mostly sunny skies and significantly higher temperatures than on Saturday.