The first session of the IndyCar weekend is in the books at Barber Motorsports Park, view the full report and results of FP1 below.
After going top of the charts, Scott McLaughlin got wide at turn 17 as he had a massive snap at the rear on power. Fortunately for him, he avoided the barriers.
A 1:08.394 from the Kiwi saw him lead after 10 minutes, 0.3s clear of Josef Newgarden, with Palou, Malukas and Simpson completing the top 5.
At the top of the hill, Scott McLaughlin had an even bigger moment as he lost the rear of the car in turn 13. Amazingly he avoided the barriers as he slid towards them on the right, getting off the brakes at the right time.
Halfway through the session, a 1:01.188 from Will Power saw him lead the way by over a tenth from Palou. McLaughlin, Kirkwood and Ericsson completed the top 5. The McLarens of O’Ward and Lundgaard struggled early doors, running in 20th and 24th.
Out front, Colton Herta put three Andrettis in the top 6 as he clocked a 1:08.100 to go fastest from Power by 0.088s. Ericsson moved ahead of Kirkwood by 0.003s for P5.
As some drivers bolted on the softs before group running started, Sweden’s Marcus Ericsson logged a 1:07.747 to go P1, almost 0.2s clear of DeFrancesco. Siegel, Herta, Ferrucci, Power, Palou, McLaughlin, Kirkwood and Armstrong rounded out the top 10. Other notables were Dixon in 12th, O’Ward in 17th and Lundgaard in 24th.
Full field running standings and results of IndyCar FP1 at Barber
- Ericsson
- DeFrancesco
- Siegel
- Herta
- Ferrucci
- Power
- Palou
- McLaughlin
- Kirkwood
- Armstrong
- Newgarden
- Rahal
- Dixon
- Rosenqvist
- Daly
- Foster
- O’Ward
- Simpson
- Rossi
- Rasmussen
- Robb
- Ilott
- Malukas
- Lundgaard
- VeeKay
- Abel
- Shwartzman
Group 1
Following a monster crash in testing at Barber earlier this year, Felix Rosenqvist had a moment in Group 1 as he locked up and took a trip through the gravel at turn 2 as he got wide and off the racing line.
Although Colton Herta set a very fast 1:07.772 in this group, it was not as fast as Ericsson’s time in full field running. Power, Rossi and Newgarden were all within a tenth of the benchmark.
Dixon, Lundgaard, Foster, Rosenqvist, Rahal, Daly, DeFrancesco and Ferrucci were in the 1:08s. Abel, Shwartzman and Simpson completed the order.
Group 1 results of IndyCar FP1 at Barber
- Herta
- Power
- Rossi
- Newgarden
- Dixon
- Lundgaard
- Foster
- Rosenqvist
- Rahal
- Daly
- DeFrancesco
- Ferrucci
- Abel
- Shwartzman
- Simpson
Group 2
In the second group, three-time champion Alex Palou led the way, posting the second fastest time of the day on a 1:07.760. Nobody else was in the 1:07s, with McLaughlin, Kirkwood, O’Ward, Armstrong, Rasmussen, Ilott, VeeKay, Robb, Ericsson and Foster all in the 1:08s. Siegel, Shwartzman, Abel and Malukas all logged 1:09s.
Group 2 results of IndyCar FP1 at Barber
- Palou
- McLaughlin
- Kirkwood
- O’Ward
- Armstrong
- Rasmussen
- Ilott
- VeeKay
- Robb
- Ericsson
- Foster
- Siegel
- Shwartzman
- Abel
- Malukas
Full overall classification and results of IndyCar FP1 at Barber
