IndyCar | FP1 | Detroit | Kirkwood fastest overall after bizarre incident with Power

First practice for the 2025 IndyCar Detroit GP is in the books. View the full report and results of the session here.
Photo Credit: Penske Entertainment | James Black
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First practice for the 2025 IndyCar Detroit GP is in the books as FP1 took place on Friday afternoon. View the full report and results of the session here.

Scott Dixon and Graham Rahal went into it knowing they would be taking six-place grid drops on Sunday for unapproved engine changes.

At the start of the session, Dixon received a drive-through penalty for crossing the white line in the unique double pit lane. He served his penalty and returned to the track.

Sting Ray Robb brought out the first red flag of the weekend by crashing into the barriers at Turn 1. Mechanics were able to change the car’s nose piece and he headed back out on track.

A few laps later, Will Power had a left front lock-up while going down the straight, spinning his car in the middle of the session.

Halfway through the session, Power had some road rage, plowing into the back of Kyle Kirkwood’s Andretti. Thankfully, neither driver ended up in the wall.

Surprisingly, Power’s car received no damage from the incident. Kirkwood went back to the pits to determine the potential damage to his car. It appeared that Power broke the gearbox and floor of Kirkwood’s car.

David Malukas took the lead in the middle of the session, dipping into the 1.02s range. Ericsson followed shortly after, just 0.016s shy of Malukas’ time.

Several cars, including Felix Rosenqvist, Dixon, and Malukas locked up at Turn 1 near the end of the session.

Full field running IndyCar FP1 Detroit GP results

  1. Malukas
  2. Ericsson
  3. McLaughlin
  4. Newgarden
  5. Palou
  6. Lundgaard
  7. Rosenqvist
  8. Herta
  9. Kirkwood
  10. Power
  11. VeeKay
  12. Rasmussen
  13. Rossi
  14. Ilott
  15. O’Ward
  16. Dixon
  17. Armstrong
  18. Rahal
  19. Simpson
  20. Foster
  21. Siegel
  22. Shwartzman
  23. DeFrancesco
  24. Robb
  25. Abel
  26. Ferrucci
  27. Daly

Group A

At the start of the session, both Simpson and Power go off-track into the run-off.

Last year’s pole-sitter Colton Herta sets the fastest lap of all sessions thus far, at 1.02.61s. Lundgaard immediately responds, setting a 1.02.60s lap.

Team Penske drivers Josef Newgarden and Will Power jump up the leaderboard, with Power setting the fastest lap in the 1.02.39s range. Team Penske finish the session in P1 and P2.

Group A IndyCar FP1 Detroit GP results

  1. Power
  2. Newgarden
  3. Lundgaard
  4. Herta
  5. Foster
  6. Rahal
  7. Rosenqvist
  8. Dixon
  9. Simpson
  10. Rossi
  11. DeFrancesco
  12. Shwartzman
  13. Ferrucci
  14. Daly
  15. Abel

Group B

Despite the drama with Power, Kirkwood went to the top of the leaderboard at the start of the session. He set the fastest lap of all sessions at 1.01.750s. Pato O’Ward sat 0.9s behind Kirkwood in P2.

In the middle of the session, championship leader Alex Palou went off into the brake zone. In that moment, he sat at the bottom of the sheet, before moving up to 7th.

Christian Rasmussen had two lock-ups in a short period of time. O’Ward went off-track at the end of the session. Kirkwood held onto the lead at the end of the session, outpacing McLaughlin by almost 0.3s in the end.

Group B IndyCar FP1 Detroit GP results

  1. Kirkwood
  2. McLaughlin
  3. O’Ward
  4. VeeKay
  5. Rasmussen
  6. Armstrong
  7. Palou
  8. Ilott
  9. Shwartzman
  10. Malukas
  11. Robb
  12. Abel
  13. Siegel
  14. Ericsson
  15. Foster

IndyCar FP1 Detroit GP overall results