- IndyCar. The three drivers who could make the 2025 Indianapolis 500 historic
- IndyCar. Indy 500: How many laps are run and how long does the Indianapolis 500 usually last?
The 2025 IndyCar season reaches its key date: the Indianapolis 500. The race, which is worth as much or more than the championship, will take place on Sunday, May 25, but before that date, the 34 drivers who will be looking to be on the grid will have to work hard for their place.
Only 33 will be eligible to compete in the 109th edition of the Indy 500 and, to do so, they will have to prepare the cars as well as possible for the weekend before: on Saturday, May 17 and Sunday, May 18, the starting grid will be set, the poleman will be crowned and there will also be a driver who will not be able to take part in the race.
An intense program with 31 hours of practice
The cars will start running on the 2.5-mile oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from Tuesday, May 13. From then until the start of Saturday's qualifying session, the drivers and teams will have enjoyed five test sessions (almost 25 hours in total) to establish the optimum set-up for "the four fastest laps in motorsport".
Because the grid position is decided in this way, based on the average speed of each car over four laps (speeds that will exceed, on average, 370 km/h). In the coming days we will detail the process of the peculiar Indy 500 qualifying, but in summary, the drivers will have to overcome three phases to achieve the most coveted pole position on the planet
The first will be on Saturday, where the 12 fastest and the four slowest will be chosen, who will be the ones to fight for pole... and to survive on Sunday. To achieve pole position, two phases will have to be overcome, the Fast 12, where the six who will fight for glory in the definitive Fast 6 will be filtered. Meanwhile, the four slowest on Saturday will compete in a dramatic elimination session (Bump Day) in which one driver will be left out of the grid.
The Monday after qualifying will see the penultimate practice session, and there will be no further on-track action until Friday, on the so-called Carb Day where the final two hours will be held before, coinciding as is tradition with the American Memorial Day, the green flag (18:45 hours) is given to the 109th edition of the 'Greatest Spectacle in Racing'.
Schedules and where to watch on TV
In the table that closes this information you have in detail the schedule of each of the sessions. The most important moments, qualifying and the race, will be broadcast live in Spain. The rights for the broadcast belong to Movistar, which, for the moment, is scheduled to broadcast the last hour of Saturday's session (from 23:00 hours on Movistar Deportes 3). When the programming is confirmed we will update this information.
The IndyCar champion and leader, Alex Palou, will undoubtedly be one of the great favorites for both victory and pole position (which he already achieved in 2023). If on Sunday, May 25, he manages to win after completing the 200 laps of the most famous oval on the planet (he already came close in 2022 when he was second), he will become the first Spaniard to win the best race on the planet.
Schedule for the Indianapolis 500 (East Coast Time)
- Practice 1 - Tuesday, May 13: 12:15 pm to 6:00 pm.
- Practice 2 - Wednesday, May 14: 12:00 am to 6:00 pm.
- Practice 3 - Thursday, May 15: 12:00 am to 6:00 pm.
- Practice 4 (Fast Friday) - Friday, May 16: 12:00 am to 6:00 pm.
- Practice 5: Saturday, May 17: 8:30 am to 9:30 am.
- Qualifying 1: Saturday, May 17: 11:00 am to 5:50 am.
- Practice 6: Sunday, May 18: 13:00 pm to 15:00 pm.
- Fast 12: Sunday, May 18, from 15:00 pm to 16:00 pm.
- Last Chance Qualifiers: Sunday, May 18, from 17:15 pm to 18:15 pm.
- Fast 6: Monday, May 19, from 18:25 pm to 18:55 pm.
- Practice 7: Monday, May 19, from 13:00 pm to 15:00 pm.
- Practice8 (Carb Day): Friday, May23, from 11:00 am to 13:00 pm.
- Race (200 laps): Sunday, May 25 at 12:45 pm.