IndyCar | Practice 1 | Laguna Seca | O'Ward leads a very eventful session - Motorsport

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Practice 1 for round 14 of the 2025 IndyCar season for the GP of Monterey at Laguna Seca is in the books. Full report and results below.

As drivers take to Laguna Seca with the hybrid engine for the first time, uncertainty looms. Tyre degradation could reportedly be higher than expected, adding another layer of challenge.

With four races to go, Alex Palou remains the championship leader but a determined Pato O’Ward is within striking distance. Let’s see what both contenders can come up with in Practice 1.

Practice 1 begins at IndyCar Laguna Seca

Robb kicked off the session with a solid early benchmark of 1:12.184, with Siegel substitute Simpson close behind at 1:12.742. Abel followed a few tenths further back in the 1:13.07 range, with Shwartzman and Foster also slotting into the mid-1:13s and 1:14s respectively during their first runs.

Shwartzman quickly responded by shaving off over a second, jumping to P1 with a 1:12.160, showing rapid early improvement.

Despite a slight lock-up, Josef Newgarden dipped into the 1:12s, hinting at major track evolution still to come.

Ferrucci, returning to the car after his Toronto warm-up crash. He settled into 17th early on as he eased back into rhythm.

Seven minutes in, Christian Rasmussen surged to the top of the charts, just ahead of Marcus Armstrong and Newgarden. But the order wouldn’t last. Lundgaard briefly took over P1 before Newgarden lowered the mark further, finally breaking into the 1:11s.

Rasmussem had a harmless spin at Turn 2, as he gets comfortable with the hybrid system on this technical circuit. He managed to rejoin cleanly without flat-spotting his tyres.

The surface at Turn 2 looked particularly gritty, catching out more than a few drivers throughout the session.

As the pace quickened, Dixon put in a flier to grab the top spot. He was followed by impressive rookie Foster in second and Newgarden holding steady in third.

The benchmark was then shattered by Rasmussen, who dipped into the 1:10s, with Armstrong again not far behind. However, most of the field still hadn’t cracked that pace window.

Struggling for rear grip, Power couldn’t extract a clean lap during this phase, while Colton Herta looked sharp through the Corkscrew and put himself P5 with a 1:11.006.

With 17 minutes remaining, Pato O’Ward jumped to the top with a clean 1:10.341, resetting the benchmark again.

Palou was handed a penalty for running his tires over the green paint on entry to pit lane, but that didn’t slow him down. He responded with the fastest time of the session: 1:10.170, as the grip levels continued to improve lap after lap.

Track evolution

The field began closing in on the 1:10 barrier—but only six drivers managed to break through. Álex Palou led the charge with a 1:10.170, just ahead of title rival O’Ward. Behind them, Rosenqvist, Rasmussen, Malukas, and Armstrong filled out the top six, all dipping into the 1:10s as conditions steadily improved.

Though Laguna Seca was recently repaved, drivers and engineers still braced for the unknown – especially since, before the repave, the surface here was notoriously brutal on tyres, shredding rear grip and punishing long-run pace. Despite the smoother asphalt, tyre longevity remains in question – setting the stage for an intriguing strategic battle as teams begin to prepare for qualifying and race trim.

Red flag

The session was halted with a red flag after DeFrancesco suffered a heavy crash exiting Turn 4. He ran wide at the corner exit, kept his foot in it, but the car snapped suddenly, slamming hard into the wall. The incident left visible damage to the front end and left-rear.

It’s a tough break for DeFrancesco, whose crew now faces a long night of repairs to get the car ready for tomorrow’s second practice session. A disappointing end to the day for the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver after a promising start to the weekend.

As the red flag came out, timing screens showed a noticeable fall-off in lap times compared to previous years at Laguna Seca. Even with the newly repaved surface, lap consistency and tyre drop-off remain a factor.

Notably, four Chevrolet-powered cars were inside the top 10 at the time of the stoppage, with the remaining six running Honda engines – a fairly balanced split as the hybrid era continues to shake up the performance order.

More chaos after the restart

The session restarted but quickly descended into more chaos. Power went off track, narrowly avoiding the wall and rejoining without issue. Moments later, last year’s winner, Dixon, ran wide and spun backward between Turns 5 and 6 – the same spot where Power had just gone off.

Elsewhere, Abel lost control exiting Turn 3, and Rossi crashed into the wall at Turn 6, triggering another red flag. As the checkered flag fell, the full field session ended before the field split into groups for the rest of the session. Ed Carpenter Racing, already forced to make repairs last week after Rossi’s brush with the right-side wall, now faces massive repairs for the left side damage.

Split field running

Group 1

Drivers continued to battle low grip levels as the session wore on, with several caught out by the slippery surface. Precision was at a premium – every corner punished even the slightest mistake.

VeeKay set the early benchmark at 1:12.680, but that time was quickly eclipsed by Louis Foster, who dropped into the 1:11.986s. The pace only escalated from there.

O’Ward laid down a statement lap – 1:10.331, nearly half a second quicker than rival Palou, who had just slotted into P2. The two title contenders were briefly split by Robb, and then Ilott, who continued to impress in the hybrid-powered Prema machine.

Switching to soft tyres, O’Ward cranked out a flying lap of 1:09.206. The big question now: how long will the softs last under these conditions?

Kirkwood made a strong push into the top three with a 1:09.945, while Palou fired back with a push lap of his own, nailing Turn 4 en route to a 1:09.434.

Armstrong kept the pressure on, vaulting to P2 with a 1:09.317, just a tenth off O’Ward’s best.

A close call for VeeKay and Rasmussen

The intensity began to boil over late in the session – VeeKay spun exiting Turn 11, and moments later, Rasmussen also lost it just as VeeKay was recovering. Fortunately, both avoided major contact.

Ilott continued his standout session, jumping to P4 for Prema with a 1:09.673, as Rasmussen had another off while pushing the limits.

Group 2

As the session resumed, most drivers rolled out on the harder primary compound – working to build heat into the tyres and stabilize grip levels during the early minutes.

Dixon set the initial benchmark, but it was a modest one at 1:13.569, well off the pace as the track continued to evolve.

Soon after, Newgarden, Shwartzman, and Rosenqvist moved to the top of the charts, all clocking early laps in the 1:11 range.

Then it was Abel who lit things up, jumping to P1 with a 1:10.302, briefly resetting the bar. Meanwhile, Power was handed a penalty for putting wheels on the green paint, a recurring issue here at Laguna.

Herta responded with a hammer blow: 1:09.499, putting his Honda-powered entry firmly at the top of the leaderboard.

As more drivers swapped to alternate tyes, the order shifted again – Abel held onto P2 on reds, followed by Louis Foster, also on the softer compound in third.

Red flag – again

But the session was interrupted when Newgarden locked the rears and went off at the Corkscrew, beaching his car in the gravel – an incident eerily similar to his Mid-Ohio race start spin. The red flag came out while track workers helped push the No. 2 Penske Chevrolet back onto the track. Thankfully, Newgarden was able to rejoin the session after some assistance, getting back to the pits with seemingly no major damage.

Right before the stoppage, Herta, Rosenqvist, and Foster were the top three, all in the 1:09s and all Honda-powered.

The session went green again, giving drivers a final chance to push – but Dixon ran wide on his next flyer, continuing a scrappy day for the Ganassi veteran.