ADVENT CALENDAR SPECIAL – The Allaboutindyracing 2026 IndyCar Championship Predictions
As all drivers have now been announced for the upcoming 2026 Indycar season. New teams for previous champions, new exciting rookies and many hungry drivers. Alex Palou will be eager to continue his dominance from 2025, while everyone else will look to crawl back the advantage the Spaniard has had recently.
Predicting such a competitive series is hard to predict, but the team here at Allaboutindyracing.com have come together to form our 2026 championship predictions (the following list is the average of the predictions list of each member of the Allaboutindyracing website team), here we go and let us know what you think.
1. Alex Palou
It’s no surprise that many people will predict Alex Palou to win the championship once again in 2026. Palou has been without a doubt the best driver in the series in the past few years.
The relationship between him and his Chip Ganassi team is a big part of his success, and his on track performances are second to none. If he can start the year as he did in 2025 he could run away with it once again.
2. Pato O’Ward
O’Ward finished second in 2025 and we think he will likely to the same. However, if he and his McLaren team can take the necessary step forward to be championship contenders there is no reason why he couldn’t win his first Indycar title.
The Mexican driver will be eager to finally win the championship as he has come so close before. His hunger for his first championship is obvious and we think he might just be able to do it next year if he can match Palou on a regular basis. Nonetheless, he will be up there, that’s why we’ve predicted him to finish in second.
3. Christian Lundgaard
Lundgaard impressed in his debut year with McLaren, with multiple podium finishes and a top five finish in the championship. McLaren seem to have finally found a driver that can run up the front on a regular basis alongside Pato O’Ward.
Lundgaard will look to take another step forward in 2026 and get his first taste of victory in papaya. There’s definitely a world where Lundgaard could be champion next year and it will be interesting to see how he develops next year and if he can forge himself into a genuine championship challenger.
4. Scott McLaughlin
Penske had a tumultuous year in 2025 with none of their drivers finishing in the top five of the championship as McLaughlin finished the year finished the year in ten hit with three podiums.
A year filled with numerous mistakes, most notably his crash on the formation laps of the Indy 500. However, McLaughlin has showed significant improvement over his Indycar career and it’s time he becomes a full championship contender.
Whether or not he can actually do this is still to be seen, but we believe he should be fighting up the sharp end of the field and could be an outside shot at the title if he and Penske can put it all together.
5. Kyle Kirkwood
Kyle Kirkwood had an impressive 2025, with a fourth place finish in the championship standings along with three race victories.
Andretti haven’t won the championship since 2012 and the team will be ever more motivated to do this in 2026 and Kirkwood could be there best chance at doing so.
His Road to Indy record is exceptional and has shown flashes of being a future champion since joining the NTT Indycar series grid. Could 2026 be his year? Either way we expect him to be a podium and race win contender next year.
6. Scott Dixon
Dixon had an impressive 2025, finishing third in the standings. Despite, not always being near the front, Dixon always seems to finish the season near the top of the standings.
The Kiwi will undoubtedly look to take a step forward in 2026 to match teammate Alex Palou, and will for sure be fighting for podiums and wins once again, but we think he will finish the season just outside the top five.
7. Will Power
For the first time in a long time Will Power won’t be driving for Team Penske as he makes his debut for Andretti Global.
Like McLaughlin he struggled last year partly due to the situation Penske found itself in, so as he embarks on a new chapter with Andretti he will hope to rebound to arguably being one the most impressive drivers in the series in recent years.
Andretti haven’t won a championship since 2012, and it may take time for Power to adjust to the new environment, but a top seven finish seems more than achievable for Power.
8. Josef Newgarden
It’s incredibly hard to predict the outcome of an Indycar season, with most drivers on this list being potentially to low, but that’s what happens in such a competitive series. Josef Newgarden is a clear victim of this.
The two time Indy 500 champion could definitely be in the championship fight if he and Penske can find a higher level of consistency.
However, as much as Newgarden will likely fight for race wins next year we don’t believe he will be able to put a proper championship campaign and will finish the season in the lower half of the top ten.
