There are racetracks that look challenging on a circuit map, and then there is Laguna Seca. IndyCar’s trip to California puts the field on a 2.238-mile road course where elevation, tire management and one of the most recognizable sequences of corners in American racing can punish even a small mistake. The 2026 Mission Grand Prix of Monterey has another distinction: it is the final race of the NTT IndyCar Series season. Alex Palou has already secured the championship, but that doesn’t leave Laguna Seca without anything at stake. Christian Lundgaard, Kyle Kirkwood and Pato O’Ward arrive separated by only four points in the fight for second in the championship.
And then there’s Palou himself. Laguna Seca has become one of his strongest circuits. He’s won the Grand Prix of Monterey three times since 2022, including dominant victories in each of the past two seasons. Whether you’re following the championship runners-up, hoping someone can finally knock Palou off the top step at Laguna Seca or simply want to watch IndyCars attack the Corkscrew, here’s what you need to know about watching the 2026 Grand Prix of Monterey.
2026 Grand Prix of Monterey: Race Weekend at a Glance
| Race | Mission Grand Prix of Monterey |
| Series | NTT IndyCar Series |
| Track | WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca |
| Location | Monterey, California |
| Race Date | Sunday, September 6, 2026 |
| U.S. Coverage | FOX |
| Broadcast Start | 2:30 p.m. ET |
| Circuit Length | 2.238 miles |
| Turns | 11 |
| Race Length | 95 laps |
| Distance | 212.61 miles |
| Defending Winner | Alex Palou |
Laguna Seca returns to its role as the IndyCar season finale for the first time since 2023. This will be the 13th time the circuit has hosted the final race of the season.
Why Laguna Seca Is a Race Every IndyCar Fan Should Watch
Laguna Seca doesn’t need a massive straightaway or a 200-mph oval corner to make an IndyCar look intimidating. The circuit flows through the hills of California’s Monterey Peninsula, and the elevation change is part of what gives it so much character. Drivers aren’t simply judging where to brake and turn; they’re doing it while the track rises, falls and occasionally disappears from view.
That makes precision particularly important. Getting one corner wrong can compromise the next part of the lap, and a mistake that costs a few tenths during qualifying can leave a driver dealing with traffic on Sunday. There is also considerably less room to improvise than on some of IndyCar’s sprawling permanent road courses. Drivers have to be aggressive enough to make time without asking too much from their tires or putting the car somewhere it doesn’t want to go. And eventually, every lap brings them back to the reason even casual racing fans recognize Laguna Seca.
The Corkscrew
Turns 8 and 8A are better known by one name: the Corkscrew. Drivers climb toward the corner before committing to a section of track that falls away dramatically beneath them. From the beginning of Turn 8 through Turn 8A, the circuit drops roughly the equivalent of six stories in only 450 feet.
It’s one of those pieces of racetrack where the television camera doesn’t completely communicate how strange the geography actually is. The initial turn-in is followed almost immediately by the downhill change of direction, and the driver has to position the car for what comes next rather than simply surviving the drop. It also happens quickly. That’s part of the fun of watching an onboard lap from Laguna Seca: one of the most famous sections in motorsports is over almost as soon as the car arrives.
2026 Grand Prix of Monterey Weekend Schedule
The IndyCar weekend begins Friday and continues through Sunday’s season finale.
| Session | Date | Time (ET) |
|---|---|---|
| Practice 1 | Friday, Sept. 4 | 5:00 p.m. |
| Practice 2 | Saturday, Sept. 5 | 1:00 p.m. |
| Qualifying | Saturday, Sept. 5 | 4:30 p.m. |
| Final Practice | Saturday, Sept. 5 | 8:00 p.m. |
| Grand Prix of Monterey | Sunday, Sept. 6 | 2:30 p.m. coverage |
Fans attending the race in California should remember those listed times are Eastern. Laguna Seca is three hours behind on Pacific Time.
How to Watch the Grand Prix of Monterey in the United States
FOX has the U.S. broadcast for the 2026 Grand Prix of Monterey, with prerace coverage scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 6. That continues a major change IndyCar fans have enjoyed throughout 2026: every NTT IndyCar Series race appears on FOX.
