Practice one saw Andretti Global as the team to beat this weekend with promising pace in the group sessions. Will Power, ahead of his teammates, finished on top. The biggest losers of practice two appeared to be Mick Schumacher and Scott McLaughlin. Schumacher failed to get valuable track time after an issue and McLaughlin found the barriers in group one.
A Disruptive Early Session
Álex Palou headed the quiet starting practice one in Long Beach with a 1:08.448. As everyone went out in the early stages, there was a premature red flag caused by Mick Schumacher. The number 47 came to a standstill just outside of turn four with an issue that left him in the garage for the rest of the session. Only nine cars had set lap times ahead of the red flag, with Kyffin Simpson leading the way with a 1:11.626.
Reigning champion Palou soon displaced him with a 1:09.940 before going even faster with a 1:08.822. His latter lap was a second clear of the drivers behind. The race winner last time out in Alabama will hope to make it to the top step this weekend to take back the championship lead from Kyle Kirkwood.
Kirkwood, who’s having a strong start to the season, briefly looked to be on similar pace to Palou. The American driver slotted into P2 before being displaced by Pato O’ward and David Malukas. Felix Rosenqvist seemed to be feeling confident on the street circuit with a lap time that put him within a tenth of Palou.
A driver who seemed less confident was Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lungaard. The Danish driver seemed to be a bit more tentative on the throttle only managing a lap time that slot him into P7.
The final three minutes saw a second red flag due to debris down the start finish straight. With the track only going green in the last 20 seconds there was no more running.
Scott McLaughlin Finds the Barriers in Group One
In the first group, Kirkwood seemed to be up to pace immediately on the soft. The championship leader led the early stages with a strong 1:07.986. It was an Andretti Global one two and three, a hopeful sign for the weekend. The American team have three of the past four NTT P1 awards at Long Beach with hopes to make it four in five this weekend.
Will Power jumped his teammate, becoming the lead Andretti car. The Australian racer set a brutal banker before going faster with a 1:07.605. The fastest lap of the group and in the whole of practice one.
For a third weekend in a row, Scott McLaughlin found the barriers in a practice session. The Kiwi felt he was denied downshifts with the rear locking and him unable to keep the car on the track. He looked to have strong pace, with a lap on the sticker softs putting him into P2 within a tenth of Power.
O’ward seemed to be struggling with a worrying lap on the softs leaving him down in P11. The Mexican driver has never qualified higher than fifth here and after his final run remained seven tenths off Power’s fastest lap.
Struggling for Pace in Group Two
The second group had a more smooth-running session. The track remained green the whole time with Palou heading the session. The reigning champion ended in P1 with a 1:08.002. Simpson took an initial lead with a 1:08.659. He later was demoted to P6 after setting his fastest lap early on.
Malukas appeared to have impressive pace on his second soft tyre run. The Team Penske driver was the fastest driver in the first two sectors and looked to be on for P1. A slow moving ECR in the last few corners prevented him from completing a promising lap time, leaving the young driver frustrated.
Despite being thought to have the better conditions, not a single car in group two seemed to rival the top three in group one. Palou finished the session four tenths off Power’s 1:07.605, a worrying sign for Chip Ginassi Racing.
Can the number ten camp find the pace to give Álex Palou a fighting chance to take back the championship lead? The streets of Long Beach will reveal all on Sunday but it looks to be a straight fight between Andretti Global and Team Penske.