9. Felix Rosenqvist
Felix Rosenqvist feels like a driver that is always in contention for wins across the season, but is yet to be able to forge a championship campaign.
The Swedish driver embarks on another season with Meyer Shank Racing, and after a top six finish in 2025 he will look to return to victory lane. With two very strong drivers, MSR could be on for an exciting season, and we believe Rosenqvist will finish the season in ninth.
10. David Malukas
Malukas heads into his first season with Penske after earning a promotion from the AJ Foyt team. He was massively impressive last season with Foyt and their Penske technical alliance.
He takes over from Will Power and will look to perform as well as Newgarden and McLaughlin. There’s no reason why he couldn’t get his first Indycar win next year and be a regular top five finisher, that’s why we predict him to round out the top ten in the standings.
11. Marcus Armstrong
Marcus Armstrong was massively impressive in his first year with MSR last year, finishing the season in eighth, which included a podium at Iowa.
The former Formula 2 driver appears to be taking step after step to become a front runner in Indycar, but again it’s hard to tell due to the competitive nature of Indycar. Alongside Rosenqvist both could be in contention for race wins next year, but we think Armstrong is on for an 11th place finish.
12. Christian Rasmussen
Rasmussen’s win at the Milwaukee Mile was arguably one of the most impressive moments from the 2025 season. If he can replicate a similar season in his ECR car, there could be some bigger teams considering him as a future driver.
His equipment has to be considered, but Rasmussen should look to be a more consistent top ten finisher and potentially the odd podium. Nonetheless, Rasmussen definitely raised his stock in 2025, and we believe he could be on for another strong season.
13. Marcus Ericsson
We believe it could be another tricky season for Marcus Ericsson at Andretti, a season that could lead to him losing his seat at the team, especially with Dennis Hauger joined Dale Coyne Racing.
Disappointing isn’t a good enough way to describe Ericsson’s 2025 season and the former F1 driver needs a massive turn around in 2026 to prove his worth.
He’s doesn’t seem to be able to make the best of the Andretti car, but we do think he could get the odd top five or maybe even a podium or win, but in the we predict he will finish a lowly 13th.
14. Alexander Rossi
Like teammate, Rasmussen, Rossi has been a reliable driver for ECR, but the former Indy 500 driver was beaten by Rasmussen last year and we predict him to do that again.
It’s been a long time since Rossi fought for an Indycar championship and with ECR, for now at least, that is likely to continue. On his day Rossi can be one of the quickest drivers on the grid, but he is far too inconsistent. His aim should be to be the lead ECR driver in 2026, but we expect him to finish the season in 14th place.
15. Santino Ferrucci
Ferrucci believed he could fight for the championship in 2025, but he couldn’t have been further from the truth. He has certainly improved to become a solid midfield driver over the last few years, but still has room to improve if he actually wants to be an Indycar champion.
Last year he finished the season in 16th with two podiums, but he should look to emulate the performances of Malukas as we head into the 2026 season, but we expect him to improve by just one spot up to 15th.
16. Rinus Veekay
Rinus Veekay comes of the back of a mightily impressive season with Dale Coyne as he moves to Juncos for 2026.
Veekay was one of the standout drivers in 2025, taking his Dale Coyne cars to new heights, including a podium finish in Toronto. We could see him do similar things in a Juncos, but will likely be limited by his equipment once again. If he can exceed expectations once again he’s certainly a driver who could move to a bigger team further up the grid, but we expect him to finish 16th in 2026.
17. Graham Rahal
RLL continue to struggle, but at times can be one of the quickest teams on the grid. It’s a long time since we’ve seen Rahal be a regular threat for race wins, but if RLL can find greater consistency then we could potentially see Rahal return to victory lane.
They definitely seem like a team on the rise, but it’s still going to take time, so that’s why we believe Rahal maybe have another difficult season ahead of him.
18. Mick Schumacher
Arguably the highest profile rookie in Indycar history, Mick Schumacher will make his Indycar debut next year.
As a former F1 driver and F2 champion, he comes into the series with a wealth of experience. However, throughout his career he has struggled in his first season in a new category before becoming a championship contender the following year. His RLL equipment is also a reason for him to be this low down the list.
