Scott McLaughlin was the fastest overall for Practice 1 of the 2026 IndyCar Arlington GP. Álex Palou and Will Power finish out the overall top 3.
IndyCar kicked off the inaugural Arlington GP in 2026 under sunny skies, with Practice 1 marking the first time any driver had turned laps on the Streets of Arlington outside a simulator. The session served a critical purpose: helping drivers discover and adapt to the track’s real-world imperfections, subtle bumps, surface changes, and grip variations that no simulator can fully replicate.
Practice 1 was structured in three parts: an opening 40-minute session with the full field, followed by two 12-minute split sessions with half the grid running at a time. Rookies were required to take part in both split sessions, giving them additional track time as they found their footing on an unfamiliar street circuit.
Combined Practice
With the green flag waving over Arlington, drivers immediately began testing the pit-out allowance, carefully avoiding the sensor-equipped red lines they had been instructed not to cross. Most completed a reconnaissance lap before returning to the pits.
Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard broke the silence, setting the first timed lap in Arlington history with a 1:46.9693. Eight minutes in, Kyffin Simpson, Sting Ray Robb, Josef Newgarden, and Santino Ferrucci appeared on the timing screens after their own laps, each carrying 6+ minute lap times from their slow outlaps. From there, the times began to tumble: Simpson went quickest, then Robb displaced him, then Newgarden took over at the top. The shuffling continued when Alexander Rossi vaulted to the front with a 1:42.1201.
Twelve minutes into the session, reigning champion Alex Palou made his presence known, surging to the top of the charts with a 1:40.4159. Meanwhile, Ferrucci locked up into turn 4 and rejoined from the run-off area without incident. Up front, Palou and Rossi continued to trade the fastest time, while Will Power muscled his way into third with a 1:38.7092. Pato O’Ward slotted into sixth with a 1:40.6857, and rookie Dennis Hauger delivered an impressive early statement, climbing to fifth with a 1:38.6430.
Robb causes a red flag in Arlington
Robb caused a red flag as his car had a rear lockup under braking, hitting the barrier. The JHR driver got out of the car safely as the AMR safety team removed it from the track. As the red flags were waving, Louis Foster caught some air, damaging the front axle. Before the red flag, Palou, Rossi, and Newgarden occupied the top 3.
The green flag was waving 21 minutes into the session in Arlington. Lundgaard moved up to P10 with a 1:41.2020. McLaughlin jumped to P3, and Graham Rahal moved up to P5. Felix Rosenqvist moved up to the top 10 with a 1:39.0183.
Kyle Kirkwood moved up to P6 with a 1:379334. David Malukas jumped to the top of the charts with a 1:36.9142. Soon later, McLaughlin took the top spot with a 1:36.2588. Malukas took back the top spot with a 1:36.2588. Malukas and McLaughlin swapped places again, with McLaughlin P1 with a 1:36.0380
O’Ward jumped up to P4 with a 1:36.3820. McLaughlin broke the 1:35 mark, taking the top spot with a 1:35.8465. After Schumacher had a big lockup, going off to the run-off area. With four minutes left in the session, O’Ward jumped to the top spot with a 1:35.6861 lap time of red-walled tyres.
The second red flag waved as Rinus VeeKay locked his rear brakes, causing a fire. VeeKay was able to drive into the run-off session as the AMR Safety Team quelled the fire.
The green flags waved again with a minute left in the session, as drivers took that opportunity to get one lap in. The session ended with Pato O’Ward taking the top spot with McLaughlin and Malukas in the top three.
Group 1
Drivers used the group session to gather data on the red-walled tyres while practicing on the black-walled tyres in the combined practice session.
Romain Grosjean jumped up to the top of the group session with a 1:38.799. Soon after, Schumacher then McLaughlin took the top spot of the group and overall with a 1:35.196. Ericsson moved to PP2 with a 1:35.305 before the group session in Arlington.
McLaughlin improved on his best time, breaking the 1:34 mark with a 1:34.892. O’Ward jumped up to P3 in the group and overall with a 1:35.497.
Hauger was the fastest rookie with five minutes left, sitting in P8 with a 1:36.397. Kirkwood moved to P14 overall with a 1:36.8344. Rosenqvist brushed the wall and had a steering wheel snap toward the end of the session. He did not cause major damage, bringing the car back to the pits. The top 3 overall after the group session were McLaughlin, Power, and O’Ward.
Group 2
With nine minutes remaining, rookie Caio Collet shot to the top of the group session with a 1:38.315, announcing himself as an early threat. He was not there for long, however, as Palou and Graham Rahal quickly responded, with Rahal taking the lead on a 1:38.066. Scott Dixon then slotted into second with a 1:38.185.
The pace continued to build. Collet reclaimed top spot briefly before Lundgaard swept past with a 1:36.835, then Palou fired back with a 1:35.669 to go quickest. With six and a half minutes on the clock, the top three in the group had taken shape: Palou, Rossi, and Lundgaard.
As the session wound down, Hauger again proved the standout among the rookies, posting a 1:36.649 to lead that class with three minutes remaining. Dixon made a late charge to move up to fourth in the group as the chequered flag fell. Palou topped the second group session overall, with Rossi and Lundgaard completing the top three.
When the combined classification was settled, it was Scott McLaughlin who stood fastest overall in Practice 1 at the 2026 Arlington GP, with Palou and Power rounding out the top three.
