Álex Palou went fastest in Practice 2 for the 2026 Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., but somehow one of the biggest stories of the session was a crosswalk.
Palou topped the session with a 56.6145, followed by Practice 1 leader Kyle Kirkwood. Scott Dixon finished third ahead of a surprising Nolan Siegel in fourth, with Pato O’Ward completing the top five. Christian Lundgaard was sixth, followed by Scott McLaughlin, Alexander Rossi, Marcus Ericsson and Christian Rasmussen. After Practice 1 introduced everyone to just how bumpy this new Washington street circuit can be, Practice 2 provided an even clearer picture of where Sunday’s trouble could come from. There is a bump around the crosswalk at the start of a braking zone that is capable of dramatically unsettling — and potentially launching — an IndyCar.
“The crosswalk” might already deserve its own place in Freedom 250 history.
Palou Goes Fastest, but Kirkwood May Have More to Give
At first glance, Palou going fastest looks ominously familiar.
But the timing sheet needs some context. Palou’s fastest lap came on the softer tires, while Kirkwood set his second-place time on the harder compound. That leaves plenty of reason to believe Kirkwood remains a serious threat after already topping Practice 1. It is almost the reverse of what we saw earlier Saturday. Kirkwood led the first session on reds while Palou finished second despite setting his time on blacks. Now Palou has taken the top spot on the softer compound while Kirkwood remained second on the harder tire.
Across both sessions, the same two names keep appearing at the top regardless of which compound has the advantage. That makes Palou and Kirkwood the obvious early benchmarks heading toward qualifying. Palou being fastest inevitably creates the feeling that everyone already knows where this weekend is going, but nothing about this race looks certain yet.
Andretti’s street-course strength gives Kirkwood a legitimate opportunity to prevent Palou from wrapping things up this weekend, assuming Kirkwood can stay out of trouble. And Washington looks like an especially bad place to assume anyone will stay out of trouble. Late in a season, drivers without championship considerations can also afford to take risks in pursuit of a victory. Combine that mentality with what we’ve now seen from this circuit, and simply assuming the fastest driver will cruise to victory feels premature.
If there is a championship-clinching scenario this weekend, though, IndyCar should probably make sure the Astor Cup is actually in Washington. If a championship can mathematically be decided at an event, its trophy should be there to recognize it.
Nolan Siegel in Fourth?
Perhaps the biggest surprise on the timing sheet was Siegel.
Fourth. In a McLaren, that result immediately invites the obvious joke: what exactly is Nolan Siegel doing up there? There is an argument that Siegel has looked somewhat better during the second half of the season. With his seat no longer hanging over every session, perhaps removing that pressure has allowed him to simply race for himself.
But “decent” depends heavily on the standard being applied.
One top-10 finish during the back half of a season in a McLaren — including a race in which his teammates finished first and second — hardly makes a convincing case that his overall performance has suddenly transformed. Practice 2 nevertheless deserves to be recognized for what it was. Siegel put the car fourth, ahead of O’Ward and Lundgaard. For a driver whose results have produced plenty of criticism, it was an eye-catching session.
Whether it means anything on Sunday is another question.
Meet Washington’s Most Famous Crosswalk
Practice 1 already suggested that the Freedom 250 could become a race of attrition because of its bumps.
Practice 2 found a specific culprit. A crosswalk near the beginning of a braking zone has effectively become a launch pad. Cars hitting the bump can become badly unsettled at precisely the point where drivers need stability to slow the car. That combination is concerning enough in practice. It could become much more significant once the field is racing.
A driver alone on track can prepare for it, choose a line and manage the car accordingly. A driver fighting another car may not have those options. The crosswalk could therefore become a natural caution generator. It has already caught cars out, and unless something changes before the race, there is little reason to believe everyone will suddenly avoid it when the track is crowded and drivers are fighting for position.
Forget a user flair simply called “Crosswalk.” It needs to be “THE Crosswalk.”
There is something uniquely appropriate about a Washington street race developing a signature obstacle from ordinary city infrastructure. Someone who regularly uses that very bike lane can now watch IndyCars encounter it as an obstacle capable of launching racecars. We previously wondered whether Markham’s infamous hairpin would become that event’s defining feature. Washington may have answered with a crosswalk. Which one will ultimately take out more cars?
At this point, “yes” feels like the safest prediction.
Turn 6 Has a Launch Pad Too
The crosswalk isn’t Washington’s only unusual feature.
The bump around Turn 6 was significant enough to inspire another appropriate nickname: the launch pad. Cars cresting it look dramatic enough that a horn might almost be appropriate before they arrive on the other side. For Marcus Ericsson, any attempt to officially name part of a circuit “the launch pad” might bring back some uncomfortable Nashville memories.
