IndyCar returned to the short street course in downtown Toronto, Canada this weekend, and it was Alexander Rossi who set the fastest time in the opening practice session on the tricky course.
The Andretti Autosport driver completed a lap around the 1.79-mile circuit in a scant 1:00.6090. The pace was over a second slower than the pole lap from 2019 when the series last visited, but that was before the introduction of the heavy Aeroscreen.
Simon Pagenaud, the most recent winner in Toronto, completed the second fastest time of the day. Graham Rahal was third fastest, and led the time sheets for a good portion of the session.
Alex Palou, amid his contract dispute with Chip Ganassi and Arrow McLaren SP, was able to work his way into the top 10, although he could be heard putting a bit of extra aggression into his burnout while leaving the pit box.
The opening practice was once again an extended 75 minutes long, a change that IndyCar recently announced would become part of the standard weekend schedule.
It was a messy session overall, with multiple drivers making contact with the walls around the tight and tricky course.
Callum Ilott was the first to collide with the barriers, sending his Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevy heavily into the turn 2 wall.
Jimmie Johnson spun a few laps after practice resumed, and Helio Castroneves parked his car into the tires a few laps after that.
Multiple other drivers went long into the runoff areas, and even more locked up their tires while trying to push hard. Such is the nature of the patchwork surface, that it took time to get used to the varying grip levels.
Nearly a third of the field has never driven the track in an IndyCar before, and much of the day was spent figuring out the layout.
The next time the drivers will see the track will be for a morning practice session, followed by a knockout qualifying session in the afternoon.
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