The 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season roared to life on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, with the first practice session for the Firestone Grand Prix delivering a mix of speed, strategy, and several on-track mishaps. Despite looming threats of rain, the 75-minute session remained dry, allowing teams to focus on setup tweaks and tire evaluations on the challenging 1.8-mile, 14-turn street circuit.

Scott McLaughlin, piloting the No. 3 Dex Team Penske Chevrolet, set the pace overall with a blistering lap of 1:01.1020s at an average speed of 106.052 mph. The New Zealander’s performance edged out a competitive field, showcasing Team Penske’s early strength on street courses. Close behind in the combined times was Felix Rosenqvist in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Honda, just 0.0640s adrift.

The session was divided into groups for initial running, with Kyffin Simpson topping Group 1 in the No. 8 Sunoco Chip Ganassi Racing Honda at 1:01.1782s. McLaughlin led Group 2, setting the benchmark that would hold for the day. As teams transitioned to full-field running and later split into two 12-minute segments for high-speed simulations, the action intensified—but not without interruptions.

Multiple red flags punctuated the practice, highlighting the unforgiving nature of the St. Petersburg layout. Rookie Dennis Hauger, in the No. 19 Ault Block Chain Dale Coyne Racing Honda, triggered the first stoppage just 12 minutes in after an off-track excursion. Alexander Rossi followed suit, spinning in Turn 4 in his No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet and causing a brief halt.

Reigning series champion Josef Newgarden encountered trouble in the No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet, making contact with the tire barrier in Turn 13 after sliding through the runoff area.

Josef Newgarden loses control in Turn 14 🫣

📺: Practice 1 on FS2 pic.twitter.com/hVgGF7HnfL

— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) February 27, 2026

Later, during the segmented runs, six-time champion Scott Dixon damaged the left side of his No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda with contact in Turn 9, bringing his session to an premature end.

This angle of Dixon’s incident 😬 pic.twitter.com/nE4g6Frjhn

— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) February 27, 2026

Louis Foster, driving the No. 30 Droplight Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda, also kissed the barrier in Turn 13, adding to the list of incidents that kept teams on their toes.

Notably, Mick Schumacher, making his INDYCAR debut in the No. 47 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda with primary sponsorship from ENVE Composites, completed a session-high 37 laps. The German finished 23rd with a best time of 1:02.1707s, focusing on adaptation to the series’ unique demands after his recent tests.

With 27 cars on track, the session saw a total of over 600 laps turned, providing valuable data ahead of Practice 2 and qualifying. Teams will now analyze setups for the hybrid power units and Firestone tires, aiming to dial in performance for the 100-lap race on March 1.

Practice 1 Results

Pos
No.
Driver
Team
Time
Speed
Behind
Gap
Laps

1
3
Scott McLaughlin
Team Penske
1m01.1020s
106.052
–.—-
–.—-
27

2
60
Felix Rosenqvist
Meyer Shank w/ Curb-Agajanian
1m01.1660s
105.941
0.0640
0.0640
28

3
27
Kyle Kirkwood
Andretti Global w/ Curb-Agajanian
1m01.1777s
105.921
0.0757
0.0117
26

4
8
Kyffin Simpson
Chip Ganassi Racing
1m01.1782s
105.920
0.0762
0.0005
27

5
28
Marcus Ericsson
Andretti Global
1m01.1967s
105.888
0.0947
0.0185
27

6
10
Alex Palou
Chip Ganassi Racing
1m01.2614s
105.776
0.1594
0.0647
24

7
66
Marcus Armstrong
Meyer Shank w/ Curb-Agajanian
1m01.3035s
105.704
0.2015
0.0421
28

8
21
Christian Rasmussen
ECR
1m01.4828s
105.395
0.3808
0.0146
23

9
12
David Malukas
Team Penske
1m01.4870s
105.388
0.3850
0.0042
30

10
7
Christian Lundgaard
Arrow McLaren
1m01.5235s
105.326
0.4215
0.0365
21

11
76
Rinus VeeKay
Juncos Hollinger Racing
1m01.5444s
105.290
0.4424
0.0209
23

12
5
Pato O’Ward
Arrow McLaren
1m01.5754s
105.237
0.4734
0.0310
24

13
18
Romain Grosjean
Dale Coyne Racing
1m01.7537s
104.933
0.6517
0.1783
23

14
2
Josef Newgarden
Team Penske
1m01.7816s
104.886
0.6796
0.0279
19

15
9
Scott Dixon
Chip Ganassi Racing
1m01.7999s
104.855
0.6979
0.0183
20

16
14
Santino Ferrucci
A.J. Foyt Enterprises
1m01.8409s
104.785
0.7389
0.0410
23

17
19
Dennis Hauger
Dale Coyne Racing
1m01.8680s
104.739
0.7660
0.0271
25

18
26
Will Power
Andretti Global
1m01.9388s
104.619
0.8368
0.0708
24

19
15
Graham Rahal
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
1m02.1015s
104.345
0.9238
0.0328
25

20
6
Nolan Siegel
Arrow McLaren
1m02.1028s
104.343
0.9251
0.0013
22

21
20
Alexander Rossi
ECR
1m02.1126s
104.327
0.9349
0.0098
20

22
45
Louis Foster
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
1m02.1520s
104.261
1.0500
0.0394
19

23
47
Mick Schumacher
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
1m02.1707s
104.229
1.0687
0.0187
37

24
4
Caio Collet
A.J. Foyt Enterprises
1m02.2576s
104.084
1.1556
0.0626
29

25
77
Sting Ray Robb
Juncos Hollinger Racing
1m02.2780s
104.050
1.1760
0.0204
23

 

 

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