Starting grid for 2025 IndyCar Grand Prix of Monterey: How the race will begin
Here's how the IndyCar Grand Prix of Monterey at Laguna Seca will start
Here is the starting grid for the 2025 IndyCar Grand Prix of Monterey at Laguna Seca:
| SP | No. | Driver | Team | Starting tyre |
| 1 | 10 | Alex Palou | Chip Ganassi Racing | Alternate |
| 2 | 5 | Pato O'Ward | Arrow McLaren | Alternate |
| 3 | 26 | Colton Herta | Andretti Global | Primary |
| 4 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske | Alternate |
| 5 | 12 | Will Power | Team Penske | Alternate |
| 6 | 4 | David Malukas | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | Primary |
| 7 | 7 | Christian Lundgaard | Arrow McLaren | Primary |
| 8 | 15 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Alternate |
| 9 | 45 | Louis Foster | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Alternate |
| 10 | 66 | Marcus Armstrong | Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian | Primary |
| 11 | 21 | Christian Rasmussen | Ed Carpenter Racing | Alternate |
| 12 | 60 | Felix Rosenqvist | Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian | Primary |
| 13 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin | Team Penske | Alternate |
| 14 | 8 | Kyffin Simpson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Alternate |
| 15 | 28 | Marcus Ericsson | Andretti Global | Primary |
| 16 | 6 | Nolan Siegel | Arrow McLaren | Alternate |
| 17 | 18 | Rinus VeeKay | Dale Coyne Racing | Alternate |
| 18 | 27 | Kyle Kirkwood | Andretti Global | Primary |
| 19 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Primary |
| 20 | 14 | Santino Ferrucci | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | Primary |
| 21 | 51 | Jacob Abel | Dale Coyne Racing | Alternate |
| 22 | 20 | Alexander Rossi | Ed Carpenter Racing | Primary |
| 23 | 76 | Conor Daly | Juncos Hollinger Racing | Primary |
| 24 | 90 | Callum Ilott | PREMA Racing | Primary |
| 25 | 83 | Robert Shwartzman | PREMA Racing | Primary |
| 26 | 77 | Sting Ray Robb | Juncos Hollinger Racing | Primary |
| 27 | 30 | Devlin DeFrancesco | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Primary |
Alex Palou will lead the field away for the fifth time this season after his final lap time in the fast Six knocked his closest championship competitor, Pato O'Ward, off the the top position.
However, despite a few close calls in both Group One and the Fast 12, O'Ward kept second to to stay as close as possible to Palou.
Under 100 points to the champion-elect after his win in Toronto, O'Ward still has an outside chance of becoming champion for the first time this season.
Therefore, starting second is crucial for the Mexican's race so he can avoid wasting anytime getting after the Spaniard.
After qualifying, O'Ward said: “My best starting position here, we'll take that. Alex threw down a monster lap there and, yeah, just happy that we had a smooth qualifying".
“It's been a bit of a stranger to be in the Fast Six this year so it's good to be back in here.
“He's the guy we have to beat and he's starting in front of us so we'll see what tomorrow has in store.”
Double-winner at Laguna Seca in both 2019 and 2021, Colton Herta, lines up third after a quietly strong performance by the American driver.
Herta will be looking for redemption from Toronto after he was wiped out of a chance of a win thanks to the multiple Cautions.
Clearly the fastest in qualifying and showing early strong pace in the race, he ended up inches off the podium in fourth after a late Caution thanks to a crash between Felix Rosenqvist and Nolan Siegel meant the race finished under yellows.
Herta is followed by Team Penske driver, Josef Newgarden, who showed that when luck is on his side he is still be at the top end of the grid.
Newgarden has struggled in 2025 thanks to a tough season for Penske and a myriad of incidents on track. This includes in Toronto where he became entangled in a crash with Jacob Abel after the rookie tagged another driver around Turn One.
With no time to react and nowhere to go, Newgarden ended up underneath the Dale Coyne car and out of the race.
Newgarden is the highest starting Penske car but not by much as Will Power sits in fifth.
Scott McLaughlin in the final Penske car will start in 13th after eliminated in Group One.
The Kiwi driver isn't the only driver with work left to do on Sunday; Kyle Kirkwood will start 18th followed in pursuit by Scott Dixon in 19th.
