INDYCAR CONCLUDES A TWO-DAY TESTING AT SEBRING

IndyCar has officially begun preparations for the 2026 season with its first preseason tests at Sebring. With winter coming to an end, teams and drivers are back on track ahead of the season opener in St. Petersburg.

Sebring is a familiar place for IndyCar testing. The warm weather and demanding surface help teams prepare for street circuits, which make up a large part of the calendar. Private tests are taking place on February 9 and 10, before open tests in Phoenix on February 17 and 18.

For these sessions, teams are split into two groups. One group runs in the morning and the other in the afternoon, with the groups switching on the second day.

A total of 24 out of the 27 full-time entries for this season took part across the tests. Full-time multi-car teams such as Penske, Ganassi, Andretti, McLaren, AJ Foyt, Meyer Shank, Dale Coyne, and Ed Carpenter are involved, although the latter was absent on the first day.

Alex Palou led day one

Reigning champion Alex Palou returned to the car after a dominant 2025 season and immediately set the pace. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver posted the fastest lap of the day with a time of 52.626 seconds during the morning session, making him the quickest overall.

Kyle Kirkwood initially led for Andretti, but Palou and Felix Rosenqvist soon moved to the top, showing strong pace for Honda-powered cars. Rinus VeeKay also impressed, while Pato O’Ward finished seventh and was the second-fastest Chevrolet driver.

In the afternoon, Marcus Armstrong set the quickest time of that session for Meyer Shank Racing. Sting Ray Robb also had a productive run with Juncos Hollinger Racing.

Firestone provided each driver with four sets of primary tires: two from the 2025 specification and two new 2026 tires designed for street circuits. Most teams used the older tires on Monday and saved the new ones for Tuesday, although not everyone followed the same plan.

One notable absence was Prema, while Ed Carpenter Racing did not run on Monday but planned to test Hunter McElrea on Tuesday.

Testing at Sebring is an important first step as teams look to challenge Palou and Ganassi in what is expected to be a competitive and unpredictable 2026 IndyCar season.

Sebring Test – Day 1 Results

1. Alex Palou (Chip Ganassi) — 52.626s
2. Felix Rosenqvist (Meyer Shank) — 52.650s
3. Rinus VeeKay (Juncos) — 52.756s
4. Josef Newgarden (Penske) — 52.846s
5. Marcus Armstrong (Meyer Shank) — 52.847s
6. Kyle Kirkwood (Andretti) — 52.918s
7. Patricio O’Ward (McLaren) — 53.018s
8. Scott McLaughlin (Penske) — 53.039s
9. Sting Ray Robb (Juncos) — 53.050s
10. Kyffin Simpson (Chip Ganassi) — 53.135s
11. Marcus Ericsson (Andretti) — 53.165s
12. Louis Foster (Rahal Letterman Lanigan) — 53.167s
13. Nolan Siegel (McLaren) — 53.172s
14. Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi) — 53.210s
15. Graham Rahal (Rahal Letterman Lanigan) — 53.325s
16. Santino Ferrucci (A.J. Foyt) — 53.337s
17. Will Power (Andretti) — 53.337s
18. Dennis Hauger (Dale Coyne) — 53.413s
19. David Malukas (Penske) — 53.442s
20. Caio Collet (A.J. Foyt) — 53.656s
21. Christian Lundgaard (McLaren) — 53.769s
22. Romain Grosjean (Dale Coyne) — 53.798s
23. Mick Schumacher (Rahal Letterman Lanigan) — 54.269s

Armstrong fastest on second day

Marcus Armstrong was the fastest driver on the second day of IndyCar testing at Sebring International Raceway. After leading Monday afternoon, the Meyer Shank Racing driver topped the Tuesday morning session with a lap of 52.372 seconds.

Scott Dixon was second, Will Power third for Andretti Global, and Scott McLaughlin fourth and fastest among the Chevrolet drivers. Hunter McElrea made his debut for Ed Carpenter Racing and finished sixth in his group.

Over the two-day test, Alex Palou led Monday morning, Armstrong took the next two sessions, and Kyle Kirkwood ended the final run on top with a 52.479-second lap. Honda-powered cars led every session.

Drivers tried both Firestone’s 2025 and new 2026 primary tires, and Armstrong said they felt very similar as per Marshall Pruett, with the new ones taking slightly longer to reach temperature.

Next, teams will switch their cars to short oval setup and head to Phoenix Raceway for another test next week.

Sebring Test – Day 2 Results

1. Marcus Armstrong – 52.372 (Meyer Shank)
2. Kyle Kirkwood – 52.479 (Andretti)
3. Scott Dixon – 52.514 (Chip Ganassi)
4. Will Power – 52.611 (Andretti)
5. Scott McLaughlin – 52.636 (Penske)
6. Felix Rosenqvist – 52.702 (Meyer Shank)
7. Hunter McElrea – 52.729 (Ed Carpenter)
8. Marcus Ericsson – 52.823 (Andretti)
9. Rinus VeeKay – 52.845 (Juncos)
10. Alex Palou – 52.874 (Chip Ganassi)
11. Caio Collet – 52.891 (AJ Foyt)
12. Josef Newgarden – 53.018 (Penske)
13. Pato O’Ward – 53.036 (McLaren)
14. Christian Lundgaard – 53.085 (McLaren)
15. David Malukas – 53.167 (Penske)
16. Louis Foster – 53.177 (Rahal Letterman Lanigan)
17. Romain Grosjean – 53.220 (Dale Coyne)
18. Dennis Hauger – 53.226 (Dale Coyne)
19. Kyffin Simpson – 53.228 (Chip Ganassi)
20. Nolan Siegel – 53.286 (Mclaren)
21. Mick Schumacher – 53.430 (Rahal Letterman Lanigan)
22. Sting Ray Robb – 53.509 (Juncos Hollinger)
23. Graham Rahal – 53.519 (Rahal Letterman Lanigan)
24. Santino Ferrucci – 53.715 (AJ Foyt)

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