Starting grid for 2025 IndyCar Grand Prix of Portland race: How the race will begin
Here's how the 2025 IndyCar Grand Prix of Portland will start.
Here is the starting grid for the 2025 IndyCar Grand Prix of Portland:
| Position | Driver | Team | Tyre choice |
| 1 | Pato O'Ward | Arrow McLaren | Alternate |
| 2 | Felix Rosenqvist | Meyer Shank Racing | Alternate |
| 3 | Will Power | Team Penske | Alternate |
| 4 | David Malukas | A.J Foyt | Primary |
| 5 | Alex Palou | Chip Ganassi Racing | Primary |
| 6 | Alexander Rossi | Ed Carpenter Racing | Primary |
| 7 | Christian Lundgaard | Arrow McLaren | Primary |
| 8 | Marcus Armstrong | Meyer Shank Racing | Primary |
| 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Primary |
| 10 | Marcus Ericsson | Andretti Global | Alternate |
| 11 | Scott McLaughlin | Team Penske | Alternate |
| 12 | Devlin DeFrancesco | Rahal Letterman Racing | Primary |
| 13 | Colton Herta | Andretti Global | Primary |
| 14 | Louis Foster | Rahal Letterman Racing | Primary |
| 15 | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske | Alternate |
| 16 | Christian Rasmussen | Ed Carpenter Racing | Primary |
| 17 | Nolan Siegel | Arrow McLaren | Primary |
| 18 | Kyffin Simpson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Primary |
| 19 | Kyle Kirkwood | Andretti Global | Alternate |
| 20 | Sting Ray Robb | Juncos Hollinger Racing | Primary |
| 21 | Santino Ferrucci | A.J Foyt | Primary |
| 22 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Racing | Primary |
| 23 | Rinus VeeKay | Dale Coyne Racing | Primary |
| 24 | Callum Ilott | Prema Racing | Primary |
| 25 | Robert Shwartzman | Prema Racing | Primary |
| 26 | Conor Daly | Juncos Hollinger Racing | Primary |
| 27 | Jacob Abel | Dale Coyne Racing | Primary |
Although Christian Lundgaard won the extra championship point on Saturday after he set the fastest lap in the Fast Six, a six-place grid drop for an unapproved engine change will see him start seventh.
This moves his teammate and the last championship contender against Alex Palou, Pato O'Ward, onto pole for today's race while the Spanish driver will start fifth.
Palou made a late mistake in the Fast Six which saw him lock up his right front tyre into Turn 12 and go into the wall.
Lucky to bounce off it, Palou's fastest lap time which had put him in fourth, was deleted for bringing out the yellow and meant he qualified sixth.
A bad start to his weekend, Palou can win the championship in Portland if he beats O'Ward. However, if the Mexican driver wins and Palou finishes fifth, it will roll on to Milwaukee.
Lundgaard's penalty moves Alexander Rossi into the top six after he fractionally missed out on being in the Fast Six after a late mistake on his lap saw him lose time.
The Arrow McLaren driver wasn't the only driver who took a fifth engine in Portland with both Santino Ferrucci and multiple IndyCar champion, Josef Newgarden, also given penalties for unapproved engine changes. All three are powered by Chevrolet powertrains.
Ferrucci had qualified 15th but will now start 21st while Newgarden qualified ninth and will start 15th.
Kyffin Simpson seems to have also taken a penalty after he qualified 12th and will now start 18th.
The penalties has moved up majority of the grid at least one position but the biggest winners are Colton Herta and Louis Foster.
Herta qualified 16th and will now start 13th while Foster qualified 17th and will now start 14th.
