It’s officially the Month of May as Practice 2 kicks off at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course, as the NTT IndyCar grid heads out once again ahead of the 2026 running on the Indy GP.
Practice 2 goes green at 1:00 pm EST, leading the grid around the 14 Turns of the IMS ahead of qualifying on an action-packed Friday afternoon. Hoping to continue on a strong run of performance, series champion Alex Palou looks to continue his P1 form from Practice 1, where he led from a tight field.
The field rolls to green under far more overcast skies, with the threat of rain on everyone’s radar.
Palou on top once again at the Indy GP
David Malukas throws down the gauntlet first, setting a quick 1:14.652 as the field heads out onto the track. Shortly after, Christian Lundgaard rockets to the top of the timing tower with a 1:11.540, followed by VeeKay and Rasmussen, all setting similar times.
Kyle Kirkwood is the first driver off track, as he takes a brief detour from the asphalt at Turn 1. However, he keeps it out of the barriers, and green flag running continues. 10 minutes into Practice 2 at the Indy GP, and over half the grid are running in the 1:11’s.
Alex Palou unseats Lundgaard from the top spot with a rapid 1:11.18, with 26 minutes remaining in the session. Louis Foster becomes the first driver to break a sub-1:11 time, setting a speedy 1:10.781. Kirkwood, though, quickly regains P1 with a 1:10.64.
Pato O’Ward has a dicey moment with a lock-up but manages to avoid the walls with 17 minutes remaining.
Palou, Kirkwood, Foster, Ericsson, and Rosenqvist all set sub-1:11 times in the later half of the session.
Turn 12 continues to collect drivers, as Marcus Ericsson becomes the most recent driver to run on the grass
The combined session ends with Alex Palou once again in the top spot for Practice 2 at the Indy GP, followed by Kirkwood, Foster, Ericsson, and Lundgaard.
It’s time for the split sessions
It’s Group 1’s turn on the track as the split sessions begin at the IMS road course. Kyffin Simpson will not take part in any of the split sessions due to a clutch failure.
Scott McLaughlin is the first to set a time in the Group 1 session, throwing down at 1:14.01 early on in the 12-minute segment. Shortly after, Marcus Ericsson rockets ahead of the field, setting a 1:11.42.
With 7 minutes left for Group 1, Pato O’Ward is at the top of the timing tower, setting a rapid 1:11.09. Romain Grosjean and Marcus Ericsson follow O’Ward and round out an early top 3.
Scott Dixon becomes the second CGR car to call it quits early, as Honda detects a potential engine issue.
Felix Rosenqvist unseats O’Ward in the closing minute of the session with a 1:11.02, as times tumble in the final minute.
Rookie Mick Schumacher tops Group 1’s session with a stunning 1:10.79, with Rosenqvist and O’Ward following just outside the 1:10’s.
Group 2 ends practice at the Indy GP
Christian Lungaard opens Group 2’s segment, setting an early 1:11.11. Alexander Rossi and Dennis Huger quickly follow Lundgaard in the low 1:11’s, the three drivers split by 3-tenths.
Rossi rapidly improves on his time, setting the first sub-1:10 time with a 1:10.85. Christian Lundgaard regains his P1 position from Rossi with a fiery 1:10.73
The grid has yet to break Palou’s benchmark time of 1:10.09 from the first practice session of the weekend.
A calm Group 2 session ends with Lundgaard leading from Palou and Rossi, as the skies continue to darken above the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Palou holds onto the top spot
Alex Palou holds onto the top spot as practice ends at the IMS road course, with a 1:10.45, falling short of his own benchmark from Practice 1. Kyle Kirkwood follows Palou in second, with Foster, Lundgaard, and Ericcson rounding out the top 5.
The rest of the top 10 are filled out by Rosenqvist, a speedy Mick Schumacher, Rossi, Armstrong, and Noaln Siegel.
The grid now heads to qualifying at 5:30pm EST, with rain threatening to throw a wrench in the drivers plans of a smooth session.