For fans who prefer listening to the race, the IndyCar Radio Network also covers the series, with audio available through the IndyCar App and SiriusXM Channel 218. Practice and qualifying are worth following at Laguna Seca as well. The race is only part of the story at a circuit where a clear qualifying lap can be extremely valuable.
Watching IndyCar Outside the United States
IndyCar television and streaming rights aren’t identical around the world. The service carrying Laguna Seca in one country may not be the same service available to a fan in another. IndyCar also operates INDYCAR LIVE, which provides streaming coverage in eligible international territories. Exactly what you can watch through the service depends on your location and the broadcast rights in that market. That makes it worth checking your local IndyCar listings before race weekend, particularly if you want practice and qualifying in addition to Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Traveling During the Grand Prix of Monterey?
Travel creates another wrinkle for racing fans. A streaming subscription you use to follow IndyCar at home can have different content or availability when you cross into another country. That’s because sports broadcasting rights are generally divided between geographic markets.
A VPN can be useful for protecting your connection and accessing services while traveling, particularly when you’re using hotel, airport or other public Wi-Fi. It also allows you to change the server location associated with your connection. For racing fans, that can be especially useful during a weekend rather than only on race day. Missing Friday practice might not sound disastrous, but by Saturday qualifying you’re already trying to figure out why everyone suddenly thinks one driver has the car to beat.
Quick Setup: How to Watch IndyCar With a VPN
If you already have access to an IndyCar streaming service and want to use a VPN while traveling, the setup is straightforward.
- Sign up for ExpressVPN.
- Download the ExpressVPN app on the device you’ll use for the race.
- Connect to an appropriate VPN server.
- Open your normal streaming service.
- Sign in and find the Grand Prix of Monterey coverage.
VPNForSports may receive compensation when you purchase through links on this page.
Streaming services and broadcasting availability can vary by location, so it’s worth getting everything working before the green flag rather than troubleshooting with the field already heading toward Turn 1.
Why We Like ExpressVPN for Watching Racing
Motorsports makes slightly different demands on a streaming setup than a normal television show. There are no commercial-break spoilers to worry about when you’re watching a recorded drama; a frozen racing stream can come back to find the leader in the wall and the entire strategy reset by a caution. That’s why we prioritize a few practical things for racing:
- Fast connections: Live racing is one place where we don’t want unnecessary buffering.
- Large server network: Useful for fans who travel internationally during a long racing season.
- Device support: ExpressVPN has apps across many of the devices racing fans commonly use to stream.
- Quick server changes: Helpful when you’re moving between locations or troubleshooting a connection.
- One VPN for the whole season: The same setup can be used when following IndyCar away from home throughout the year.
For us, the appeal isn’t complicated. We want to get the stream running and get back to watching the race.
Who Should You Watch at Laguna Seca?
The championship trophy may already belong to Alex Palou, but the season finale has plenty left to settle.
Alex Palou
At this point, it is difficult to start anywhere else. Palou arrives as the 2026 IndyCar champion after securing his fifth series title at Milwaukee. At 29, he has now won four consecutive championships, tying Sébastien Bourdais’ record for consecutive titles. Laguna Seca has also become Palou territory.
He won here in 2022, 2024 and 2025. Last season’s performance was particularly emphatic: Palou started from pole and led 84 of the race’s 95 laps. With the championship pressure removed, the question changes. Instead of asking what Palou needs to clinch the title, we’re asking whether anyone can beat him at one of his favorite tracks.
Christian Lundgaard
Lundgaard heads to California second in the championship, and his Milwaukee weekend could hardly have arrived at a better time. He finished third and sixth across Sunday’s unusual two-race Milwaukee marathon, moving ahead of Kyle Kirkwood in the standings. Laguna Seca now gives him an opportunity to finish the season as IndyCar’s best driver not named Alex Palou.
Kyle Kirkwood
Kirkwood went into Milwaukee as Palou’s closest championship challenger but left Wisconsin third after finishes of sixth and 15th. That makes Monterey something of a reset. There isn’t a championship left to win, but finishing second overall would still put an exclamation point on a season in which Andretti Global took another step toward challenging the established frontrunners.
