IndyCar went north of the boarder last weekend as the Championship headed to Toronto. What followed was a classic IndyCar Grand Prix. We had everything from incredibly close wheel to wheel racing, bizarre accidents, a plethora of race strategies and even the unforeseen interference from a pool noodle. Here are the key takeaways from the IndyCar Toronto Grand Prix.
Pato O’Ward Gives us Hope
Last time out in Iowa, Alex Palou and Pato O’Ward came out on top. The Championship battle for all intents and purposes now has come down to a battle between these two drivers. While Kirkwood and Dixon are mathematically still in with a chance, the odds are heavily stacked against them. That’s why Toronto delivered in terms of giving us an unexpected piece of hope for the battle for the title.
Alex Palou, while looking strong at several points across the race, suffered from some bad luck and finished outside of the top ten. O’Ward and Arrow McLaren meanwhile, nailed their strategy for the Toronto Grand Prix. The second place man in the Championship romped home to victory and sliced a sizeable chunk off the gap between himself and Palou. He now sees himself in the same position as Will Power last season. It’s going to be close and he’ll need a little luck – but Pato O’Ward could yet take the Championship away from the seemingly unstoppable force of Alex Palou.
It’s enough to make the mouth water.
Worth a Gamble
Andretti Global have been having a rather torrid season. But in Toronto, they seemed finally able to get things right – despite the various mishaps coming their way. Colton Herta qualified on pole and even though he got caught out by the in race drama, he still managed to recover up through the grid to finish in P4.
Kyle Kirkwood qualified in sixth and finished in sixth. But that doesn’t tell us anything about what his race was actually like. Having been spun around in the pits by Marcus Armstrong, Kirkwood then had to make his way back through the pack from the rear of the field. His P6 finish in such circumstances was a remarkable drive.
Marcus Ericsson meanwhile seemed to suddenly remember that he can perform well in IndyCar. He qualified in eighth and finished in fifth – his best result of the season and his strongest finish since the season opener.
An Unlikely Podium
Rinus Veekay put on a spectacular show, both for the fans and for Dayle Coyne Racing. He qualified in ninth before being able to masterfully navigate the chaos of the race to his advantage. His strategy calls for the Grand Prix even came from the big man himself, Dayle Coyne – known for his brilliant strategy calls in chaotic races. He finished the race in P2 – his best result since he went racing in Detroit back in 2021.
Kyffin Simpson rounded out the podium with his first ever appearance on the rostrum. Having started down in P14, very few, if any, expected to see him on the podium in Toronto. Having made up the most positions during the race, the Cayman Islander was duly rewarded for his efforts. His third place finish also meant he was the highest finisher from Chip Ganassi in Toronto. Both Alex Palou and Scott Dixon finished outside of the top ten.
Bad Luck Everywhere
When good luck falls the way of some, bad luck inevitably falls on others. It came as no surprise that Team Penske was part of this. A loose wheel nut on Scott McLaughlin’s rear left brought his race to a premature end. Josef Newgarden later made contact with Jacob Abel in what was a bizarre crash where the latter’s car ended up on top of the former’s. Will Power was giving us his best Sonny Hayes impression as he raced without mercy against his fellow competitors. But this came back to bite him as he tumbled down the order after contact late in the race and could only recover to P11.
Juncos Hollinger Racing, Meyer Shank Racing, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and Ed Carpenter Racing all suffered from heavy doses of bad luck. With the exception of Graham Rahal, none of the drivers from these teams finished inside the top ten – or near it. Lundgaard and Siegel of Arrow McLaren also had bad races. Lundgaard didn’t look comfortable inside the car all weekend and Siegel got taken out at the close of the race by Rosenqvist – a case of wrong place, wrong time.
Devlin DeFrancesco’s car was attacked by a rogue pool noodle of unknown origin during practice – are we even surprised at this point? Rossi brushed the wall coming out of the final corner and while such brief contact should have been fine, it damaged his car significantly and forced him out of the race.
Other Noteworthy Mentions
As mentioned Graham Rahal had a noteworthy race, finishing in seventh after starting in fifth. It’s his best result since the Sonsio Grand Prix.
Callum Ilott had his best result of the season for PREMA, finishing in P8. Teammate Schwartzman finished in P16 after starting in P20 – but given the bad luck he and the team have had at points, this small improvement is a victory worth celebrating.
Finally, Armstrong, Foster and Malukas deserve shouts outs. Armstrong and Foster had very strong qualifying performances – P3 and P7 respectively. Malukas finished in P9 but was running in the podium positions for a while. Like in Iowa, strategy at the end forced him to pit and he simply ran out of laps to get back to the top.
What Next?
Four races remain in the NTT IndyCar 2025 Season. If Pato O’Ward can keep up this level of performance, we may just see the fight for the title go down to the wire in Nashville. As for everyone else, there’s nothing to lose now and everything to gain. With seats available at a range of teams for 2026, now is the time to show everyone what you’re capable of – and we may see some big figures fall from the top of the sport.
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Feature Image: EverythingF1
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