Felix Rosenqvist topped the opening IndyCar practice session at St. Petersburg ahead of Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward.
Marcus Armstrong set the third quickest time for Chip Ganassi racing ahead of Will Power, and Rinus VeeKay rounded out the top five.
IndyCar trialled a new practice format in St. Petersburg. After 20 minutes in the opening session, the field split into two groups.
The 27-car field was split by odd– and even-numbered pit boxes and ran two 10-minute segments alternatingly.
At the start of the one-hour session, the majority of the field joined the circuit for the first practice segment.
Christian Rasmussen set the first representative time of the weekend, driving to 1:03.3092. Marcus Ericsson and Power quickly followed the Danish driver in second and third place.
Ericsson usurped Rasmussen’s improved 1:02.5305 for Andretti as the track continued to rubber in as more cars completed laps.
Rosenqvist ran into the runoff area at Turn 8 and quickly rejoined the circuit in his number 60 Meyer Shank Racing car.
The times continued to tumble as Rosenqvist recovered from his error to go fastest with a 1:01.4230 with three minutes to go in the first 20-minute section.
Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Romain Grosjean improved to the top of the timesheets in the final two minutes, completing seven laps.
The Frenchman’s effort was beaten by Rosenqvist, who remained at the top to end the opening segment of practice the fastest driver ahead of Power and Grosjean, with O’Ward in fourth place.
After a short break, the first 10-minute session began, including Team Penske’s McLaughlin.
Debutant Kyffin Simpson ran wide into Turn 10, causing a red flag and stopping the clock with seven minutes remaining.
A second red flag was called after Pietro Fittipaldi stopped at Turn 10 in a highly disrupted first practice session. No driver managed to topple Rosenqvist’s effort, which stayed atop the timesheets.
The red flags remained until the time ran out, and the next 10-minute session began for cars in even-numbered pit boxes.
Colton Herta bested the Swede’s effort to set the fastest time, breaking the 1:01 barrier with a 1:00.9937 with less than two minutes remaining.
The drivers continued to explore the limits of grip as Callum Ilott glanced the wall at Turn 10 but didn’t suffer any damage.
The green sidewall guayule alternate tyre compound at the start of the final session for the Group 1 drivers.
McLaughlin reaped the rewards of the extra grip of the softer compound, setting the fastest time halfway through the session with a 1:00.9106 before being beaten by Rinus VeeKay.
Power went quicker than Veekay with two minutes remaining, and Grosjean returned to the top five, slotting into fourth on his debut at JHR.
Graham Rahal complained of understeer at the start of the final 10-minute run in his number 15 RLL car.
With five minutes to go, the bar was lowered. Armstrong went to the top before his effort was bested by Rosenqvist. The Swede went half a second quicker than his nearest rival in an impressive effort.
Turn 10 proved to be a very tricky turn, as Santino Ferrucci ran into the runoff area and stalled, causing a red flag in the closing stages of the session.
The drivers will have another practice session on Saturday before heading into qualifying for the season opener.
