Palou tops Thermal IndyCar practice, leads Andretti trio
Alex Palou set the pace in Friday's opening practice at The Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix, with the Chip Ganassi Racing driver leading a Honda-powered top four.
Racing Indycar in yellow and red
Palou's No. 10 Honda posted a fastest lap of 1m40.5486s, followed closely by Andretti Global's strong showing:
- Kyle Kirkwood (No. 27) in second, +0.0901s
- Marcus Ericsson (No. 28) in third, +0.1884s
- Colton Herta (No. 26) in fourth, +0.2953s
Ed Carpenter Racing's Christian Rasmussen led the Chevrolet contingent in fifth (+0.3242s), with Arrow McLaren's Pato O'Ward completing the top six (+0.3606s).
The session was interrupted by two red flags:
- PREMA Racing's Robert Schwartzman stopped with engine issues, ending his day early
- Devlin DeFrancesco's Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda stalled in Turn 1
Teams conserved tires throughout the session, anticipating the importance of tire management for Saturday and Sunday. While fastest times were set on alternate compounds, recent rainfall had washed away track rubber, leading to conservative lap times on the 3.067-mile, 17-turn road course.
Formula 1 Thermal Practice Session Results