Palou Wins the American Monaco: Complete Stage-by-Stage Results from the 2026 IndyCar Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach

2026 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach: Palou, King of the California Streets

When the 25 cars of the NTT IndyCar Series lined up on Shoreline Drive as the sun began to set on Sunday, April 19, Long Beach had already delivered three days of relentless spectacle. The 51st edition of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach did not disappoint. It delivered a story of strategy, speed, mistakes, and mastery that only this sport knows how to produce.

At the end, it was Alex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing’s four time series champion from Catalonia who took control at the moment it mattered most. But to reach that ending, the weekend passed through three distinct acts that each deserve to be told.

SESSION 1 — PRACTICE 1: Power Sets the Pace, Schumacher Ends Last

Friday, April 17, 3:00–4:30 PM ET

The Long Beach Grand Prix weekend opened its doors with the first free practice session under the California sun. The 1.968 mile, 11 turn circuit that winds along the Convention Center and opens up to the harbor on Shoreline Drive received 25 drivers seeking their first reference times on a layout that rewards bravery and punishes excess.

The session was not without its incidents. The first red flag arrived with 30 minutes remaining when the No. 47 of Mick Schumacher (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) stopped at the exit of the fountain section in Turn 3. The Swiss-German rookie asked his team whether he should try to restart the car. The team opted for caution. A second red flag for track debris ended the session early with just over three minutes remaining.

In the combined classification, Will Power topped Group 1, while Alex Palou led Group 2. The overall order placed Power first, Scott McLaughlin second, Kyle Kirkwood third, Palou fourth, and Marcus Armstrong fifth. Mick Schumacher ended last, 25th, with just three timed laps to his name.

Table — Practice 1 | Combined Results (Top 10)

SESSION 2 — PRACTICE 2: Kirkwood Leads, Grosjean Meets the Wall

Saturday, April 18 — morning session

The second practice session arrived with warmer temperatures and a slightly more rubbered-in circuit surface. Kyle Kirkwood, winner of this race twice in the past three years, set the benchmark time at 1:07.5417s the fastest time of the entire weekend to that point, a message from a driver who knows this asphalt better than anyone.

But the session’s most dramatic moment belonged to Romain Grosjean (Dale Coyne Racing, No. 18), who lost control in Turn 1 and made heavy contact with the concrete barrier. The damage was severe, affecting both the front and rear of the car. The Dale Coyne crew worked through the night to have the No. 18 ready for Saturday afternoon qualifying.

Mick Schumacher also appeared in the incident reports, touching the tire barriers in Turn 3 and causing light damage to the No. 47. The car was withdrawn from the garage for an engine change, completing just three laps before being parked. Two sessions, two interruptions involving the No. 47. Long Beach was proving to be a uniquely unforgiving introduction to this circuit.

Table — Practice 2 | Top 10

SESSION 3 — QUALIFYING: Rosenqvist Beats O’Ward by Four Hundredths for Pole

Saturday, April 18, 6:30 PM ET

Qualifying at Long Beach in 2026 operated under the newly introduced single lap format for street circuit events: the six fastest drivers from the elimination round each received one timed lap in the Fast Six, with no second attempt available. The tension was built in from the start.

Conditions added another layer of complexity. Qualifying ran immediately after the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship completed its own race on the circuit, meaning the track was covered in Michelin rubber from the prototype field, altering grip levels dramatically from the morning practice sessions.

Felix Rosenqvist was the third driver to run in the Fast Six. His 1m07.4635s looked untouchable from the moment it appeared on the timing screens. Pato O’Ward attacked brilliantly, trading sector bests with Rosenqvist’s time throughout his lap, but a microsecond hesitation at Turn 10 cost him pole by just 44 thousandths of a second. He would start second.

Alex Palou, defending champion and championship leader entering the weekend, qualified third after a lockup at the final hairpin. Kyle Kirkwood, the defending Long Beach race winner and points leader before the weekend, wound up fourth after a small slide at Turn 4 and an unsettled moment at Turn 10. David Malukas (Team Penske) would start fifth, and Scott Dixon completed the third row with the sixth grid position his best qualifying result since the 2025 St. Petersburg opener.

It was the seventh career pole for Rosenqvist and the second ever for Meyer Shank Racing at Long Beach — the team had also claimed pole in the IMSA race earlier that same day. A historic Saturday for the Ohio-based outfit.

Table — Qualifying (Fast Six) | Starting Grid Positions

SESSION 4 — RACE: Palou Takes the Lead at the Final Pit Stop and Escapes

Sunday, April 19 | 90 laps | 177.12 miles | Circuit: 1.968 miles, 11 turns

The green flag fell at 5:30 PM ET under a completely clear Southern California sky. Felix Rosenqvist executed a perfect start from pole and led away immediately. Behind him, Alex Palou moved from third to second by passing Pato O’Ward on Lap 2. The story that had been set up was now in motion: Rosenqvist versus Palou, Meyer Shank Racing against Chip Ganassi.

Rosenqvist controlled the race through the first 31 laps before both frontrunners dove into the pits simultaneously. The MSR crew outworked Ganassi on that first stop, and Rosenqvist led the restart on fresh alternate Firestone tires. He built a three-second advantage over Palou, who admitted he was struggling to find confidence on the softer compound.

The pivotal moment arrived on Lap 57. A large piece of debris on track brought out the race’s only caution period. The full field pitted on Lap 59. Both Rosenqvist and Palou took four primary Firestone tires and a full fuel load. Both crews worked quickly but the Chip Ganassi team was marginally faster. Palou exited his pit box fractionally ahead of Rosenqvist and took the race lead for the first time.

From that moment, it became Palou’s demonstration. The Spaniard’s lead grew to 2.4 seconds by Lap 68, then mushroomed to 5.5 seconds with twelve laps remaining. He crossed the finish line 3.9663 seconds ahead of Rosenqvist, who had led a race-high 51 laps but could not complete the job.

Scott Dixon held third in the closing stages against pressure from Kyle Kirkwood, completing the podium for the second CGR entry of the day. Kirkwood was fourth. Pato O’Ward was fifth.

The race’s only retirement was Marcus Ericsson (Andretti Global), who suffered a hybrid system failure around Lap 40, unable to deploy energy above 25% and forced to slow dramatically. Will Power, who had worked his way back into contention, received a drive-through penalty for running over the ankle of AJ Foyt Racing’s rear-left tire changer during the chaotic pit lane caution cycle, dropping from the top five to 18th at the finish.

Table — Race Results | 90 Laps | Full Final Classification

2026 IndyCar Championship Standings After Long Beach (Round 5)

Palou’s Long Beach victory was his third in five rounds of the 2026 season and the 22nd of his IndyCar career. It was also his first-ever win on the Long Beach street circuit one of the last tracks on the current calendar where he had not previously stood on the top step. With this result, the No. 10 leads the championship by 17 points over Kyle Kirkwood as the calendar points toward Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the year’s marquee event: the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 24.

Felix Rosenqvist, who led 51 of the 90 laps, can take second place as the strongest single weekend performance of his season to date. His jump in the championship standings from 14th to 9th is a figure that Meyer Shank Racing will carry to Indianapolis with genuine confidence.

Can Alex Palou turn the 2026 season into another exercise in total domination, or is there a driver in this field with the real capability to challenge him over the coming months? Leave your prediction in the comments.

Sources: indycar.com, motorsport.com, racetrackmasters.com, pitdebrief.com, motorsportweek.com, foxsports.com, si.com, espanol.motorsport.com, racer.com, beyondtheflag.com