IndyCar: Palou tops opening practice for GP of Alabama
Segi sponsored No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda driver Alex Palou made an early first impression with his new team by turning the fastest lap in opening practice for the Grand Prix of Alabama. His time of 1m06.4721s beat Andretti Autosport’s Colton Herta by just 0.0176s.
Josef Newgarden was the fastest Penske driver in 3rd, 0.0236s back.
Scott Dixon in the second Chip Ganassi Racing Honda was 4th while Pato O’Ward rounded out the top-5 in his #5 Arrow McLaren Chevy.
There were no notable incidents in the session, but Felix Rosenqvist did clout the barrier on the entrance to pit lane with his right-front, requiring repairs to the front suspension prior to the next practice session.
As expected, NASCAR hero Jimmie Johnson was dead last in the third Chip Ganassi entry as he continues to struggle to get competitive times out of an IndyCar.
Practice 1 Results
Pos | No | Name | Time | Diff | Gap | Laps | Speed | Engine | Team |
1 | 10 | Alex Palou | 1:06.4721 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 18 | 124.564 | Honda | Chip Ganassi Racing |
2 | 26 | Colton Herta | 1:06.4897 | 0.0176 | 0.0176 | 16 | 124.531 | Honda | Andretti Autosport |
3 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | 1:06.4957 | 0.0236 | 0.0060 | 14 | 124.519 | Chevy | Team Penske |
4 | 9 | Scott Dixon | 1:06.5524 | 0.0803 | 0.0567 | 12 | 124.413 | Honda | Chip Ganassi Racing |
5 | 5 | Pato O’Ward | 1:06.6281 | 0.1560 | 0.0757 | 11 | 124.272 | Chevy | Arrow McLaren SP |
6 | 27 | Alexander Rossi | 1:06.6307 | 0.1586 | 0.0026 | 14 | 124.267 | Honda | Andretti Autosport |
7 | 12 | Will Power | 1:06.7341 | 0.2620 | 0.1034 | 16 | 124.074 | Chevy | Team Penske |
8 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin | 1:06.7499 | 0.2778 | 0.0158 | 17 | 124.045 | Chevy | Team Penske |
9 | 8 | Marcus Ericsson | 1:06.7999 | 0.3278 | 0.0500 | 18 | 123.952 | Honda | Chip Ganassi Racing |
10 | 7 | Felix Rosenqvist | 1:06.8435 | 0.3714 | 0.0436 | 10 | 123.871 | Chevy | Arrow McLaren SP |
11 | 20 | Conor Daly | 1:06.8699 | 0.3978 | 0.0264 | 17 | 123.823 | Chevy | Ed Carpenter Racing |
12 | 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | 1:06.8777 | 0.4056 | 0.0078 | 14 | 123.808 | Honda | Andretti Autosport |
13 | 18 | Ed Jones | 1:07.0575 | 0.5854 | 0.1798 | 16 | 123.476 | Honda | Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan |
14 | 29 | James Hinchcliffe | 1:07.1072 | 0.6351 | 0.0497 | 15 | 123.385 | Honda | Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport |
15 | 14 | Sebastien Bourdais | 1:07.2310 | 0.7589 | 0.1238 | 12 | 123.157 | Chevy | AJ Foyt Enterprises |
16 | 22 | Simon Pagenaud | 1:07.2324 | 0.7603 | 0.0014 | 18 | 123.155 | Chevy | Team Penske |
17 | 60 | Jack Harvey | 1:07.2485 | 0.7764 | 0.0161 | 17 | 123.125 | Honda | Meyer Shank Racing |
18 | 15 | Graham Rahal | 1:07.3100 | 0.8379 | 0.0615 | 22 | 123.013 | Honda | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing |
19 | 21 | Rinus VeeKay | 1:07.3157 | 0.8436 | 0.0057 | 17 | 123.003 | Chevy | Ed Carpenter Racing |
20 | 30 | Takuma Sato | 1:07.5349 | 1.0628 | 0.2192 | 18 | 122.603 | Honda | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing |
21 | 51 | Romain Grosjean | 1:07.5534 | 1.0813 | 0.0185 | 19 | 122.570 | Honda | Dale Coyne Racing w/Rick Ware Racing |
22 | 4 | Dalton Kellett | 1:07.7276 | 1.2555 | 0.1742 | 17 | 122.254 | Chevy | AJ Foyt Enterprises |
23 | 59 | Max Chilton | 1:07.7654 | 1.2933 | 0.0378 | 16 | 122.186 | Chevy | Carlin |
24 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | 1:07.9509 | 1.4788 | 0.1855 | 22 | 121.853 | Honda | Chip Ganassi Racing |