Alexander Rossi surprisingly finished the second and final test day at Phoenix Raceway at the top of the timesheets. The Ed Carpenter Racing driver was the fastest driver on track in both the morning and afternoon sessions. Josef Newgarden and Alex Palou recorded the second- and third-fastest times of the day in the morning session, while Rossi’s teammate Christian Rasmussen posted the second-fastest time in the afternoon.

Rossi occupied the top position for nearly the entire day, clearly showing Ed Carpenter Racing’s strength on short ovals.

“We got through everything we wanted, and when you can do that, it’s a good day,” Rossi said. “Christian’s (Rasmussen) car is also strong, so there’s nothing more I could ask for. We have a good baseline and it feels like we are on top of it.”

Despite Phoenix Raceway’s location in the Sonoran Desert, conditions were far from ideal on the second day of testing. Strong winds affected running and the start of the afternoon session had to be delayed by ninety minutes due to a rain shower.

The only incident of the day involved Marcus Ericsson, who, after two difficult seasons with Andretti Global, also did not get the best start to his third season. The rear of his car stepped out in Turn 4 during the afternoon session, sending him into the wall backwards. Ericsson was able to exit the car uninjured, but his test day came to a premature end.

Mick Schumacher was the fastest rookie of the day, setting the 16th-fastest time in the second session, good enough for 18th overall on the day. He narrowly outpaced the other rookies, with Caio Collet posting the 21st-fastest time and Dennis Hauger finishing 22nd.

Full Morning Results
Full Afternoon Results