Yesterday, Álex Palou led the way in Detroit as he set the fastest lap in Practice 1. Tyres proved difficult as drivers struggled to get the softer compound into the optimal window. But today, they get another practice session to prepare for qualifying later on. Red flags plagued Practice 2 in Detroit, but Kyle Kirkwood topped the times.
Detroit Practice Starts With The Full Field
As always, practice started with 40 minutes for the full grid. And everyone opted to head straight out. However, it was a halted start as a marshal dropped a flag onto the race track. Consequently, Race Control opted to red flag the session to allow the flag to be collected. It wasn’t long before the green flag returned and drivers head back out. Last year’s winner, Kyle Kirkwood, set the first fast lap. A 1:05.091 saw him jump to the top.
Momentum was halted, however, when Rinus VeeKay was stranded in Turn 6. With flames coming out of the rear of his No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing car, a second red flag was thrown. When cars got back on track, a brief yellow was shown as Josef Newgarden spun on track. However he was able to get going quickly, avoiding the need for a third red flag.
Times were tumbling as the full field session progressed. Soon, Christian Rasmussen was leading. His ECR teammate, Alexander Rossi, ousted him, only for the Danish driver to take back P1. Kirkwood, however, deposed both ECR drivers to go P1 with a 1:03.172. Soon after though, the No. 27 Andretti Global driver was the cause of the third red flag, crashing into the wall and damaging his suspension.
Times continued to fall as the session came to a close. The full-field session was a close battle, with a single second separating the top 14 drivers. With a lap of 1:03.067, Scott McLaughlin jumped to the top of the pack. Ultimately though, Kirkwood topped the session.
Palou Leads Group 1
In Group 1, drivers opted to head out on the harder compound tyres. But once again, it was an interrupted start. Lundgaard’s car started billowing smoke from the rear and a red flag was called. This is a worrying start to the weekend for Chevrolet, with two engines have faults already.
Once back on track, Álex Palou set a benchmark of 1:06.969, but there was plenty of time still to be found. And the championship leader found it, losing two seconds in his next lap. But still the lap times came down, with Rasmussen heading to the top in the 1:03’s. But it was Palou who continued to show his pace from yesterday, being the first driver in the 1:02’s.
However, Palou didn’t stay P1 for long. Meyer Shank Racing’s Marcus Armstrong slipped into the top spot, finding two tenths over Palou. His lap of 1:02.541 became the fastest lap of the weekend so far. By a narrow margin, 0.039, David Malukas went to P1. Chip Ganassi Racing found more pace though, with Palou heading back to P1 and Scott Dixon settling into P3.
Kirkwood Fastest In Group 2
Unlike the previous two sessions, Group 2 got off to a clean start. Drivers in this session also opted to remain on the hard tyres. Pato O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist were leading the way as the field were bringing their tyres up to temperature. Despite having to save the car from going wide, McLaughlin went to the top with a 1:03.147. He did two push laps back-to-back and went even faster: 1:02.638.
McLaughlin was staying consistent with his laps, but Will Power shot to the top. His lap time of 1:02.138 saw him go P1, faster than Palou in Group 1. As Power continued to do a second lap, Santino Ferrucci had a moment and headed down the Turn 3 run off area. This brought out a yellow flag, interrupting driver’s attempts.
Fastest in the full-field session, Kirkwood was continuing to show why he won here 12 months ago. The Andretti Global driver was the first into the 1:01’s. However, Power immediately went even quicker, finding 0.0159 seconds over his teammate. At the final moment, Kirkwood returned to P1. Despite the tyres lasting multiple laps, allowing drivers to consistently improve their times, no one could top the Andretti duo.
With no soft tyre running during practice today, is that a sign that qualifying could be done on the harder compounds? Or are drivers favouring race preparation over qualifying? Compared to pole in 2025, there’s still time to find on track. Qualifying is up next, who can take the NTT P1 Pole award?