The NTT IndyCar Series completed its first practice session of the weekend on Friday afternoon, running laps around the historic Laguna Seca circuit.
With tons of elevation changes and notable corners, drivers were quite happy to get out on track and find the limits of the course.
To the surprise of nobody, Alex Palou was the quickest of all drivers during the 90-minute session.
The now-five-time champion ripped around the course with a fast lap of 1:09.8994, and only needed 14 laps to make it happen.
Felix Rosenqvist was second quick in the first session of his final race with Meyer Shank Racing, and is obviously looking to make a statement before he moves on to Arrow McLaren.
Hot off the heels of his double win in Milwaukee, Pato O’Ward was third quick in Friday’s session.
Scott McLaughlin and Kyffin Simpson rounded out the top five.
Mistakes early in the weekend
There were a couple red flags that interrupted the Friday session, with the first bring brought out by Josef Newgarden.
The two-time champion got wide at Turn 6, just as he was about to climb up the hill to the newly-designated Zanardi Corkscrew.
Newgarden spun into the gravel, but was able to continue once the safety crew moved him back onto the asphalt.
Santino Ferrucci also spun, except he suffered a bit of damage in his incident.
He got loose and spun off course just past the Corkscrew, then nosed his #14 AJ Foyt Racing machine into the tire wall.
Ferrucci drove back to pits on his own power, and was able to get back on track with a few minutes remaining.
Veteran Scott Dixon also spun once in Turn 2, but did not get into the gravel and was able to continue before a red flag was thrown.
Drivers will be back on track Saturday for a second practice run, followed by qualifying in the afternoon.
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