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IndyCar's 2025 season is two races down with Long Beach's Acura Grand Prix just around the corner (11-13 April). Following St. Petersburg and the recent Thermal Club event, Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou has come out as the early pacesetter and is currently sitting pretty at the top in IndyCar's power rankings.
At the Thermal Club event, Palou was made to sweat by Arrow McLaren drivers Christian Lundgaard and Pato O'Ward. The duo worked as a team to keep Palou at bay, but despite this, he was able to overtake both of them to secure the win in the 65-lap race.
In line with this, below are the top five drivers leading the charge heading into the Long Beach event (Power Rankings).
#5 Felix Rosenqvist (Meyer Shank IndyCar driver)
Meyer Shank Racing driver Felix Rosenqvist has surprised quite a few people in the IndyCar paddock with his performances in the first two races of 2025. In St. Petersburg, he first stormed his way to P3 in qualifying, and in the main 100-lap race, he was able to secure an impressive P7 finish.
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He further built on his strong run at last week's Thermal Club race. In qualifying, he secured a P9 finish and in the main 65-lap event, ended his outing in P5 behind Colton Herta (2024 runner-up). He is currently in fifth place in the standings with 56 points.
#4 Christian Lundgaard (Arrow McLaren)
The next driver on this list is Arrow McLaren's Christian Lundgaard. The 23-year-old has been in decent form in the opening couple of IndyCar races. In St. Pete, he secured P5 in qualifying whereas, when it came to the race, he ended his outing in eighth place.
Following this, he backed it up with another strong showing in the Thermal race, he ended his 65-lap outing on the podium in P3 alongside teammate Pato O'Ward and Chip Ganassi's Alex Palou. The 23-year-old is in fourth place in the 2025 drivers' standings with 60 points.
#3 Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing)
Next up is Palou's teammate and six-time IndyCar world champion, Scott Dixon. The latter ended his St. Pete outing in second place, but when it came to Thermal, he was only able to manage a P11 finish.
However, despite this, the veteran driver has enough points (61 points) to land himself in third place in the power rankings ahead of the Long Beach event.
#2 Pato O'Ward (Arrow McLaren)
In the second place is Lundgaard's Arrow McLaren teammate Pato O'Ward. He had a tough P11 outing in the first round of the 2025 season in St. Petersburg but was able to recover well at last week's Thermal race.
In the 65-lap event, the 25-year-old secured a well-deserved P2 finish. This has proven good enough to land him in second place in the power rankings with 63 points.
#1 Alex Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing)
As mentioned earlier, Alex Palou has hit the ground running from the start of the 2025 IndyCar season. Following two events, he has two Grand Prix wins that currently put him at the top of the power rankings with 102 points.
All the above-mentioned drivers are the ones to look out for during next month's Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Drivers struggling after the first two races of 2025
While some drivers have been operating at a high level in the ongoing 2025 IndyCar season, some have been struggling since Round 1. Here is the list of the racers who need to get their act together heading into Long Beach:
#3 Sting Ray Robb
The Juncos Hollinger Racing driver, Sting Ray Robb, has not had the best of times in the first two races of 2025. In St. Pete, he managed a P21 finish in his #77 car, whereas at Thermal Club, he slipped further down to P23. Following the first two rounds, he finds himself in 25th place in the standings with only 16 points.
#2 Jacob Abel
The penultimate name on this list is that of the 24-year-old rookie driver Jacob Abel. He is making his trade with Dale Coyne Racing and is finding it hard to get to grips with the fierce competition in the sport. After the first two races, Abel is in 26th place in the standings with only 12 points.
#1 Louis Foster
Following Abel is another rookie driver who had his troubles in the first two races. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's Louis Foster had a dismal outing in the first race in St. Petersburg. He ended his 100-lap outing plumb last in P27.
At Thermal, he produced an improved showing, especially in qualifying. The 24-year-old put his car in 10th place, but when it came to the 65-lap race, he slipped backward and ended his outing in P24. He is in last place in the drivers' standings with only 11 points.