Pato O’Ward
If you’re looking for the driver arriving with momentum, this is the obvious choice. O’Ward won both IndyCar races completed at Milwaukee on Sunday, becoming the first driver since Rick Mears in 1981 to win two IndyCar races on the same day. That remarkable afternoon also dragged him directly into the fight for second in the standings. Lundgaard, Kirkwood and O’Ward enter Laguna Seca separated by only four points. Forget complicated championship permutations. That’s basically a winner-takes-most showdown between three drivers for the honor of finishing directly behind Palou.
What Could Decide the Grand Prix of Monterey?
Laguna Seca rewards outright speed, but Sunday’s winner isn’t necessarily determined by who produces the prettiest qualifying lap.
Qualifying Could Shape the Entire Afternoon
Passing is possible at Laguna Seca, but nobody wants to spend the first part of the race trapped behind a slower car while the leaders disappear. A strong qualifying result gives teams control over their opening strategy. A poor one can force them to start gambling. That’s one reason Saturday should be worth watching rather than treating qualifying as a formality before the main event.
Tire Life Can Change the Race
A car that is spectacular for a few qualifying laps isn’t automatically the car you want over a full stint. Drivers have to balance speed with keeping the Firestone tires underneath them. If degradation becomes significant, the difference between attacking early and preserving the tires can become increasingly obvious as a stint progresses. That opens the door for alternative strategies.
Pit Strategy Is Where Things Get Interesting
An early stop can give a driver fresh tires and the opportunity to jump someone who stays out longer. Staying out, meanwhile, can preserve track position or create an advantage if a caution arrives at the right moment. That’s the fun and frustration of IndyCar road-course strategy: sometimes the smartest decision on the pit stand looks brilliant five minutes later, and sometimes a yellow flag makes the entire plan worthless.
Traffic Matters
Laguna Seca’s layout also means leaders eventually have to negotiate cars on different strategies and, later in the race, potentially lapped traffic. The fastest car doesn’t always get to run the fastest possible lap. Watching how a leader deals with traffic—especially when second place is close enough to take advantage—is one of the smaller battles worth following.
Recent Grand Prix of Monterey Winners
One name dominates the recent history of this race.
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Alex Palou |
| 2024 | Alex Palou |
| 2023 | Scott Dixon |
| 2022 | Alex Palou |
| 2021 | Colton Herta |
| 2019 | Colton Herta |
Palou has won three of the past four races at Laguna Seca, while Colton Herta won the first two IndyCar events following the circuit’s return to the schedule in 2019. That makes the recent history unusually concentrated. Scott Dixon’s 2023 victory is the only interruption in a stretch otherwise controlled by Palou and Herta.
Laguna Seca Is Bigger Than One IndyCar Weekend
IndyCar is only one chapter in Laguna Seca’s history. The circuit was constructed in 1957 after the Pebble Beach road races needed a safer permanent home. Since then, the track has become part of American motorsports culture through decades of open-wheel racing, sports cars and motorcycles. That history is part of why the Corkscrew means something even to people who don’t watch IndyCar every weekend.
Plenty of racetracks have a signature corner. Far fewer have a section that has effectively become an attraction of its own. For IndyCar, Laguna Seca also feels like an appropriate place to finish a season. The series asks drivers to master superspeedways, short ovals, street circuits and permanent road courses over the course of a year. The final exam is 95 laps around one of the least forgiving road courses on the schedule.
One Last Race Before the 2026 IndyCar Season Ends
Alex Palou will leave California as the 2026 IndyCar champion regardless of what happens Sunday. That doesn’t make the Grand Prix of Monterey meaningless. Palou has a chance to finish another championship season by winning at a track he has increasingly made his own. O’Ward arrives after an extraordinary Milwaukee sweep. Lundgaard, Kirkwood and O’Ward have only four points separating them in their fight for second. And all of them still have to deal with Laguna Seca. For racing fans, that’s enough reason to watch.
