Felix Rosenqvist Rides Wave into Special May as IndyCar Heads to Long Beach with Pole Position, Qualifying Results, and Mixed Emotions for Lundgaard and Rosenqvist Ahead of April 2026 Race

Felix Rosenqvist has secured pole position for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, marking his seventh NTT IndyCar Series career pole and his first since the 2024 season. The Swedish driver for Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian posted a single-lap qualifying time of 1:07.4635, averaging 104.017 mph around the 1.968-mile Streets of Long Beach circuit.

Rosenqvist advanced through a three-segment qualifying format that began with two groups in Segment 1. As the fastest qualifier from the first group, he progressed to Segment 2 and then became one of six drivers to reach the Firestone Fast Six. In the final round, each driver completed a single timed lap, with Rosenqvist’s effort proving fastest to claim the NTT P1 Award.

The pole position ends a winless streak that saw Rosenqvist sit 14th in the championship standings with no top-10 finishes through the first four rounds of the 2026 IndyCar season. He described the result as a confidence boost for both himself and his team after a difficult start to the year.

“It was exactly what we were looking for,” Rosenqvist said. “I think when you’re struggling, it doesn’t come easy, like it’s kind of between the races where you find the problems. You show up and hopefully it’s better. We were quick from the get-go here.”

He added that the confidence gained from the pole position extends beyond himself to the entire Meyer Shank Racing organization. “I feel like the confidence you get from something like this, it’s obviously huge not only for me but everyone in the team after having a bit of a drought, in terms of results.”

Starting from pole, Rosenqvist led a race-high 51 of the 90 laps in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, the most he has led in a single IndyCar race in his career. Despite maintaining control for much of the event and holding off four-time series champion Alex Palou, a caution on lap 57 due to debris in Turn 3 bunched the field and erased his advantage.

Following the caution, Rosenqvist and Palou made their final pit stops. Although Rosenqvist’s stop was smooth, he exited behind Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing Honda and was unable to mount a challenge over the remaining 29 laps. He finished 3.9663 seconds behind the Spaniard in second place.

“I’m just happy it [the pit stop] didn’t screw up our race,” Rosenqvist said. “Things like that can happen. You just end up ruining your whole day. Effectively we were in the same spot. But the annoying thing for me was I had a bit of a cushion, I had like 2.3 seconds or something. I felt like even with a bad stop, we’ll probably stay ahead.”

Rosenqvist acknowledged Palou’s strong performance under pressure, stating, “End of the day Alex and his crew did a better job in that moment of pressure there. It’s just something to learn from.” The result, while disappointing, provided encouragement as Rosenqvist looks to build momentum entering May.

The pole position represents Rosenqvist’s second with Meyer Shank Racing, following his first for the team at Long Beach in 2024. It also marks a rebound after a challenging start to the 2026 campaign, with the driver expressing hope that the result can kickstart a season turnaround.