Kyle Kirkwood led the way in FP1 as IndyCar action got underway at Road America, with Alex Palou looking to be in trouble.
There was a flurry of activity at the green light at Road America. The field took to the track to complete installation laps, however before all returned to the pits.
After ten minutes, no times were on the board. Sting Ray Robb and Christian Lundgaard headed out on the track, with more joining with just over an hour left.
Kyffin Simpson, Robb, Loius Foster and Ericsson led the times after the opening laps, with Jacob Abel and Robert Schwartzan completed the early runners.
With an hour left, Lundgaard lepet to the top of times, but the likes of Alex Palou, and Penske drivers had yet to show their hand.
Devlin DeFrancesco’s weekend yet again started with a scrappy performance. Pushing on his second lap, he locked up, and careered into the gravel. However, he was able to continue and move into second plafe behind Lungaard.
Rinus Veekay showed good speed from his first runs, displacing DeFrancesco. Nolan Siegel’s McLaren moved into third following his first run.
The Penske of Will Power then emerged onto the track with 50 minutes to go. On the primaries, his car visibly lacked grip compared to the front runners. His first lap was only good enough for 12th.
Santino Ferucci’s first lap was good enough to move his Dale Coyne Racing car into first place, while Scott McLaughlin moved into third. Bommarito 500 winner Kyle Kirkwood slotted into fifth with 45 minutes remaining.
With less than 40 minutes to go, Alex Palou took his now customary position at the top of the IndyCar practice timesheets. Josef Newgarden relieved Ferucci of second place.
With 20 minutes to go, Palou still led the times, as his lap proved to be more difficult to beat. The midfield looked competitive, with Lungaard, Felix Rosenqvist, and McLaughlin all separated by less than tenth of a second. The field was covered by 1.8 seconds.
Two red flags at Road America disrupts IndyCar practice
Ferucci lost control of his car and was sent into a high-speed spin. Although avoiding the barriers, he stalled, bringing out the red flag. With some assistance from the marshals, he got going afterwards once again and returned to the pit lane.
After a short delay, the teams took to the track once again with 10 minutes left on the clock. Drivers switched to the red alternate tyres, resulting in the order changing once again.
Kirkwood and DeFrancesco moved into P1 and P2 with Power in third. Alex
However, Alexander Rossi pushed too hard on his lap, and was sent spinning into the gravel. This brought out the red flag once again with just a few minutes to go.
This curtailed the end of the session, leavong Alex Palou with significant work to do, as his soft lap pace left him P9.
Session Classification
- Kyle Kirkwood
- Devlin DeFrancesco
- Will Power
- Josef Newgarden
- Christian Lundgaard
- Scott McLaughlin
- David Malukas
- Louis Foster
- Alex Palou
- Kyffin Simpson
- Santino Ferucci
- Nolan Siegel
- Felix Rosenqvist
- Alexander Rossi
- Callum Illot
- Marcus Armstrong
- Pato O’Ward
- Scott Dixon
- Rinus Veekay
- Marcus Ericsson
- Conor Daly
- Graham Rahal
- Colton Herta
- Jacob Abel
- Robert Shwartzman
- Christian Rasmussen
- Sting Ray Robb
