Kyle Kirkwood has taken the early advantage in the 2025 IndyCar season, setting the fastest time in the opening practice session at St. Petersburg. The Andretti driver posted an impressive 1:00.441 in the Group A segment of practice, finishing 0.159 seconds ahead of reigning two-time champion Alex Palou.
Full field practice
The 45-minute full field practice began quietly before Alexander Rossi established the early benchmark with a 1:02.3702, quickly improving to a 1:01.6603. Will Power and Christian Rasmussen joined Rossi in the 1:01s bracket before the 20-minute mark.
ECR briefly ran 1-2 when Rossi’s Danish teammate moved to the top with a 1:01.5480, but Penske’s Power soon claimed the lead with a 1:01.2925, putting him more than two-tenths clear.
Drama struck midway through the session when Felix Rosenqvist experienced a massive spin exiting turn 3. Although he avoided contact with the wall, his tires were ruined by flat-spotting.
Alex Palou then asserted his championship credentials by posting a 1:01.211 to lead the session, followed closely by the Penske trio of Josef Newgarden, Will Power, and Scott McLaughlin. Less than a tenth of a second separated the top four at this point.
Christian Rasmussen continued his impressive form in sixth, while rookie Nolan Siegel showed promising pace, finishing just two-hundredths behind teammate Pato O’Ward.
2024 championship runner-up Colton Herta had a delayed start to his weekend, joining the session very late and completing only a few laps to finish 14th.
Full field results
- Palou
- Newgarden
- Power
- McLaughlin
- Kirkwood
- Rasmussen
- Dixon
- O’Ward
- Rossi
- Siegel
- Lundgaard
- Ericsson
- Rosenqvist
- Herta
- Armstrong
- Rahal
- Malukas
- Daly
- VeeKay
- Ilott
- Robb
- Ferrucci
- Simpson
- Shwartzman
- Foster
- DeFrancesco
- Abel
Split group sessions
Following the full field practice, drivers were divided into two groups for additional 10-minute sessions on softer tires.
Group A
Christian Rasmussen maintained his strong performance with a 1:01.678, though slightly slower than his earlier time. Callum Ilott had a close call, striking the wall on the exit of turn 9 but remarkably continuing without significant damage.
Marcus Ericsson briefly took top spot with a 1:01.147 before being surpassed by O’Ward, McLaughlin, Palou, and ultimately Kirkwood, whose 1:00.441 would stand as the fastest time of the day.
The session was interrupted when Marcus Armstrong spun at turn 3, narrowly avoiding the barriers by mere inches. As the session resumed, Scott McLaughlin hit the wall after bottoming out on a bump near turn 3, breaking his left front suspension and bringing his practice to a premature end.
Group A results
- Kirkwood
- Palou
- McLaughlin
- O’Ward
- Ericsson
- Armstrong
- Rasmussen
- Ilott
- Malukas
- Robb
- Shwartzman
- Foster
- VeeKay
- Siegel
- Abel
Group B
Christian Rasmussen maintained his strong performance with a 1:01.678, though slightly slower than his earlier time. Callum Ilott had a close call, striking the wall on the exit of turn 9 but remarkably continuing without significant damage.
Marcus Ericsson briefly took top spot with a 1:01.147 before being surpassed by O’Ward, McLaughlin, Palou, and ultimately Kirkwood, whose 1:00.441 would stand as the fastest time of the day.
The session was interrupted when Marcus Armstrong spun at turn 3, narrowly avoiding the barriers by mere inches. As the session resumed, Scott McLaughlin hit the wall after bottoming out on a bump near turn 3, breaking his left front suspension and bringing his practice to a premature end.
Group B results
- Kirkwood
- Dixon
- Foster
- Daly
- Power
- Ferrucci
- Rossi
- Rahal
- Simpson
- Shwartzman
- Newgarden
- DeFrancesco
- Lundgaard
- Abel
- Rosenqvist
Top 10 St. Pete results
- Kirkwood
- Palou
- McLaughlin
- Herta
- O’Ward
- Ericsson
- Armstrong
- Dixon
- Newgarden
- Power
Feature Image Credit: Penske Entertainment | Joe Skibinski