He could surprise this year and be higher up, and we do expect to pick up some decent results, but we do think he will end the season in the lower part of the top twenty. However, he could take a big step forward in 2027.
19. Louis Foster
It feels harsh putting Louis Foster this low down after an impressive rookie season. The highlight of his year of course being his pole position at Road America.
We do expect him to take a step forward, and he clearly has ambitions to be a regular top 12 driver and that may be on the cards for him next year. There’s no reason why he couldn’t surprise and be even higher on this list and notably ahead of his two RLL teammates. However, we expect it to be a good year for Foster, but to finish it in 19th place.
20. Kyffin Simpson
Simpson struggled for the most part in 2025, but showed signs of improving, including a podium finish at Toronto. He’s set in the Chip Ganassi team, partly due to the budget he brings, but there is signs of a quick driver in Kyffin.
He has to prove he’s worthy of the third Ganassi seat alongside Palou and Dixon, but we do expect it be a tough season for Simpson next year falling from 17th last year to round out the top twenty in 2026.
21. Dennis Hauger
The reigning Indy NXT champion steps up to Indycar for his first full season, racing with Dale Coyne Racing. Hauger dominated Indy NXT last year after moving across from F2, so it’s going to be an exciting year for the Norwegian driver.
He seems to be on a trajectory path towards the Andretti Global team, so he needs a big year to prove himself in Indycar. We put him in 21st place due to the competitive nature of Indycar, but also due to the team he will be driving for. However, we could easily see Hauger further up the standings if he makes the most of his Dale Coyne car, he’s certainly going to be one to watch in 2026.
22. Callum Illot
As it stands, it’s unclear whether Prema will return to the championship in 2026, somewhat suggesting that even if they do they may struggle.
Callum Illot definitely has the ability to finish higher than this, it’s a shame he hasn’t been picked up by one of the bigger teams yet.
We do hope Prema return next year, and if they can perform Illot will almost certainly be higher than this, but due to the amount of unknowns surrounding Prema we have slotted Illot into 22nd place. He will also race in the IMSA GTD class next year with Wright Motorsports.
23. Nolan Siegel
A best result of eighth for Nolan Siegal in 2025 is simply not good enough as a McLaren driver. He needs a big step forward if he is to keep his seat going into 2027.
We believe it will be another difficult year for Siegal, one that may lead to him losing his seat. There is certainly a capable driver in Siegal and maybe he just needs some more time to develop, but unfortunately racing is a results driven business so he really needs to improve in 2026.
24. Robert Schwartzmen
Schwartzmen is again affected by the uncertainty surrounding Prema. It would be very unfortunate to see a promising young driver, and of course the reigning Indy 500 pole sitter, like Robert miss out on a seat due to circumstances out with his control.
He narrowly missed out on the Rookie of the Year title last year, but showed he could develop into a quality Indycar driver. We believe if Prema returns next year it could be another difficult year for Schwartzmen, but there is still time for him to develop.
25. Caio Collet
Collet has an impressive junior record, including in the European junior categories and then of course finishing runner up in Indy NXT in 2025.
The Brazilian joins an every progressing AJ Foyt team, and he could potentially surprise and be higher up because he is a very talented driver. Time will tell how his rookie campaign goes, but we expect it to be a learning year for him and finish it in 25th place.
26. Sting Ray Robb
There was a while where it looked like Sting Ray Robb wouldn’t return to Juncos for 2026, but he was eventually confirmed to be driving alongside Rinus Veekay.
Robb brings a lot of budget to the team, and is rumoured to be heading into the final year of a two year deal.
He will need to find a big improvement if he is to retain his seat on the grid for 2027, despite the large budget he brings. We do however expect it to be another frustrating year for Robb and continue to finish further down the field.
He did finish ahead of Abel and DeFrancesco last year but due to the highly competitive nature of the 2026 Indycar grid we expect him to be last of the full time drivers next year.
27. N/A
No second driver has been announced for Dale Coyne racing yet.
written by Michael Williams // Media Credit: Penske Entertainment
