The first week of Indy 500 practice has come to an end. Throughout the multi-day sessions, each team had the chance to get a feel of the track and work on strategies. Honing in on a single strategy is crucial going into qualifying. Perfecting it is the key to having the strongest outcome on race day.
The practice sessions were riddled with ups and downs. Between mechanical issues and delays from the weather, IMS has seen it all this week. Here are the main takeaways from week one of the Indy 500 practice sessions.
Utilizing the Hybrid Engine
Team Penske’s main focus was utilizing the hybrid engine to the best of their ability to figure out how it will fare during quali and race day. Penske showed plenty of dominance each day with all three of their drivers making it into the top ten of the sessions on multiple occasions. While most teams were utilizing their power on the final lap over a quali sim, Penske were using and regenerating it each lap.
Last year was the first time the Indy 500 was raced with hybrid engines. Team Penske seemed to be the team most focused on figuring out the best way to use the hybrid power system for maximum performance on the track. Team Penske has won 20 of the previous Indy 500’s with current driver Josef Newgarden winning back to back in 2023 and 2024.
Efficiency With Tow Speed
One aspect that continuously got mentioned during practice was tow speed. At a track like the IMS where there’s long straights, tow speed is the most common on race day. For any new fans, tow simply means that a row of cars is able to move faster than a car on its own.
Meyer Shank Racing displayed a big shift increase and had solid tow speed throughout the sessions. One team that seemed to struggle a bit was Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. Conor Daly had tow speed at the start of the week but there didn’t seem to be many improvements. If this is any indicator for what the conditions will be like on race day RDD’s priority during week two of practice will most likely be on improving their tow speed.
Engine Issues for Chevrolet
The battle between Honda and Chevrolet and well but it seems like Honda may have an advantage going into next weekend. Over the course of this week there were multiple engine issues with different Chevy teams.
Early on in the week Álex Palou experienced an engine failure during the last two hours of practice which forced him to box. His team was able to resolve the issue and when Palou got back onto the track he was P1.
Two more drivers had engine problems throughout the week Scott McLaughlin‘s car had his engine changed overnight and showed a significant increase in pace. Similarly, Alexander Rossi and Ed Carpenter had their engines swapped out and sent to Chevrolet headquarters for inspection. Team Chevrolet’s qualifying and race outcome will be one to look out for.
Unpredictable Weather Forces Teams to Adapt
The weather’s been up and down all week in Indianapolis. There’s been several delays due to the rain with yesterday’s Fast Friday sessions being delayed by two hours. As of now, the potential for rain during qualifying is high and could cause more delays down the line. Due to the speed and size of the track, racing in the rain isn’t possible.
Teams will be forced to adapt and keep in mind that the rain can force schedule changes. The worst case scenario for this weekend is that qualifying gets pushed back. All 33 cars would record their four qualifying laps on Sunday in this case.
Here’s how the drivers finished the week off during Fast Friday.
Qualifying is set to begin at 2:30 p.m CEST.