Will Power has set the fastest time in the weekend’s only IndyCar practice session for the GMR Grand Prix from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course with a time of 1:09.9487 on the 2.44-mile course.
The Team Penske veteran is one of only two drivers to have won in the race’s six-year history, with team-mate Simon Pagenaud claiming victory in the rest. But the Frenchman was not able to make his way to the top of the time sheets, topping out at seventh best time.
Tires falling off quickly
As drivers tested out different setups, it became apparent quickly that tire life is going to be a major factor in this weekend’s race. High temperatures and the added weight of the Aeroscreen combined to wear the tires exceedingly quickly.
After only ten laps on the harder tires, drivers were complaining that there was no grip left. And the lap times reflected that by dropping off sharply late in the run.
Drivers will need to make it a point all weekend to preserve tires so as to no burn through the 11 sets available for the entirety of the sessions.
The NASCAR Xfinity series has its own practice and qualifying sessions before IndyCar goes back on track for qualifying, further complicating the tire situation due to the different rubber compounds that will be laid down on track.
Aeroscreen performance on the road course
Drivers up and down the field were working quickly to figure out the differences resulting from the Aeroscreen in the weekend’s first and only practice session.
This is the first weekend in the road course trim for the new Aeroscreen outside of test sessions. Any handling issues due to the weight shift, however, were limited and didn’t result in any major problems getting through the corners.
The temperatures, however, did have a direct effect on the drivers. Much as was the case for the first race of the season at Texas Motor Speedway, the teams were opening every vent they had available in the new cockpit protection to help keep the drivers cool in the summer heat.
Young drivers have the pace
The young drivers showed they were ready for a battle this weekend, setting times competitive with the veterans throughout most of the session. It was only in the last few minutes, when the track rubbered in nicely, that Power was able to set his fast lap.
22-year-old Santino Ferrucci impressed with lap that put him in second place on the timesheets, overcoming a small spin after touching wheels with Ryan Hunter-Reay earlier in the session.
Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren SP was also at the among the top runners, ending the session with a lap less than a quarter of a second slower than Power’s best effort.
O’Ward’s team-mate Oliver Askew was the top performer of the rookies, putting in a lap that was just over 0.4 seconds off the pace resulting in tenth place on the charts.
Qualifying takes place later this afternoon at 16:30 EDT, with high temperatures and grip set to be the main talking points.
| # | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Will Power | 01:09.9487 | –.—- |
| 2 | Santino Ferrucci | 01:10.1242 | 0.1755 |
| 3 | Marcus Ericsson | 01:10.1648 | 0.0406 |
| 4 | Pato O’Ward | 01:10.1874 | 0.0226 |
| 5 | Scott Dixon | 01:10.2054 | 0.018 |
| 6 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | 01:10.2846 | 0.0792 |
| 7 | Simon Pagenaud | 01:10.3129 | 0.0283 |
| 8 | Felix Rosenqvist | 01:10.3619 | 0.049 |
| 9 | Spencer Pigot | 01:10.3633 | 0.0014 |
| 10 | Oliver Askew | 01:10.3641 | 0.0008 |
| 11 | Colton Herta | 01:10.3847 | 0.0206 |
| 12 | Josef Newgarden | 01:10.3862 | 0.0015 |
| 13 | Jack Harvey | 01:10.4550 | 0.0688 |
| 14 | Marco Andretti | 01:10.4859 | 0.0309 |
| 15 | Alexander Rossi | 01:10.5204 | 0.0345 |
| 16 | Takuma Sato | 01:10.5381 | 0.0177 |
| 17 | Rinus VeeKay | 01:10.6058 | 0.0677 |
| 18 | Max Chilton | 01:10.6114 | 0.0056 |
| 19 | Graham Rahal | 01:10.6854 | 0.074 |
| 20 | Conor Daly | 01:10.6935 | 0.0081 |
| 21 | Zach Veach | 01:10.7089 | 0.0154 |
| 22 | Alex Palou | 01:10.8863 | 0.1774 |
| 23 | Charlie Kimball | 01:10.9799 | 0.0936 |
| 24 | James Hinchcliffe | 01:11.2270 | 0.2471 |
| 25 | Dalton Kellett | 01:11.4484 | 0.2214 |
| 26 | Sage Karam | 01:11.6165 | 0.1681 |
