IndyCar headed to the Thermal Club GP in California for the first road course event of the season, with teams eager to tackle the unique circuit in FP1. While IndyCar visited the venue in 2024 for a non-points event with a $1 million prize, this year, every lap counted towards the championship.
Defending race winner Alex Palou entered as the driver to beat, but the field was expected to be much tighter than last season. With the first free practice (FP1) session underway, teams got their first look at the conditions and tyre degradation ahead of race day.
Early running and first times on the board
David Malukas, now driving for AJ Foyt Racing after his move to Team Penske, was among the first to head out on track. However, he ran wide early on, kicking up dust due to the characteristic bumps of The Thermal Club.
Kyffin Simpson of Chip Ganassi Racing was the first to complete a flying lap, setting a 1:45.1207. However, as more drivers got up to speed, the times tumbled quickly.
Scott McLaughlin eventually set the fastest lap with a 1:43.4406, with Christian Lundgaard and Pato O’Ward following closely behind, making it an Arrow McLaren 2-3 at that point in the session.
Red flag
As teams continued to improve their lap times, the session was abruptly halted when Robert Schwartzman’s PREMA entry was seen stopped on the side of the track—his car engulfed in flames. The Italian outfit, new to IndyCar in 2025, has struggled early in the season following reliability issues at St. Petersburg.
It was later revealed that Schwartzman suffered a fuel cell issue, requiring extensive repairs to his car. With the safety crew extinguishing the fire, the red flag paused the session for a significant period.
Once the track was cleared, the green flag waved again, leaving teams with just eight minutes to get back on track.
Felix Rosenqvist ran wide over the line in his Meyer Shank Racing entry but managed to regain control. Meanwhile, McLaughlin held onto the top spot before Kyle Kirkwood surged to the front, posting a 1:41.8709.
As conditions improved, Marcus Ericsson followed with a 1:42.2341, securing a 1-2 for Andretti Global. Colton Herta made it an Andretti top-three by setting a 1:42.6078. However, it was Palou who showcased his previous dominance at The Thermal Club, clocking a 1:42.3246 to slot into third.
Graham Rahal reported on the radio that his tyres were falling apart after just one lap, a concerning sign considering he was on the harder, black-walled tyres. The high degradation would be an important factor when teams switched to the softer, red-walled tyres.
Full Grid Results
1. Kirkwood
2. Ericsson
3. Palou
4. Herta
5. McLaughlin
6. Lundgaard
7. Rahal
8. Dixon
9. Ilott
10. Newgarden
11. Power
12. O’Ward
13. Armstrong
14. Rossi
15. Rosenqvist
16. Ferrucci
17. VeeKay
18. DeFrancesco
19. Malukas
20. Daly
21. Rasmussen
22. Robb
23. Foster
24. Simpson
25. Siegel
26. Abel
27. Shwartzman
Group 1
After FP1, the field was split into two groups, allowing drivers to test the degradation levels of the softer, red-walled tyres in ten-minute runs.
Devlin DeFrancesco set an early benchmark of 1:41.9859, but just a few minutes into the session, his car suffered another issue, stalling in the middle sector and bringing out a brief yellow flag. Once his car was cleared, the session resumed with drivers pushing hard.
Conor Daly and Josef Newgarden posted faster laps, with Newgarden topping the charts with a 1:41.765. As the track evolved, Rosenqvist put Meyer Shank Racing at the top with a 1:41.213, followed by Kyffin Simpson with a 1:41.615. Alexander Rossi was third before heading to the pits with a reported hybrid system issue. Meanwhile, Will Power focused on long-run consistency, posting a solid mid-1:41 lap that held him within the top five.
The final minute saw Colton Herta break into the 1:40s with a 1:40.8439, topping Group 1 ahead of Rosenqvist and Power. Herta’s performance showcased his ability to extract pace from the red tyres while maintaining stability through the technical sections of the circuit.
Group 1 Results — FP1 Thermal Club GP
1. Herta
2. Rosenqvist
3. Power
4. Ferrucci
5. Dixon
6. Simpson
7. Rossi
8. Newgarden
9. Daly
10. Rahal
11. DeFrancesco
12. Lundgaard
13. Foster
14. Abel
15. Shwartzman
Group 2
With just ten minutes on the clock for Group 2, some drivers opted to run the harder black-walled tyres before switching to the reds, gathering comparative data on stint degradation.
Sting Ray Robb posted an early 1:41.6209, but Louis Foster quickly went faster with a 1:41.1388. Christian Rasmussen became the first driver to dip into the 1:40s, setting a 1:40.872 while showing strong adaptability to the changing track conditions.
However, Kyle Kirkwood stole the top spot with a 1:40.638 before Alex Palou delivered the fastest lap of the day—a blistering 1:40.5486. Palou’s precision through the high-speed corners made a significant difference, especially in the second sector, where he gained nearly two-tenths over the field.
Palou’s session was not without incident, as he was handed a drive-through penalty for leaving the pit box early. Despite this setback, he recovered quickly and managed to put in his record lap time before the chequered flag.
Group 2 Results — FP1 Thermal Club GP
1. Palou
2. Kirkwood
3. Ericsson
4. Rasmussen
5. O’Ward
6. McLaughlin
7. Foster
8. Ilott
9. Robb
10. Armstrong
11. Malukas
12. Siegel
13. VeeKay
14. Abel
15. Shwartzman
