Freedom 250 Grand Prix Live: Qualifying gets underway for IndyCar race in DC as Trump set to attend

1. Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global Honda

2. Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing Honda

3. Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

4. Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

5. Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

6. Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing Honda

FBI Director Kash Patel said Saturday he met with the command post out of the Washington Field Office ahead of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix and touted safety measures put into place.

“FBI has a huge presence here to keep this event safe – nearly 400 personnel dedicated between Headquarters and President Trump’s DC ‘Safe and Beautiful Task Force’ to manage the security lift,” Patel wrote on X.

Among those helping keep the event safe are the Critical Incident Response team, multiple intelligence components and the Command Post operators. Patel said SWAT was on standby as well.

Drivers are getting ready to compete in the qualifying round of the Freedom 250 IndyCar series to determine the order for Sunday’s Grand Prix race.

Drivers will have six minutes to post the fastest lap time that they can. The driver with the fastest time will secure a position closer to the front for Sunday’s race.

The qualifying round is set to begin at 5 p.m. ET.

Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum says that manhole covers are being “welded down” in Washington, D.C. to ensure spectators and drivers are kept safe during Sunday’s race.

Burgum says that the IndyCar Series team and Freedom 250 have “taken every precaution” to keep people safe, including “making sure they’re welding the manhole covers down so they don’t get sucked up like a vacuum when these cars come flying over the top of them, he told NewsMax.

NASCAR and IndyCar racing legends will reach speeds of up to 185 mph during the race in the heart of the nation’s capital, in and around museums and government buildings, including the famed art gallery.

The National Gallery, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, sits in the middle of the 1.7-mile-long racecourse, and the institution is not taking any chances when it comes to looking after the tens of thousands of valuable artworks it houses, The Washington Post reported.

The route, a 1.7 mile loop, will take drivers past the Capitol, Washington Monument and National Archives, according to a map provided by the event’s organizers.

A total of 147 laps will be completed, making for a total distance of about 250 miles. Seven turns are included in the route.

F1 and IndyCar share similarities, but they also have major differences. The main differences involve where they race, the circuit types, and the cars themselves.

IndyCar races mostly take place in the U.S., with an annual circuit in Toronto, Canada. F1, by contrast, saw its 2026 season span 24 races across 21 countries.

Drivers both race on the road and some street courses, but only IndyCar races on oval circuits. “IndyCars run continuous high-speed laps with almost no braking, while F1 lap times are shaped by a mix of high-speed straights and technical cornering sections,” Red Bull explains.

Examples of IndyCar courses include permanent road courses (Barber Motorsports Park, Road America), street circuits (Long Beach, Detroit), short ovals (Phoenix Raceway, Milwaukee Mile) and superspeedway ovals (Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway), per FOX Sports.

The cars look similar, but they are vastly different.

While F1 cars are generally shorter and lower (an F1 car is approximately 5.6 meters long and 2 meters wide), an IndyCar is longer at around 5.1 meters. IndyCars are narrower at approximately 1.9 meters, according to Red Bull. “F1 cars also sit closer to the ground due to their more aggressive aerodynamic packaging.”

F1 cars are typically faster on street circuits while IndyCar dominates on oval circuits, Red Bull notes.

Technical regulations are also different. Every IndyCar team has the same car and the same base components. “In INDYCAR, it’s all about taking the same pieces of a puzzle and making a prettier picture. Or, in this case, a faster car!” FOX Sports notes.

But in F1, every year, each team designs and builds its own car from scratch. While certain regulations need to be followed, “there is more freedom to innovate and differentiate” in F1.

Another major difference? How much top drivers earn. A top F1 driver can earn over $50 million per season, according to Red Bull, while elite IndyCar drivers earn closer to $2-5 million per year.

There are just a few of the similarities and differences between F1 and IndyCar.

Kyle Kirkwood topped the first practice session on the new 1.7-mile, seven-turn Washington, D.C., street circuit, posting a fastest lap of 57.3744 seconds at 106.668 mph.

Drivers spent the 90-minute session getting a feel for the new track ahead of Sunday’s 250-mile race.

The Freedom 250 begins in wet conditions, with drivers initially needing rain tires as the track starts to dry.