IndyCar returns to a driver and fan favorite in Laguna Seca. The Java House Grand Prix of Monterey hosts 11 turns, 95 laps, and 2.238 miles of heart-pounding IndyCar racing. Pato O’Ward found the front of the field in the only practice session of the weekend.
Three races remain after Laguna Seca in the 2025 NTT IndyCar season. Who will set themselves up for success ahead of the feature race on Sunday?
Practice 1
Practice 1 saw Pato O’Ward stormed to the top of the timing sheets with a stunning 1:09.20 lap. The Arrow Mclaren driver put his foot on the gas in his charge for his first NTT IndyCar championship. O’Ward sits just 99point behind Palou heading into the race weekend.
Series leader Alex Palou ended his Friday running fourth, behind two-time Laguna Seca winner Colton Herta and Marcus Armstrong. Armstrong and Palou set nearly identical laps, 1:09.3173 and 1:09.3174 respectively. Palou setting a lap at 1:09.3679 just behind the two.
Red Flags were brought out in the session as Alexander Rossi, Devlin DeFrancesco, and Josef Newgarden found themselves in sticky situations. Defrancesco found the limit of his car as he bounced through the gravel at the exit of Turn 4. He quickly made contact with the barriers. Alexander Rossi found himself in a similar situation to DeFrancesco, as he made contact with the barriers at Turn 6. Lastly, Josef Newgarden had a lock-up with his rear tires as he approached Turn 8 – the famous Corkscrew – and ended up beached in the gravel.
The No.9 of Scott Dixon and the No.51 of Jacob Abel had spins at Turn’s 5 and 3, but managed to keep their cars on track and running. Additionally, Rinus VeeKay also spun out later in the session at Turn 11, followed swiftly by Christian Rasmussen, Both cars remained running in the session.
Pato O’Ward will now be looking to add a road course win to his roster this season, in addition to his oval and street course successes.
Practice 2
Practice 2 at Laguna Seca was cancelled due to a low cloud ceiling, which prevented the medical helicopter from taking off safely.
Qualifying begins at 2:30pm EST (7:30pm BST) ON FS1.
Practice 1 Results
- O’Ward
- Herta
- Armstrong
- Palou
- Ilott
- Rasmussen
- Kirkwood
- Rosenqvist
- Foster
- Lundgaard
- Malukas
- VeeKay
- Simpson
- Abl
- Robb
- McLaughlin
- Power
- Ericsson
- Siegel
- Shwartzman
- Rahal
- Daly
- Ferrucci
- Dixson
- DeFrancesco
- Newgarden
- Rossi
