INDYCAR PRACTICE REPORT AT ST. PETERSBURG
The 2026 IndyCar season began with two competitive practice sessions on the streets of St. Petersburg, giving an early look at the drivers and teams to watch this weekend.
FP1 – McLaughlin Starts Strong in St. Petersburg
Scott McLaughlin was the fastest driver in the first IndyCar practice session for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The Team Penske driver showed strong pace right from the beginning of the weekend.
During the first 40-minute full-field session, McLaughlin set the early fastest time on the harder tires with a lap of 1:01.579 in his Penske. Later, in the shorter 12-minute split-field session, Kyffin Simpson from Chip Ganassi Racing briefly went fastest in the No. 8, roughly four tenths faster.
McLaughlin responded by switching to the softer alternate tires and improved his time to 1:01.102, finishing the day at the top of the timesheets.
In the final combined results from Friday, Felix Rosenqvist placed second for Meyer Shank Racing, followed by Kyle Kirkwood for Andretti Global. Simpson finished fourth, Marcus Ericsson was fifth, and Alex Palou completed the top six.
Among the rookies, Dennis Hauger was the best in 17th place. Mick Schumacher finished 23rd and Caio Collet ended the session 24th out of 25 drivers.
There were a few incidents during the session. Scott Dixon had the biggest crash of the day after hitting the inside wall and bouncing into the outside barrier. His car suffered damage to the front wing and suspension, but the team confirmed it could be repaired.
Louis Foster also hit the wall and damaged his suspension at the last corner, as well as Josef Newgarden who went off track into the tire barriers, but his car was mostly fine after the team cleaned it. Several other drivers had spins or small mistakes, including a long turn-around moment for Will Power, but overall the session continued without major delays.
FP2 – Lundgaard Leads Close Saturday Session
Christian Lundgaard was the fastest driver in the second practice session on Saturday. The Arrow McLaren driver led at St. Petersburg with a lap time of 1:01.615.
The session was very close, with seven drivers separated by less than one tenth of a second. Marcus Armstrong came closest to Lundgaard’s time for Meyer Shank Racing. Alex Palou was third, followed by Kyle Kirkwood, Alexander Rossi, and David Malukas. Rookie Dennis Hauger continued to impress by setting the 13th-fastest time.
There were also some accidents during the session. Will Power hit the wall early and damaged the right side of his car. Christian Rasmussen later made contact with the wall, and Caio Collet also hit the barrier with the rear of his car. All three drivers are expected to compete in qualifying without major problems.
Most teams focused on saving tires during the first 40 minutes of practice. Because of this strategy, only 11 drivers set competitive lap times in the early part of the session.
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