The Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham always had all the makings of a classic. A brand-new street circuit, a compressed schedule due to track issues, and a championship fight entering its final stretch. The inaugural race on the Streets of Markham delivered on every count, capped by Marcus Ericsson snapping a 63-race winless run.
Construction Fighting the Clock
The weekend’s problems started before a single lap was turned. Green Savoree Racing Promotions’ track build ran behind schedule, wiping out all of Friday’s running. That forced IndyCar to compress Saturday into back-to-back practice sessions followed by qualifying with a tricky setting sun. IndyCar President Doug Boles apologized to fans for the delay while praising the layout.
“Once we hit the track, we believe the circuit will be spectacular,” Boles said. “We would like to thank the city of Markham for the major support it has made to provide IndyCar a layout, which is fast, technical and will put on a terrific show on Sunday.”
The compressed schedule didn’t dull the drama. Louis Foster set a track record of 1:13.2383 to claim his second career pole, four-tenths clear of Christian Lundgaard. Points leader Alex Palou hit the wall twice in Q2, ending a 30-race run of top-ten starts. Nolan Siegel and both Andretti Global entries, Kyle Kirkwood and Will Power, also got six-position grid penalties for unapproved engine changes.
Two-Wide Lessons and Barrier Issues
Sunday’s race made clear the new twelve-turn, 2.1-mile Streets of Markham layout hadn’t been built exactly the way it was drawn up. The Turn 5 hairpin played out tighter and more chaotic than advertised, and it took the field the better part of thirty laps to learn that going in two-wide wasn’t an option. Dennis Hauger found that out, collecting Christian Rasmussen and Pato O’Ward on Lap 20 during his own slide from P5 to near the back of the field.
Six full-course-yellow periods consumed 25 of the 90 laps, but rather than smothering the race, the yellows opened the door for some of the day’s best drives. The choice of sharp, straight concrete barriers instead of rounded edging proved the layout’s defining flaw. Both Foster and Kirkwood were caught out at the same unforgiving spot exiting Turn 3. Foster clipped the left wall before ricocheting head-on into the barrier while chasing Ericsson for third on Lap 43. Kirkwood suffered an almost identical fate soon after. Fair or not, pointing at the wall tells only half the story; every other driver on the grid found a way to respect that corner all afternoon.
Ericsson’s Late Charge
While the front-runners sorted themselves out under caution, Ericsson and Andretti Global timed their strategy to perfection. They gambled on staying out longer during the race’s final sequence to build a pace advantage before scything through the leaders on the softer alternates. The move included a hard but fair bump on teammate Power at the Turn 5 hairpin. Once clear, Ericsson was able to run down Romain Grosjean for the win.
“We were the fastest car all day, I thought,” Ericsson said. “I wanted to show the pace and open a gap, so we gambled on staying out. It was a lot of work to get through the leaders.”
Grosjean’s own gamble very nearly delivered a maiden win. He led 28 laps and crossed second for the first time since Barber Motorsports Park in 2023. Power’s recovery from last on the grid to the podium was the other standout drive of the day. Palou’s P4 finish from a Q2 crash was a reminder of why he’s dominated the championship picture for the better part of six years.
Winners and Losers
Winners: Ericsson’s patient, aggressive final stint was the drive of the day. Grosjean’s risky no-stop-late strategy nearly delivered a maiden win and his best finish in two years. Power’s drive from the back row to the podium salvaged what looked like a lost weekend. O’Ward quietly ground his way to P5 after a difficult qualifying, offering his team some rare good news after a rough recent stretch.
Losers: Foster went from a record-setting pole to the wall, overcooking his entry at Turn 3 while chasing the podium. Kirkwood’s championship deficit to Palou only grew after another race ended early in the same corner. Mick Schumacher was running as high as P8 before finding the Turn 4 wall on Lap 14, costing the rookie a result that could have boosted his standing in that battle. Caio Collet showed real pace all weekend before barrier contact damaged his suspension and dropped him several laps down.
What We Learned & Coming Up
For a first-time street event thrown together against a construction deadline, the Streets of Markham should be considered a success. Crowds were strong, the racing produced a series-record 258 on-track passes, and the USF support series added to a busy weekend on-site. Palou’s P4 finish extended his championship lead over Kirkwood to 133 points with four races remaining, putting him within reach of a fourth straight title. IndyCar heads to the U.S. capital next weekend for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C.