More seriously, the bumps continue to reinforce what became apparent in Practice 1. The Freedom 250 isn’t merely difficult because it is a new circuit. The surface itself could play an active role in deciding the race. Practice 1 raised concerns about cars being thrown toward the walls when they ventured away from the conventional line. Practice 2 has only strengthened the case that surviving Washington could matter almost as much as outright speed. And this comes during a season in which driver injuries have already become a noticeable storyline.
Despite the frequent discussion about the dangers of ovals, Mick Schumacher, Louis Foster and Romain Grosjean have all suffered injuries on street circuits this season. The nature and angles of impacts matter enormously; Schumacher’s initial crash, for example, transmitted the shock through the wheel and was more severe than it initially appeared. Ovals may attract much of the attention surrounding IndyCar’s physical demands, including the lack of power steering, but street courses have hardly been gentle on the field this year.
Washington’s bumps aren’t going to reduce those concerns.
Schumacher Deserves His Own IndyCar Story
Schumacher also became a topic during Practice 2 for an entirely different reason.
His father continues to come up almost every time Mick is discussed on the broadcast. The connection is understandable. Michael Schumacher is an enormous part of motorsports history, and at an event that may attract viewers who do not ordinarily watch IndyCar, that famous surname is an obvious promotional connection. But there is a point at which constantly returning to Michael prevents Mick from establishing an identity of his own.
It is especially noticeable now because Mick is competing in a series his father never raced in. IndyCar provides an opportunity for his career to become something distinct rather than another chapter constantly framed through comparison with Michael. Children of famous racing drivers have always dealt with this. Marco Andretti and Graham Rahal are obvious examples, while Michael Andretti himself had the enormous shadow of Mario Andretti hanging over his career until his own accomplishments made the comparison considerably less useful. For Mick, the circumstances surrounding his father make the constant references even more sensitive.
There is certainly promotional value in the Schumacher story. There is also value in allowing Mick Schumacher’s IndyCar career to become Mick Schumacher’s story.
The Boeing Corner Writes Its Own Jokes
The Freedom 250’s unusually prominent sponsor presence was one of the major themes coming out of Practice 1, with Zak Brown and Dan Towriss both choosing Washington over Zandvoort.
Practice 2 offered a slightly less serious sponsor observation. If there was going to be a part of the circuit associated with crashes, of course it would apparently be the Boeing corner. Sometimes the jokes simply write themselves.
The commercial branding around Washington nevertheless reinforces how significant this event is from a sponsor perspective. As we noted after Practice 1, the Freedom 250 may have value far beyond the number of people watching the race itself because of the corporate and government relationships surrounding an event in the nation’s capital. The race also succeeds at something visually important. It actually looks like Washington, D.C. That sounds obvious, but city street races don’t always accomplish it. A race can technically take place somewhere famous while the television product gives viewers little sense of where they actually are. Washington’s surroundings provide a recognizable identity rather than making the cars appear to be racing through an anonymous collection of barriers.
For an event built heavily around its location, that matters.
Washington’s Political Context Remains Impossible to Completely Separate From the Race
Of course, holding an IndyCar race in Washington also comes with an unusual complication: keeping conversation about the sporting event separate from political arguments surrounding its location and circumstances.
That has apparently proven difficult enough that moderators watching discussion around Practice 2 issued a warning that politically motivated uncivil behavior could result in bans, while unrelated political comments would be removed. Given the nature of the venue, some political discussion connected directly to what appears on the broadcast is inevitable. Turning every conversation surrounding the race into a political fight, however, quickly makes discussion about the actual IndyCar event nearly impossible. Whatever anyone thinks about the circumstances surrounding the Freedom 250, there is now plenty happening on the racetrack itself to discuss.
Including, somehow, a crosswalk.
From Skepticism to Potential Chaos
Our view of the Freedom 250 has evolved considerably during the build-up to this weekend.
We previously acknowledged being wrong about how the event was coming together after seeing the circuit on-site. Practice 1 then showed a visually distinctive race with significant commercial importance, but also exposed a surface rough enough to raise serious questions about how the actual race would unfold. Practice 2 has only made the sporting side more intriguing. Palou and Kirkwood again appear to be the drivers to beat. Dixon is third. Siegel has unexpectedly put himself fourth. O’Ward is fifth.
But Washington’s most consequential opponent may be Washington itself. There are severe bumps. There is a Turn 6 launch pad. There is now a crosswalk at the beginning of a braking zone that looks capable of catching out more drivers once everyone starts fighting for the same piece of pavement. After Practice 1, there was a legitimate question about whether the difficult offline surface could discourage passing and produce a parade.
After Practice 2, the opposite possibility looks just as believable. This could become absolute chaos.
And at this point, that crosswalk may deserve its own spot on the starting grid.