Alex Palou topped the times during a frantic first practice session at the Sonsio GP.
As the cars got underway around Indianapolis’ road circuit, the teams began to prepare for the long weekend ahead.
With only thirty minutes on the clock for practice at the Sonsio GP, drivers took to the circuit immediately, all keen to get all important track time in.
Louis Foster and Marcus Ericcson were the first to take to the track, with Foster holding the advantage. Robert Schwartzman took to the grass early, while Ericsson locked up into Turn 1. Nolan Siegel was next to fall victim to Turn 1, performing a similar lock-up. His first lap time saw him at the bottom of the standings.
Ericsson’s eventful morning continued as he hit the barriers and returned to the pits. With just over 20 minutes to go, the track began to evolve, with Santino Ferruci, Siegel and Kyffin Simpson all trading fastest lap times. Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood slotted into fourth and fifth after their first runs.
With Foster towards the the top of timesheets, RLL driver Devlin Defrancesco moved into P15 after his first run. He later locked up, taking to the grass as he sought to turnaround his season.
The sun played a part in making life difficult for the drivers. The early hour of the first session caused the sun to shine into the cockpits of many drivers, causing moments at turn 1, with others taking to the grass.
The major players arrive as red flag limits Sonsio GP practice running
Scott McLaughlin took to the track, as the major players started to make their appearance. He too became a victim of Turn 1, on his first lap, not bothering the top ten.
Alex Palou’s first lap of Sonsio GP practice took him to the top of the timesheets in a familiar story for Indycar, immediately on the pace.
Two of the Arrow McLarens lay fourth and fifth as the session entered its final ten minutes, with Siegel holding the advantage over Christian Lungaard. Pato O’Ward languished in eighth, conspicuous in his absence.
The Dale Coyne of Reenus Veekay ground to a halt after just one lap out of the pits, in a major setback for the dutch driver.
This incident brought out the red flag with less than ten minutes to go. The marshalls worked quickly to remove the stricken Dale Coyne Racing car out of harms way.
Frantic end to the first session at Sonsio GP Indianapolis
At the green flag, the entire field took to the circuit, with less than five minutes on the clock. No immediate improvements were made in the top five.
No one had used the soft tyres in this session. All drivers preferred to save the tyres for group sessions and qualifying.
Palou’s opening lap remained the fastest of the session, in a statement of intent for rivals. WIth a two day truncated schedule, Palou got his weekend off to the best possible start.
Groups of 12
For the final part of the session, the cars split off into groups of 12 for 12 minutes. At the green flag, Ferruci saw his good work in the session dented by a gearbox issue keeping him in the garage.
However, this fell into insignificance as Marcus Armstrong ground to a halt out of the pits, bringing out another red flag.
The session first session resumed with just ten precious minutes on the clock. Christian Rasmussen became yet another Turn 1 victim, taking to the grass and able to continue. As the track continued to evolve, Palou was temporarily knocked off the top of the timesheets. However, he and O’Ward responded by lapping sixth tenths of a second faster then the first part of practice.
The second 12 also did not use soft tyres, setting up a fast and frantic qualifying later today. Once the final laps were in, it was Alexander Rossi on top.
Classification – top ten, overall practice
- Alex Palou
- Kyffin Simpson
- Louis Simpson
- Santino Ferruci
- Nolan Siegel
- Christian Lundgaard
- Pato O’Ward
- Kyle Kirkwood
- Alexander Rossi
- Colton Herta
- Will Power
- Graham Rahal
- Felix Rosenquist
- Scott Dixon
- Marcus Ericsson
- David Malukas
- Conor Daly
- Sting Ray Robb
- Marcus Armstrong
- Scott McLaughlin
- Christian Rasmussen
- Josef Newgarden
- Callum Illot
- Devlin DeFrancesco
- Jacob Abel
- Rinus Veekay
- Robert Schwartzman
