{"id":1360,"date":"2026-08-28T18:20:51","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T21:20:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/?p=1360"},"modified":"2026-08-28T18:20:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T21:20:52","slug":"indycar-applies-grid-penalties-alex-palou-four-other-drivers-at-milwaukee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/indy\/indycar-applies-grid-penalties-alex-palou-four-other-drivers-at-milwaukee\/","title":{"rendered":"IndyCar applies grid penalties for Palou and four other drivers at Milwaukee"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key takeaways<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Grid penalties issued:<\/strong> <strong>\u00c1lex Palou, Scott McLaughlin, David Malukas, Sting Ray Robb, and Rinus VeeKay received 9-position grid penalties<\/strong> for unapproved engine changes ahead of Milwaukee Race 1.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Regulation breach:<\/strong> <strong>The penalties stem from introducing a fifth engine<\/strong> before completing the required mileage on the previous four units, violating Article 16.1.2.3.2.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Championship impact:<\/strong> <strong>Palou&#8217;s push to seal the title on Saturday becomes tougher<\/strong>, as the grid drop complicates his track position battle against Kyle Kirkwood and Christian Lundgaard.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>IndyCar<\/strong> officials have issued <strong>nine-position grid penalties<\/strong> to five drivers for Saturday&#8217;s Race 1 at the <strong>Milwaukee Mile<\/strong> following unapproved engine changes. The list of penalized entries includes championship leader <strong>\u00c1lex Palou<\/strong> (Chip Ganassi Racing), <strong>David Malukas<\/strong> and <strong>Scott McLaughlin<\/strong> (Team Penske), as well as <strong>Sting Ray Robb<\/strong> and <strong>Rinus VeeKay<\/strong> (Juncos Hollinger Racing).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The sanctions fall under <strong>Article 16.1.2.3.2<\/strong> of the IndyCar rulebook. According to regulations, teams are not permitted to introduce a fifth power unit during a season unless all four previously allocated engines have completed their mandated mileage thresholds. Because those thresholds were not met, each driver receives a standard <strong>9-place grid penalty<\/strong> applied for oval events (compared to 6 positions on road and street courses).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/malukaspenske-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1020312781\" srcset=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/malukaspenske-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/malukaspenske-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/malukaspenske-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/malukaspenske-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/malukaspenske-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/malukaspenske.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">IndyCar assessed 9-place grid penalties for Milwaukee Race 1 following engine swaps (Photo: Penske)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The penalty adds a major strategic twist to Saturday\u2019s opener, where <strong>Palou holds his first mathematical match-point<\/strong> to clinch a fifth career championship. With key title rivals <strong>Kyle Kirkwood<\/strong> and <strong>Christian Lundgaard<\/strong> avoiding penalties, Palou will have to work through traffic on the 1-mile oval to secure the results needed to close out the title early.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Malukas, sitting 4th in the standings with 411 points, the penalty further dims his already slim mathematical chances. McLaughlin currently holds 9th in points (354), while Robb sits 25th.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The grid penalties follow major developments ahead of the weekend, including <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/indy\/indy-car-refutes-barranquilla-mayor-and-states-race-deal-is-far-away\/&amp;authuser=3\">IndyCar refuting claim of a 2028 Barranquilla GP<\/a>, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/indy\/palou-heading-to-milwaukee-with-match-point-check-out-the-math-for-the-2026-indycar-title\/&amp;authuser=3\">\u00c1lex Palou entering Milwaukee with match-point mathematical scenarios<\/a>, and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/indy\/ganassi-pays-tribute-to-zanardi-and-1st-title-with-special-livery-for-palou-at-laguna-seca\/&amp;authuser=3\">Chip Ganassi Racing revealing a Zanardi tribute livery for Laguna Seca<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The IndyCar Series hits the track this weekend, from <strong>August 29\u201330<\/strong>, for the Milwaukee Mile doubleheader (Rounds 16 &amp; 17) in West Allis, Wisconsin. <strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/\">GRANDE PR\u00caMIO<\/a><\/strong> provides complete live coverage of every session. Follow all updates on our <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/news\/\">news page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">IndyCar Championship Standings (Top 5 ahead of Milwaukee)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><td><strong>Pos<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Driver<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Team<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Engine<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Points<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>1<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>\u00c1lex Palou<\/strong><\/td><td>Chip Ganassi Racing<\/td><td>Honda<\/td><td><strong>553<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>2<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Kyle Kirkwood<\/strong><\/td><td>Andretti Global<\/td><td>Honda<\/td><td><strong>462<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>3<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Christian Lundgaard<\/strong><\/td><td>Arrow McLaren<\/td><td>Chevrolet<\/td><td><strong>443<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>4<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>David Malukas<\/strong><\/td><td>Team Penske<\/td><td>Chevrolet<\/td><td><strong>411<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>5<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Pato O&#8217;Ward<\/strong><\/td><td>Arrow McLaren<\/td><td>Chevrolet<\/td><td><strong>399<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Frequently asked questions (FAQ)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>1. Why were \u00c1lex Palou and four other drivers penalized at Milwaukee?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The drivers received 9-position grid penalties for introducing a fifth engine before completing the required mileage on their previous four units, breaching IndyCar Rule 16.1.2.3.2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>2. Which drivers received engine grid penalties for Milwaukee Race 1?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The five penalized drivers are <strong>\u00c1lex Palou, David Malukas, Scott McLaughlin, Sting Ray Robb, and Rinus VeeKay<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>3. Does the grid penalty apply to both races of the Milwaukee doubleheader?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No, the 9-position penalty is applied specifically to the starting grid of <strong>Race 1 on Saturday<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Championship leader \u00c1lex Palou, along with Scott McLaughlin, David Malukas, Sting Ray Robb, and Rinus VeeKay, will drop nine grid spots for Race 1 at Milwaukee due to unapproved engine changes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1020310230,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"42wp_featured_image_caption":"\u00c1lex Palou","42wp_featured_image_credits":"IndyCar","42wp_featured_video":"","42wp_featured_image_hidden":false,"42wp_authors_list":[{"id":44,"location":""}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,42,306,214],"42wp_author":[44],"class_list":["post-1360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indy","tag-alex-palou","tag-david-malukas","tag-milwaukee-gp","tag-scott-mclaughlin","42wp_author-gabriel-carvalho"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1360"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1360\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1361,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1360\/revisions\/1361"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020310230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1360"},{"taxonomy":"42wp_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/42wp_author?post=1360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}