Alex Palou posted the fastest time during Opening Day for the 110th running of the Indy 500. The Spaniard spent a long period in the garage due to possible technical issues before jumping to the top of the charts in the final fifteen minutes on relatively fresh tires. Marcus Armstrong set the second-fastest time, ahead of Conor Daly in third. Rinus VeeKay climbed to 19th during the final half hour of the session.

Marcus Armstrong Spends Long Time on Top of the Charts

Following the Sonsio Grand Prix of Indianapolis, the IndyCar teams had swapped their road course cars for their speedway cars. At 24°C, conditions were significantly warmer than during the test two weeks ago, temperatures that are also expected for qualifying weekend. For that reason, several drivers already carried out qualifying simulations.

After the green flag waved, Alex Palou — as the winner of the 2025 race — was the first driver to put a time on the board.

Pato O’Ward led the opening hour with an average speed of 223.740 mph before Conor Daly became the first driver to break the 224 mph barrier. Daly then also became the first to surpass 225 mph with a lap at 225.838 mph. Twenty minutes later, Marcus Armstrong went slightly quicker with a speed of 225.895 mph, a difference that translated to just one hundredth of a second.

No Major Incidents, but Several Problems

There were no major incidents during the session. However, the practice was neutralized several times due to track inspections. One of those inspections followed after Helio Castroneves suffered a tire failure, although he was still able to return safely to pit lane.

Still, a number of drivers encountered problems. Dennis Hauger did not complete his first laps until there was one hour remaining in the session after the Dale Coyne Racing crew discovered a water leak in the No. 19 car.

Palou also saw limited track time after hearing a “clunking” noise from the right-rear side of his car during a run, while the Chip Ganassi Racing crew was unable to quickly determine the cause.

Palou Makes the Most of the Conditions

During the final half hour, after a relatively quiet day, the track finally became busy as drivers began simulating race conditions. Fifteen minutes before the checkered flag, Palou returned to the track after the team found no technical issue. The reigning champion wasted no time, making full use of fresher tires and plenty of slipstreams to set the fastest time of the day.

In the no-tow standings, Kyle Kirkwood topped the charts with an average speed of 222.062 mph, ahead of Will Power and Jack Harvey.

Full results of the 1st free practice session on Indianapolis