Will Power tops first practice session at Mid-Ohio. The Australian driver set his fastest time in group two before a red flag. There were two red flags across all sessions and several drivers struggled with the bump in Turn Four.
Palou Leads The Full Field
Championship leader Álex Palou topped the full field session, ahead of Kyle Kirkwood and Pato O’ward. The four-time INDYCAR Series champion topped the session with a 1:06.656, just a tenth clear of second place.
Early on, with limited drivers out on track, it was Kyffin Simpson who looked to be looking decent on the 2.258-mile track. He sat nine tenths clear of both Rinus Veekay and Will Power. He didn’t stay there for much longer as Power then went sixth tenths quicker.
It was O’ward, however, who was on top at the halfway mark. The Arrow Mclaren driver topped the sheets with a 1:06.968. The Mexican driver remained at the top with no improvements for several minutes after Marcus Armstrong brought out a red flag.
The crash took place at Turn Two with damage to the left side of the Meyer Shank Racing car. The Kiwi driver came on the radio following the accident claiming something broke before he went into the barrier. At the point of the red flag there were no laps on the board for Kirkwood or Felix Rosenqvist.
Track Bumps And Spins
The track went green with 15 minutes left. Several drivers struggled with the bump coming into Turn Four. Notable mentions included Marcus Ericson and Roman Grosjean. The latter struggled with braking locking up and going through the grass after going over the bump. Ericsson suffered a similar problem losing the rear, also having to bail out over the grass.
O’ward later suffered a spin into Turn Two. The nine-time race winner came off the brake as he went wide to carry a little more speed. The slight lock up came at a cost with two wheels touching the grass sending the Mexican driver round.
Palou Unstoppable In Group One
Mick Schumacher headed the rookies in group one, but it was Palou who came out on top of everyone. The Spaniard found the top of the time sheets with a 1:05.755. The road course specialist won back in 2024. An error last time out didn’t see the result replicated; he will hope to do so this weekend.
Christian Lungaard, another road course specialist, finished just under two tenths behind Palou. The Arrow McLaren driver, who has won two races this year, finished the session just ahead of teammate Nolan Siegel. Siegel looks to be having another decent start to the weekend finishing this group session in third.
Roman Grosjean causes red flag in group two
Grosjean, who was in ninth, suffered a decent speed crash into Turn Nine. Coming up over the rise of the corner he suffered a massive rotation. Coming on the radio, the French Swiss driver sounded at a loss, questioning whether he bottomed out. At the point of the crash, it was Will Power who topped the sheets on the sticker reds. Power went to the top with a 1:05.554.
Josef Newgarden had a brief nightmare in the pits. As he was given the go ahead to leave, his crew realised there were still two fans attached to his car. Upon removal of the fans Newgarden stalled coming out of his box.
Veekay pulled out a strong lap, slotting him into fourth with a 1:06.055. Rookie Caio Collet also found decent pace heading the rookies in P9 with a 1:06.652.
It was Power, however, who topped group two. The two-time INDYCAR Series champion failed to improve on his time before the red flag, as did everyone else. Kirkwood followed in second and O’ward in third. His time was still good enough for P1, even putting him ahead of Palou when combining the group lap times.