KIRKWOOD AND PALOU LEAD DETROIT PRACTICE BATTLE
Kyle Kirkwood and Alex Palou were the main names to watch during practice for the Detroit Grand Prix. On Friday, Palou ended the opening day as the fastest driver overall, but Kirkwood was extremely close behind.
The gap between them was tiny. Palou set a lap of 1:02.772, while Kirkwood followed with a 1:02.791. That made Palou just 0.019 seconds faster. It was a strong start for the championship leader, but he said there was still work to do because it was difficult to put a clean lap together around the Detroit street circuit.
The first practice day showed that many drivers had speed, but the track was not easy. The streets of Detroit are narrow and tricky, and several drivers had small mistakes. Some went down escape roads, while others spun, but there was no major damage.
Will Power was third overall on Friday with a 1:02.943. Marcus Armstrong was fourth, while Pato O’Ward was the fastest Chevrolet driver in fifth. David Malukas completed the top six.
The day started with an early red flag after Marcus Ericsson had a leak from his car. Fluid was left on the track, so the session had to be stopped while marshals cleaned the circuit. Ericsson lost a lot of track time, but he still recovered well enough to finish inside the top ten.
After the main practice session, the drivers were split into two groups. Kirkwood led the first group with a 1:02.791. He was clearly ahead of the rest, with Rinus VeeKay closest behind him. Scott McLaughlin, Ericsson, O’Ward and Power also finished near the front of that group.
In the second group, Palou went even faster and ended the day on top with a 1:02.772. Armstrong was second in that group, followed by Christian Lundgaard, Malukas, Alexander Rossi and Christian Rasmussen.
Josef Newgarden also returned to action after a hard crash at Indianapolis. He was using crutches and had to make changes inside the car to deal with his injury. He finished 21st on Friday, but said he was still working on feeling more comfortable before the race.
Kirkwood in front in FP2
On Saturday morning, Kirkwood raised the pace again in second practice. He set the fastest lap of the event so far with a 1:01.814 around the 1.7-mile street circuit.
Power was second with a 1:01.945, while O’Ward finished third with a 1:02.194. Palou was fourth, McLaughlin was fifth, and Felix Rosenqvist completed the top six.
The second practice was important because drivers spent most of the session on the harder primary tires. On Friday, they had used the softer alternate tires for qualifying-style runs. But on Saturday, the harder tire showed strong speed and good life, which could affect strategy for both qualifying and the race.
The session had more interruptions. VeeKay stopped early with smoke and fluid coming from his car, causing a red flag. Later, Newgarden had a spin but avoided contact and continued without a problem.
Kirkwood also had a moment at Turn 2. He touched the wall and damaged the right-rear part of his car, which brought out another red flag. His car was repaired, and he returned to the track before improving his time.
The first split-group session on Saturday also stopped early when Lundgaard appeared to suffer a similar engine problem to VeeKay. His car started smoking, and he had to stop.
When that session restarted, Palou went fastest with a 1:02.257. Malukas, Scott Dixon, Armstrong, Rossi and Nolan Siegel followed behind him.
In the final split-group session, Kirkwood produced the best lap of the weekend so far. On his final run, he set a 1:01.814 and moved to the top. Power, O’Ward, McLaughlin, Rosenqvist and Ericsson completed the top six in that group.
After two practice sessions, Kirkwood and Palou look like the strongest drivers in Detroit. Palou was fastest on Friday, but Kirkwood answered on Saturday with the best lap of the event. The battle between them could be one of the biggest stories of the weekend.
Share this content:
