Racing fever hits North America: ten hours of non-stop racing on the continent

Arguably the most famous American racing event kicks off the day this Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race is set to begin at 12:30 ET (17:30 BST), with defending IndyCar champion and last year’s winner Alex Palou on pole in the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing car. He will be joined on the front row by Alexander Rossi and David Malukas.

There are plenty of former Formula 1 drivers on the grid in Indiana. The list includes the aforementioned Alexander Rossi, experienced Japanese driver Takuma Sato, Marcus Ericsson, Romain Grosjean, and Mick Schumacher. Pato O'Ward is also a reserve driver for McLaren's F1 team and has regularly taken part in free practice sessions for the Woking-based outfit following the conclusion of the IndyCar season.

The Indy 500 usually lasts around three hours, which means that, barring any delays, it will finish in time for the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. However, yellow flags can always shake things up at Indianapolis as well.

This year, the Indy 500 does not take place after the Monaco Grand Prix, as the Canadian Grand Prix is scheduled for this weekend. It will be a Sprint weekend in Montreal: Sprint Qualifying takes place on Friday, followed by the Sprint and Qualifying on Saturday, while the main event, the Canadian Grand Prix, will be held on Sunday.

Entering the weekend, Kimi Antonelli leads the standings by 20 points over George Russell. Mercedes is set to bring updates this weekend, while Red Bull Racing has already confirmed minor changes to the RB22 to help Max Verstappen move closer to podiums and victories. McLaren and Ferrari are also targeting strong results after multiple podium finishes earlier in the 2026 season.

Looking ahead, the CEO and team principal of the current team to beat, Toto Wolff, said: "We head to Canada ready to get back into a regular rhythm of racing. Our competitors took a step forward in Miami, and we need to respond; seven Grands Prix in 10 weekends before shutdown is an opportunity to do that and build momentum. We bring our first update package of the year to Montréal, but we know that performance is only performance once it is delivered on track."

On Sunday, the race will begin at 16:00 local time (21:00 BST). Formula 2 is also racing in Montreal this weekend following the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix due to ongoing turmoil in the Middle East. As a result, Cadillac's Colton Herta will be unable to compete at the Indy 500 this year.

To close the day, the longest event awaits fans in Concord, North Carolina: the 2026 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It is the only NASCAR race on the calendar where stage points are awarded on three occasions instead of two ahead of the final stretch of the race.

It is set to begin at 18:00 ET (23:00 BST), so the opening part could still overlap with the Canadian Grand Prix in the event of any red flags. After Kyle Larson attempted the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 double in recent years, British driver Katherine Legge will now take on the challenge. She will also become the first female driver to ever do so.